Erosion and accretion along the arctic coast of Alaska. The influence of ice and climate

Coastline comparison on 1951 and 1981 charts to determine erosion and accretion showed that ocean-facing coastal bluffs were retreating while deltas were rapidly expanding. Where the coast is fronted by a lagoon, and coast-parallel sand and gravel islands, bluff retreat was reduced. The extensive bluff erosion was volumetrically balanced by accretion at the mouths of deltas. Coastal erosion is driven by ice-related processes, aided by the presence of an ice-eroded shelf. Rapid delta expansion is interpreted to have begun in the last 200 years, perhaps related to observed permafrost warming.