Mapping Exposure to Flooding in Three Coastal Communities on the North Slope of Alaska Using Airborne LiDAR

Abstract

The intensification of coastal storms, combined with declining sea ice cover, sea level rise, and changes to permafrost conditions, will likely increase the incidence and impact of storm surge flooding in Arctic coastal environments. In coastal communities accurate information on the exposure of infrastructure can make an important contribution to adaptation planning. In this study, we use high resolution elevation data from airborne LiDAR to generate storm flooding scenarios for three coastal communities (Utqiaġvik, Wainwright, and Kaktovik) in northern Alaska. To estimate the potential for damage to infrastructure caused by flooding for each community, we generated data on replacement costs and used it to estimate the financial impact of 24 storm flooding scenarios of varying intensities. This analysis shows that all three communities are exposed to storm surges, but highlights the fact that infrastructure in Utqiaġvik (the administrative center of the North Slope Borough) is significantly more exposed than buildings in Wainwright and Kaktovik. Our findings show that flooding scenarios can complement information gained from past events and help to inform local-decision making.

Keywords:

• Arctic
• climate change
• coastal communities
• coastal exposure
• infrastructure damage
• vulnerability

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Sally Cox, Linda Chamberlain, Al Breitzman, Judy Nauma, Paige Bennett, George Plumley, Todd Sformo (Fulbright Arctic Initiative), and Jena Kent for their assistance with this project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAI, NSERC, NSF, BOEM, DHS or ADAC.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fulbright Arctic Initiative (TCL) and an NSERC Discovery Grant: RGPIN 06210-2018 (TCL). Additional support to BMJ and CET was provided by the NSF under grants OPP-1745369 (BMJ), OISE-1927553 (BMJ), OPP-1656026 (CET), and OISE-1927373 (CET), OPP0454996, OPP-1023654 (CET), OPP-1656026 (CET), OISE-1927373 (CET).