Long-term rates of coastal erosion and carbon input, Elson Lagoon,
Barrow, Alaska
Jerry Brown
International Permafrost Association, P.O. Box 7, Woods Hole, MA, O2543, USA
M Torre Jorgenson
ABR, Inc, P.O. Box 80140, Fairbanks, AK, 99708, USA
Orson P. Smith & William Lee
School of Engineering, University of Alaska, 3211 Providence Drive., Anchorage, AK, 99508-8054, USA
ABSTRACT: Low bluffs along Elson Lagoon (71º 19’ N, 156º 35’W) consist of ice-rich, fine-grained sediments, surface and buried peats, and ice-wedges. A time series of erosion rates from 1949 to 2000 along the
10.8-km long reach of lagoon coast was determined by georeferencing aerial and high-resolution satellite imagery. Erosion rates for the period 1979-2000 were 47% higher (0.86 m/yr) than 1948-1979 (0.56 m/yr) and
23% higher than the 51-year average (0.68 m/yr). A total of 28 hectares of land was lost between 1979 and
2000. A sustained shift of storm winds at Barrow appears to correspond to the trend of increased erosion
along the shores of Elson Lagoon. Water depths adjacent to the most rapidly eroding section (2.75 m/yr) are
relatively deep; an indication of active submarine erosion associated with greater fetch and higher wave energy. Initial estimates of annual sediment input are 1.6 103 m3/km for mineral sediment and 63,500 kg soil carbon/km for this section of Elson Lagoon. These observations of erosion, sediment fluxes and transport are a
contribution to the Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) project.
1 INTRODUCTION
Although erosion is limited to 3-4 months of ice-free
water, extreme rates in excess of 10 m/yr are documented along many arctic shorelines; average rates
between 2 and 6 m/yr are common. Erosion and accretion of the circumarctic coastline are the focus of
the international Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD)
program (Rachold et al. 2000, 2002). The ACD emphases are on the contributions of coastal erosion to
the sediment budget of the inner continental shelf,
and on assessing the sources, transfer and fate of organic carbon. How these processes and rates are affected by climate change, related storm events and
sea level rise, and their impacts on local communities and coastal infrastrucuture, are all questions of
concern for our research. Long-term ACD observational key sites have been established in northern
Alaska at Barrow (this paper; Peckham et al. 2002),
along Beaufort Lagoon (Jorgenson et al., 2002) in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the southeast Chukchi Sea coast (Jordon and Mason 1999).
This report presents results of historical and recent
observations of erosion and initial estimates of sediment and organic carbon inputs at the Elson Lagoon
site.
Observations of erosion rates and beach processes
at Barrow began in the late 1940s (MacCarthy 1953)
and continued into the early 1980s (Harper 1978;
Hume and Schalk 1967, Hume et al. 1972; Lewellen
1972, 1973; Walker 1991). For the Elson Lagoon
coast southward to Dease Inlet (approximately
30 km), Lewellen determined erosion rates using
1948/49 and 1962/64 aerial photography, and found
rates typically in the range of 1-3 m/yr, but some
rates as high as 10 m/yr. Along the Chukchi Sea
coast, Harper (1978) reported a mean rate of
0.31 m/yr between 1949 and 1976 for the 75-km
coastline from Barrow to Peard Bay. The Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program
(OCSEAP) produced several map-based reports that
compared 1951 and 1983 navigation charts for almost all of the ~1800 km Beaufort Sea coast (Reimnitz et al. 1988; Barnes et al.1992). The western
third of the area, which is comprised of fine-grained
deposits, had substantially higher erosion rates (5.4
m/yr) than did the remainder of the study area (1.4
m/yr), which has sandy to gravelly deposits (see also
Naidu et al.1984).
