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Anita Engelstad

Oceanographer at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Science and Products

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Aerial photograph looking at an eroding bluff on an arctic island with ponded water, green grass, and dying grass.

Climate impacts to Arctic coasts

The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else in the nation. Understanding the rates and causes of coastal change in Alaska is needed to identify and mitigate hazards that might affect people and animals that call Alaska home.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Climate impacts to Arctic coasts

The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else in the nation. Understanding the rates and causes of coastal change in Alaska is needed to identify and mitigate hazards that might affect people and animals that call Alaska home.
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Future coastal hazards along the U.S. Atlantic coast

This product consists of several datasets that map future coastal flooding and erosion hazards due to sea level rise (SLR) and storms for three States (Florida, Georgia, and Virginia) along the Atlantic coast of the United States. The SLR scenarios encompass a plausible range of projections by 2100 based on the best available science and with enough resolution to support a suite of different plann
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Future coastal hazards along the U.S. North and South Carolina coasts

This product consists of several datasets that map future coastal flooding and erosion hazards due to sea level rise (SLR) and storms along the North and South Carolina coast. The SLR scenarios encompass a plausible range of projections by 2100 based on the best available, science and with enough resolution to support a suite of different planning horizons. The storm scenarios are derived with the
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Hydrographic and sediment field data collected in the vicinity of Wainwright, Alaska, in 2009

This dataset consists of hydrographic, geomorphic, and sediment field measurements obtained during the ice-free summer of 2009 in the vicinity of Wainwright, Alaska. Time-series data were collected with a bottom-mounted instrument package and consist of wave statistics, vertical water flow velocity profiles, water temperatures, conductivity, and salinity concentrations. Data collected at distinct
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Ocean wave time-series data simulated with a global-scale numerical wave model under the influence of projected CMIP6 wind and sea ice fields

This dataset contains projected hourly time-series data of waves at distinct points along all open U.S. coasts for years 2020-2050. The 'projections' (estimates of long-term future conditions) were developed by running the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) WAVEWATCHIII wave model forced with winds and sea ice cover from seven separate high-resolution Global Climate / General
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Wave model results of the central Beaufort Sea coast, Alaska

A three-level SWAN (version 41.31) nesting grid has been developed for the central Beaufort Sea coast to simulate waves over the hindcast period 1979 - 2019. The model includes the implementations of sea ice by Rogers (2019) and includes both 1) a dissipation source term and 2) a scaling of wind input source as functions by sea ice. The bathymetric dataset used for the model is the International
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Historical shorelines and morphological metrics for barrier islands and spits along the north coast of Alaska between Cape Beaufort and the U.S.-Canadian border, 1947 to 2019

A suite of morphological metrics were derived from existing shoreline and elevation datasets for barrier islands and spits located along the north-slope coast of Alaska between Cape Beaufort and the U.S.-Canadian border. This dataset includes barrier shorelines and polygons attributed with morphological metrics from five time periods: 1950s, 1980s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Numerical model characterization of sediment transport potentials pre- and post-construction of an artificial island in Foggy Island Bay, Alaska

The anticipated construction of the Liberty Development Island near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, has created a need to understand how the island may influence sediment transport patterns and deposition on the nearby Boulder Patch ecosystem. This study uses a numerical model to characterize sediment transport pathways in Foggy Island Bay with and without the artificial island in place. We present the Delft
Authors
Kees Nederhoff, Li H. Erikson, Anita C Engelstad, Stuart Pearson
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Seven decades of coastal change at Barter Island, Alaska: Exploring the importance of waves and temperature on erosion of coastal permafrost bluffs

Observational data of coastal change over much of the Arctic are limited largely due to its immensity, remoteness, harsh environment, and restricted periods of sunlight and ice-free conditions. Barter Island, Alaska, is one of the few locations where an extensive, observational dataset exists, which enables a detailed assessment of the trends and patterns of coastal change over decadal to annual t
Authors
Ann E. Gibbs, Li H. Erikson, Benjamin M. Jones, Bruce M. Richmond, Anita C Engelstad
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

The effect of changing sea ice on wave climate trends along Alaska's central Beaufort Sea coast

Diminishing sea ice is impacting the wave field across the Arctic region. Recent observation- and model-based studies highlight the spatiotemporal influence of sea ice on offshore wave climatologies, but effects within the nearshore region are still poorly described. This study characterizes the wave climate in the central Beaufort Sea coast from 1979 to 2019 by utilizing a wave hindcast model tha
Authors
Kees Nederhoff, Li H. Erikson, Anita C Engelstad, Peter A. Bieniek, Jeremy L. Kasper
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Science and Products