TY - JOUR A1 - Couture, Nicole J. A1 - Irrgang, Anna Maria A1 - Pollard, Wayne A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Fritz, Michael T1 - Coastal erosion of permafrost soils along the yukon coastal plain and fluxes of organic carbon to the canadian beaufort sea JF - Journal of geophysical research : Biogeosciences N2 - Reducing uncertainties about carbon cycling is important in the Arctic where rapid environmental changes contribute to enhanced mobilization of carbon. Here we quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) contents of permafrost soils along the Yukon Coastal Plain and determine the annual fluxes from coastal erosion. Different terrain units were assessed based on surficial geology, morphology, and ground ice conditions. To account for the volume of wedge ice and massive ice in a unit, SOC contents were reduced by 19% and sediment contents by 16%. The SOC content in a 1m(2) column of soil varied according to the height of the bluff, ranging from 30 to 662kg, with a mean value of 183kg. Forty-four per cent of the SOC was within the top 1m of soil and values varied based on surficial materials, ranging from 30 to 53kg C/m(3), with a mean of 41kg. Eighty per cent of the shoreline was erosive with a mean annual rate of change of -0.7m/yr. This resulted in a SOC flux per meter of shoreline of 132kg C/m/yr, and a total flux for the entire 282km of the Yukon coast of 35.5 x 10(6) kg C/yr (0.036 Tg C/yr). The mean flux of sediment per meter of shoreline was 5.3 x 10(3) kg/m/yr, with a total flux of 1,832 x 10(6)kg/yr (1.832 Tg/yr). Sedimentation rates indicate that approximately 13% of the eroded carbon was sequestered in nearshore sediments, where the overwhelming majority of organic carbon was of terrestrial origin. Plain Language Summary The oceans help slow the buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) because they absorb much of this greenhouse gas. However, if carbon from other sources is added to the oceans, it can affect their ability to absorb atmospheric CO2. Our study examines the organic carbon added to the Canadian Beaufort Sea from eroding permafrost along the Yukon coast, a region quite vulnerable to erosion. Understanding carbon cycling in this area is important because environmental changes in the Arctic such as longer open water seasons, rising sea levels, and warmer air, water and soil temperatures are likely to increase coastal erosion and, thus, carbon fluxes to the sea. We measured the carbon in different types of permafrost soils and applied corrections to account for the volume taken up by various types of ground ice. By determining how quickly the shoreline is eroding, we assessed how much organic carbon is being transferred to the ocean each year. Our results show that 36 x 10(6) kg of carbon is added annually from this section of the coast. If we extrapolate these results to other coastal areas along the Canadian Beaufort Sea, the flux of organic carbon is nearly 3 times what was previously thought. KW - coastal erosion KW - organic carbon KW - ground ice KW - Yukon KW - Canadian Beaufort Sea Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JG004166 SN - 2169-8953 SN - 2169-8961 VL - 123 IS - 2 SP - 406 EP - 422 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Radosavljevic, Boris A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Pollard, Wayne A1 - Overduin, Pier Paul A1 - Couture, Nicole A1 - Sachs, Torsten A1 - Helm, Veit A1 - Fritz, Michael T1 - Erosion and Flooding - Threats to Coastal Infrastructure in the Arctic: A Case Study from Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, Canada (vol 39, pg 900, 2016) T2 - Estuaries and coasts : journal of the Estuarine Research Federation Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-016-0115-z SN - 1559-2723 SN - 1559-2731 VL - 39 SP - 1294 EP - 1295 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Radosavljevic, Boris A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Pollard, Wayne A1 - Overduin, Pier Paul A1 - Couture, Nicole A1 - Sachs, Torsten A1 - Helm, Veit A1 - Fritz, Michael T1 - Erosion and Flooding-Threats to Coastal Infrastructure in the Arctic: A Case Study from Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, Canada JF - Estuaries and coasts : journal of the Estuarine Research Federation N2 - Arctic coastal infrastructure and cultural and archeological sites are increasingly vulnerable to erosion and flooding due to amplified warming of the Arctic, sea level rise, lengthening of open water periods, and a predicted increase in frequency of major storms. Mitigating these hazards necessitates decision-making tools at an appropriate scale. The objectives of this paper are to provide such a tool by assessing potential erosion and flood hazards at Herschel Island, a UNESCO World Heritage candidate site. This study focused on Simpson Point and the adjacent coastal sections because of their archeological, historical, and cultural significance. Shoreline movement was analyzed using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) after digitizing shorelines from 1952, 1970, 2000, and 2011. For purposes of this analysis, the coast was divided in seven coastal reaches (CRs) reflecting different morphologies and/or exposures. Using linear regression rates obtained from these data, projections of shoreline position were made for 20 and 50 years into the future. Flood hazard was assessed using a least cost path analysis based on a high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) dataset and current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sea level estimates. Widespread erosion characterizes the study area. The rate of shoreline movement in different periods of the study ranges from -5.5 to 2.7 mI double dagger a(-1) (mean -0.6 mI double dagger a(-1)). Mean coastal retreat decreased from -0.6 mI double dagger a(-1) to -0.5 mI double dagger a(-1), for 1952-1970 and 1970-2000, respectively, and increased to -1.3 mI double dagger a(-1) in the period 2000-2011. Ice-rich coastal sections most exposed to wave attack exhibited the highest rates of coastal retreat. The geohazard map combines shoreline projections and flood hazard analyses to show that most of the spit area has extreme or very high flood hazard potential, and some buildings are vulnerable to coastal erosion. This study demonstrates that transgressive forcing may provide ample sediment for the expansion of depositional landforms, while growing more susceptible to overwash and flooding. KW - Arctic KW - Coastal erosion KW - UNESCO KW - Vulnerability mapping KW - Permafrost coasts Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-0046-0 SN - 1559-2723 SN - 1559-2731 VL - 39 SP - 900 EP - 915 PB - Springer CY - New York ER -