2 SITE CHARACTERISTICS
The Barrow peninsula (71° 19’N, 156° 35’W) is
bounded on the west by the Chukchi Sea and on the
east by the Beaufort Sea and a long chain of offshore
islands (Plover Islands) that form the eastern boundary of Elson Lagoon (Figure 1). The two ACD key
sections for the Barrow Peninsula are: (1) the
10.8 km section along Elson Lagoon (this study) and
(2) the 20-km section along the Chukchi Sea (Peck-
156°35'
156°30'
156°25'
156°20'
156°15'
Point Barrow
Beaufort Sea
Chukchi Sea
Eluitkak Pass
71°21'
E
f ile
Pro
C9
AS
AS
C
ð
f ile
Pro
21
North Salt
Lagoon
t
oin
t P
n
a
Br
Profil
e ASC
Brant
Point
20
71°21'
Pr
of
il e
A
ð
71°18'
71°18'
Profile 3x
Profile 3y
Tekegakrok
Point
B
#
#
C
ð
#
N
1
win
East T
Lake
0
in
Wes tTw
Lake
1
Elson Lagoon
Profile 3z
D
ð
Kilometers
156°35'
156°30'
156°25'
156°20'
156°15'
Figure 1. Location of coastal erosion monitoring segments A-D and hydrographic survey lines at Elson Lagoon, Barrow, Alaska.
ham et al. 2002) which includes the 4.4-km Segment
E of the present report.
The Elson Lagoon site consists of four distinct
segments separated by several shallow estuaries or
embayments. The lagoon coastline forms the eastern
land boundary of the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO); a protected research area of 3021 hectares (7,466 acres) established in 1992 by the local
native land owners (Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation,
UIC). A section (E) of the previously studied Chukchi Sea coast is included in this report to illustrate
the differences between the two coastal regimes.
Maximum permafrost thickness in the Barrow region is about 400 m. The shallow active layer in
these peaty and fine-grained, reworked lake sediments averages less than 30 cm as measured in 2002
along 11 transects. The dominant soil is the meadow
tundra soil (Typic Aquiturbels) with an average carbon content of 50 kg/m3 in the upper one meter of
soil and permafrost (Drew 1957; Bockheim et
al.1999). Massive peat inclusions are common in the
uppermost permafrost. Ages of these buried peats
range from several thousand years to 11,000 years
(Brown 1965). Ice-wedge polygons as classified by
Drew (1957) are manifested in a variety of surface
morphologies that range from young, flat-topped
polygons with narrow troughs, to depressed centers
with raised rims, to high-centered polygons (HCP).
The HCP occur along drainages and shorelines and
reflect the melting of the underlying network of ice
wedges. The ice contents of the sandy and silty sediments in the upper 3-4 m of permafrost decrease
from 70% to 45% and are underlain by late Quaternary deposits(Brown 1968; Sellmann and Brown
1975; Sellmann et al. 1975).
3 METHODS
To assess the rates of coastal erosion, coastlines
were mapped using high-resolution (1 m) IKONOS
satellite imagery acquired on 16 July and 16 August
2000. A time series of older black and white aerial
photography for 1949 (1:10,000), 1962 (1:18700),
1964 (1:2400), and 1979 (1:63360 color infrared)
and 1997 (1:24000 color) were scanned. For rectification, the August IKONOS image was used as the
base map to obtain geodetic control points, and the
photographs (tiff images) from the various years
were rectified to the satellite image using ERDAS
Table 1. Metadata, changes in coastlines and annual sediment and carbon losses due to erosion, Barrow, Alaska.
Offshore
Mean Mean
Segment Mean
Number Lines (km)
Area
Width Width Annual Sedi- Annual Carbon
Length Eleva- of Tran- [max.depth Photo In- Lost No. Lost Lost
ment Input** Loss in Top 1 m
Segment (km)
tion (m) sects
(m)]
terval
(ha)
Years (m)
(m/yr) (103 × m3/km) (kg/km)
A
2.9
2.1
5
8.8 [6.0]* 1949-62/64
2
14
8.1
0.58
A
1962/64-79 2.3
16
9.4
0.59
A
1979-97
3
18
12.4
0.69
A
1997-Jul00 1.1
3
4.4
1.47
A
Jul-Aug00
0.2
1
1.1
1.15
A
1949-79
4.2
30
17.5
0.56
A
1979-00
4.4
21
18
0.86
0.9
43,000
A
1949-00
8.6
51
35.5
0.68
B
2.0
3.3
1
10.7 [3.7] 1979-00
2.8
21
13.7
0.65
1.1
32,500
C
3.4
2.9
5
7.9 [3.2]
1979-00
6.4
21
18.8
0.9
1.3
45,000
D
2.5
1.8
3
10.1 [3.8] 1948-79
14.9
31
60.3
1.95
D
1979-00
14.6
21
57.7
2.75
2.5
137,500
D
1948-00
29.7
52
120.8
2.32
A-D
10.8
2.5
14
7 lines
1979-00
28.2
21
1.27
1.6
63,500
E
4.4
<1
1979-00
(-10.6) 21 (-10.6) (-0.5)
*maximum depth at Eluitkak Pass; (-) indicates accretion. **assumes 50% of mean bluff height is ground ice.
