Coastal Erosion Assessment for Alaska Communities

The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) assesses potential geologic hazards to infrastructure, including buildings, roads, and infrastructure. DGGS facilitates local community-based monitoring efforts by collecting and providing access to reliable data including maps that project erosion forecasts for Alaska communities. The steps used to make erosion forecasts are:

1. Map historical (1950s to ~2019) erosion rates (see the shoreline change report).
2. Forecast shorelines 60 years into the future, assuming historical erosion rates continue.
3. Measure what existing infrastructure are within the erosion forecast zone and by what date.

Results of the analysis are displayed in two different maps and a cost of infrastructure replacement summary table within community reports.

1. The Erosion Forecast Map shows the area around a community forecasted to erode in 20-year intervals.
2. The Erosion Exposure Map highlights which buildings are exposed to erosion in the same 20-year intervals; this map is also zoomed in to areas with erosion impacts.

Both maps show past shorelines, forecasted erosion areas, locations of infrastructure at risk to erosion, estimated erosion exposure dates, and erosion forecast uncertainty. You can find the report Erosion Exposure Assessment of Infrastructure in Alaska Coastal Communities including community-specific reports and maps on this DGGS webpage.