Imagine software. Rectification accuracy (relative to
the 2000 image) ranged from 0.69 m RMS (rootmean-square) for the 1964 photography to 2.56 m
RMS for the 1962 photography.
After the photography was rectified, the coastline
(water’s edge) was digitized on screen. When compared to erosion rates measured over a long period,
the effect of measurement error is relatively small
(e.g., up to 0.1 m/yr for a 20-yr period). Estimated
accuracy of the coastline boundary delineation is
1–2 m. The coastlines then were used to determine
the area of land lost for each period by closing adjacent coastlines into polygons. Average width of land
lost per period was calculated as the area lost divided by the length the coastline segment.
A total of 14 permanent transects were established for measurement of elevations, thaw depths,
and future bluff retreat (Table 1). A number of these
transects are located at U.S. Geological Survey
monuments (MacCarthy 1953) A hydrographic survey was conducted in August 2001 using a Ross 950
hydrographic survey kit. Figure 1 shows location of
the seven offshore bottom profiles.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Erosion rates
The four segments differ in length, orientation, elevation, soils and polygon types and are collectively
representative of this outermost section of the Arctic
Coastal Plain. (Table 1, Figure 1). Mean elevations
of the four segments range between 1.8 m (D) and
3.3 m (B) with maximum elevations of 4.4 m in the
latter segment. Photogrammetric analysis reveals
high spatial variation in rates of coastal retreat; erosion rates among the four segments ranged from
0.69 m/yr to 2.75 m/yr for the period 1979 to 2000,
with an overall erosion rate of 1.27 m/yr (Table 1).
Total loss for the entire Elson Lagoon study area between 1979 and 2000 was 28 ha. Over the 50-year
period of record, Segment A lost 8.6 ha (21.3 acres)
of coast. Even within a short segment there are large
differences in erosion rates; for example, within
Segment A, the maximum rate was 2.2 m/yr at the
northernmost section, and the minimum rate was
0.1 m/yr for the 1948-2000 period. Major differences in spatial variation between segments are illustrated for the period 1948-2000; 120.8 m (2.32 m/yr)
for Segment D (Figure 2) vs 35.5 m (0.68 m/yr) for
Segment A.
When comparing temporal differences along
Segment A, there is a three-fold difference in rates
among the more discrete time periods. Mean annual
erosion rates were remarkably similar among the
earlier three periods for 1948–1964 (0.58 m/yr),
1964–1979 (0.59 m/yr), and 1979–1997 (0.69 m/yr),
but were much higher for 1997–July 2000
(1.47 m/yr). The recent 1.5-m storm-surge that occurred during 10–14 August 2000 along the Chukchi
coast may have contributed to the average measured
1.15 m of erosion along Section A. Erosion rates at
Segment A and D over longer periods were substantially higher during 1979-2000 than 1948-1979. The
more recent period of 1979–2000 (0.86 m/yr) is 47%
higher than the period of 1949–1979 (0.56 m/yr),
and 23% higher than the 51-year average
(0.68 m/yr). In contrast to these erosion rates, analysis of the 1979 and 2000 imagery for the 4.4-km,
Segment E along the Chukchi Sea revealed that this
gravel coast aggraded by an average 0.5 m/yr. Both
erosional and aggradational coasts were observed on
the imagery.
4.2 Environmental factors
The process of shoreline retreat is enhanced by the
undercutting of the coastal bluffs (thermo-erosion
Depth (m)
notches; Walker 1991), and removal by wave action
of the slumped and thawed materials that protects
the coast from additional retreat. The frequency, intensity and duration of storms, and high water events
affect seasonal to multi-decadal rates of retreat,
whereas local spatial differences in erosion are attributed to the spatial variations in bluff elevation,
ice and organic contents of exposed sediments, water
depth and fetch. Diurnal tidal movements at Barrow
are limited to about 0.3 m (Beal 1968; Matthews
1970) and are not considered a major agent of erosion. Erosion ceases as bluffs freeze and the lagoon
becomes ice covered commonly during the last half
of October.
Hydrographic surveys in the offshore Segments
A, B, and C confirmed the persistence of a submerged shoal at about 1-m depth parallel to the coast
and approximately 2 km offshore, and the relatively
deep 2.5-m trough between the crest of the shoal and
the mainland (Figure 2). The shoal corresponds to
bathymetric trends that appear on the early U.S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey maps and as discussed
by Lewellen (1973). A truncated bench extends
500 meter offshore of segment D; the same distance
reported by Lewellen for 1964; although erosion has
advanced over 100 meters inland, suggesting active
submarine erosion. Furthermore, deeper water nearshore and longer fetches for Segment D allow more
wave energy to reach further inshore. These observations and the lower elevations are consistent with the
larger erosion rates along Segment D.
The observed increase in erosion rates between
1979-2000, for instance from 1.95 to 2.75 m/yr for
Segment D (Table 1), may be attributed to an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms. Late
summer and fall storms produce winds from the
southwest and are observed to exert major erosion
on the Chukchi coast (Hume and Schalk 1967;
Walker 1991). There are few observations of erosion
along the Elson Lagoon coast during these southwesterly storms, when water levels would be at maximum height. Major storm surges such as the Octo-
1.0 Profile Brant Point
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
1000
2000
3000
4000
ber 1963 storm have breached the Barrow spit in the
vicinity of Segment E (Brown and Sellmann 1966;
Hume and Schalk 1967). Other major storms have
occurred over the past half century; notably the
storms of October 1954, 1956, 1977, 1993, 1998,
September 1986, August 2000, and July 1993. Large
quantities of sediments are redistributed in the lagoon during these extreme or extended wind events.
Analysis of the Barrow National Weather Service
wind data from 1948-1999 reveals increases in
windspeeds from the east-northeast and west for
the period 1984-1999 as compared to 1948-1984
(Figure 3). Winds from the easterly sector during the
predominantly ice-free period generate waves that
directly impact the site. This increase in windiness
during the predominantly ice-free period appears to
correspond to the observed increase in erosion rates
along the Elson Lagoon coast. Future studies will
document the relationships of wind duration and direction and water level as related to erosion.
4.3 Sediment inputs
Ground ice was estimated from data developed at
Barrow (Brown 1968; Sellmann et al. 1975), and
employs the method for computing sediment input
reported in Reimnitz, et al. 1988). For this report,
and based on the unknown variations in ice-wedge
distribution and amount of excess ice, we simply
applied an average ground-ice value of 50% for all
sections above sea level, a mean elevation of 2.5 m,
and average erosion rate of 1.27 m/yr
(2.5 × 1.27 × 0.5 = 1.6 × 103 m3/km). This approximation of sediment input agrees with the Reimnitz et
al. (1988) computation for the 344 km stretch of the
western Beaufort Sea coast which had an average
rate of erosion of 2.5m/yr. Their values for sediment
input were 3.5 × 103 m3/km for bluff erosion, and
3.8 × 103 m3/km for offshore (submarine) sections.
For this report we did not compute the subaerial contribution of sediment input due to the limited information on offshore ground ice content, permafrost
5000
6000
7000
8000
8764
Depth (m)
Distance on Profile (m)
1.0 Profile ASC 21
1.8
2.8
3.8
1000
Shore
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Distance on Profile (m)
Direction on Profile
Figure 2. Bathymetric profiles for two transects across Elson Lagoon.
7000
8000
9000
Seaward
10123
Legend
Figure 4. Changes in shoreline at segment D between 1948
Britton (1957) in his classic paper on tundra vegeta1948 and 1979 and 2000 at Elson Lagoon (see Table 1).
tion described the thaw-lake cycle as the reworking
of landscapes by the expansion of ponds into lakes,
subsequent drainage due to shoreline erosion or 1979 5 CONCLUSIONS
stream capture, and formation of a new tundra surface on the reworked lake sediments. The age of 2000 Photogrammetric analysis confirmed the high spatial
modern lake formation and drainage has been estiand temporal variations in rates of retreat along the
mated from radiocarbon dating of strandlines and
Elson Lagoon coast. Erosion rates ranged from
headward erosion rates (Carson, 1962; Lewellen
0.65 m/yr to 2.75 m/yr for the period 1979 to 2000,
1972), surface peats (Eisner and Peterson
0 1998),
500 and
1,000with an overall
2,000
erosion rate3,000
of 1.27 m/yr, and a loss
buried frozen peats (Brown 1965). For Segment A
of 28.2 ha. Erosion rates during this period were
Meters
Brown obtained several radiocarbon dates from fro47% higher (0.86 m/yr) than 1948
to 1979
587000.000000
588000.000000
589000.000000
590000.000000
7915000.000000
7914000.000000
7910000.000000
D
591000.000000
592000.000000
593000.000000
7909000.000000
4.4 Landscape evolution
7916000.000000
791
C
7911000.000000
7912000.000000
degradation and sediment transport (Lewellen 1973).
As concluded by Reimnitz et al. (1988), these ranges
of annual sediment inputs are conservatively seven
times greater than those derived from the major river
catchments of Arctic Alaska.
Estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) are based
on soil units presented on the 1957 soils map (Drew
1957) and SOC values for the upper one meter of
soils and permafrost (Bockheim 1999, unpublished
data). We assigned carbon values 50 kg/m3 for these
tundra soils. For this report we did not consider the
carbon that occurs below the one-meter depth since
the majority of soil and buried peats are observed to
occur in this upper one-meter section. Our first approximation of organic carbon input to the lagoon
for the four lagoon segments vary from 32,500 to
137,500 kg C/km (Table 1). This range is a function
of erosion rates with an average of 63,500 kg C/km
(1000 × 1.27 × 50).
7908000.000000
B
Figure 3. Percentage of wind speed by direction of Barrow,
Alaska, for the periods between 1948-1984 and 1985-1999.
Radial bands represent percentages of 10-knot increments (09, 10-19, 20-29).
7907000.000000
A
7913000.000000
zen buried peats in the range of 2200 and 6700 years
BP (I-2602 and I-2048, respectively).The drainedlake basin in Segments C and D to the east of East
Twin Lakes provides additional insight into the relative age of coastline retreat, lake drainage and landscape evolution (Figure 4). The northern configuration of the lake before drainage would have extended
about 150 meters into what is now the lagoon. Based
on an average rate of erosion of 1 m/yr, we estimate
that the lake drained within the last 100 to 150 years.
The surface peat layer from this basin was sampled
for radiocarbon dating and yielded a date of
80 14C yr BP +/-90 (CAMS 77861; W. R. Eisner,
pers comm., Jan 10, 2002) and approximates the onset of peat accumulation. Our estimate for drainage
of the lake and the age of peat formation are in general agreement. Based on similar estimates, East
Twin Lake is expected to drain within the next 3040 years, since both headward lake and lagoon erosion are advancing over the remaining 100m of tundra surface at rates of > 1m/yr. Drainage resulting
from shoreline erosion is likely to occur as an icewedge polygon trough is intercepted by the lagoon;
thus renewing the lake to land cycle.
(0.56 m/yr) and 23% higher than the 51-year average
(0.68 m/yr). For Segment A, erosion rates of
1.47 m/yr during the most recent period (1997-2000)
were double the rates during prior intervals. Starting
in the mid 1980s Barrow wind data show a corresponding trend toward more erosive surge- and
wave-generating conditions. Water depths adjacent
to the most rapidly eroding Segment D (2.75 m/yr)
are relatively deep; an indication of active submarine
erosion associated with greater fetch and higher
wave energy. Initial estimate of annual sediment input is 1.6 × 103 m3/km of sediment, a value that is in
general agreement with other calculated sediment
inputs along the Beaufort Sea coast. This estimate is
at least seven times greater than for those derived
from the major river catchments of Arctic Alaska.
Initial estimate of organic carbon loss is
63,500 kg C/km.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was undertaken as a result of the ACD
workshop held in Woods Hole, MA, November
1999, and sponsored by the U.S. National Science
Foundation (Grants OPP-9818294 and OPP9818120). IKONOS imagery and measurements of
the Elson Lagoon-BEO boundary changes were supported by the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium
(BASC). Eric Hammerbacher and Craig Tweedie
(Michigan State Univ.) and David Ramey (BASC)
assisted in site establishment and bathymetric survey, respectively. Josh Rogers, UAA, provided the
analysis of wind data. Matt Macander, ABR, performed the the photogrammetric analyses and Jennifer Felkay and Jennifer Roof formatted the report.
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