A picture of the Arctic’s ancient past and future is captured by an icy world at 20 feet below the surface of a tundra field in the nation’s northernmost community.
Frosted peat is embedded in the tunnel walls, with its features perfect preserved from 10,000 years back.
“It’s quite new, and it retains the shape of moss,” stated Go Iwahana (University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist) who climbed down a metal ladder in order to reach a 10-meter (30-foot) tunnel cut into the permafrost in 1960s.
Below the floor, you will find mobile pools of supersalty and bacteria-packed salt brine. These are the remains of an ancient lagoon which dates back at most 40,000 years. They are completely isolated from the Arctic Ocean.
The modern world is making its mark in the soil. Iwahana crawled along the tunnel and sent probes 1.5-2 meters down boreholes in order to observe how the modern world is changing. After reading the thermometer, he exclaimed “Three.”
According to Iwahana, who works at UAF’s International Arctic Research Center, the soil has warmed from minus-6 to minus-3 degrees Celsius or 21.6 to 26.6 degrees Fahrenheit over the past decade.
He said, “That’s quite a lot.”
The findings at the tunnel match those found elsewhere on the North Slope. According to long-term measurements made by UAF scientists, soils as deep below the surface are heating at up to 4 degrees Celsius per ten years as air temperatures rise.
The unrelenting warmth is a problem for Utqiagvik in the North Slope, which is the largest community on the North Slope and hosts nearly half the residents of the North Slope Borough.
Most obvious is at places where permafrost ice-rich is close to the surface. This is the coast at Utqiagvik’s downtown core. A bluff has come dangerously close to houses. Below one house lies a gaping hole, where the bluff is gone completely. Doreen Fogg Leavitt’s inlaws own another house that is perched on the edge.
“I can recall 20 years ago when the distance from her backyard to the edge was 30-40 feet. Fogg-Leavitt is the natural resources manager at the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope. This local tribal government manages three.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey the North Slope is experiencing the most rapid erosion in the country, and rates are increasing. According to findings presented by Williams College researchers in mid-December at an annual conference of American Geophysical Union, the coastline is losing as high as 9.5m per month.
Iwahana and his UAF colleagues are monitoring the tunnel for long-term warming of frozen soil. This is only one factor that contributes to the erosion of the coastline.
Sea ice loss is another. Open water is more common this year, with it persisting into November. This means that waves can hit the beaches and come in contact with permafrost. Tom Ravens, University of Alaska Anchorage civil engineer professor, said that this causes “niche erosion block collapse”.
Ravens also identified subtler factors at a permafrost workshop in Anchorage, November. Changes in precipitation patterns, from snow to rain, heats the soil. Salt, another factor in the thaw process, is also present in ocean water. The long-term thawing of the ocean water is causing large stretches of land to sink, reducing the coastline and the rest of the landscape. According to UAF research, measured sinking in the North Slope between 2017 and 2022 varied depending on where it was located.
To replace sand-filled bags or sand piles, use sophisticated revetment
Utqiagvik’s erosion problem is particularly worrisome due to its large population (4500) and concentration of infrastructure (utilities, buildings, and a landfill right next to it).
In recent years, the North Slope Borough has built up large quantities of Supersacks filled with sand, which are delivered by barge every summer to protect the water supply. The borough also uses heavy equipment to build a barrier out of beach sand.
We are working on a more permanent solution.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed the design of five miles of what is known as a revetment. to protect shoreline. Bruce Sexauer (chief of civil works project management, Corps of Engineers Alaska district) said that the project is huge and has taken several years to plan. It will take at most six years to complete.
Utiqagvik was able to manage a small amount of “managed retreat” in the past. This involved moving buildings and property from the shoreline that is disappearing. These options are not available in the region, which is flat.
“Now they’re at the point where the infrastructure is most important. Sexauer stated that their water supply and sewage lagoon were right up against the edge. The revetment plan is considered the best long-term solution. Utqiagvik’s role as a business and service hub in North Slope gives all communities an opportunity to participate in it.
Sexauer stated that Utqiagvik could suddenly have a devastating issue which would affect other areas.
The exact cost of the revetment is still to be determined. The 2022 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act contained a provision which allocated $364.3 million to the project.
Sexauer stated that the Corps will formally solicit bids for the first phase, which is the 0.75-mile section located at the center bluff. The request for bids on the remainder of the project will be made approximately one year later. The entire project included a rebuilding of Stevenson Street, which raised the elevation of the often-flooded road leading north to Point Barrow.
Sexauer stated that site preparation work for the erosion control project will begin in 2024.
Sexauer stated that the revetment plan calls for multiple layers of different materials with varying porosity. These could include industrial fabric or large boulders. This is to protect the ground from freezing temperatures. According to Corps of Engineers reports, this multilayer technology has been successful for Shishmaref, a less-effected village in the Bering Strait area.
Experts agree that revetment should be more than just a rock wall.
Ming Xiao, a Pennsylvania State University civil engineer professor, said that even if you make a rock revetment extremely strong, the permafrost beneath can still degrade. “You cannot just build on existing permafrost.”
Xiao, along with UAF and Virginia Tech University collaborators, is leading a project that uses a buried fiber optic cable to measure minute movements in the soil of Utqiagvik’s warming permafrost. It is hoped that underground vibrations can be used to predict conditions for decades to come, when they are correlated with temperature readings. He said, “Then, we can predict in future, say 50 year, what the ground temperatures will be.” He said that this will inform him about the strength of ground to support structures.
Xiao stated that the Supersacks were not capable of controlling erosion. He said that the Supersacks are made from material that degrades in sunlight’s ultraviolet light. This is a problem that is more severe in summer. He added that the Supersasck can be punctured by rough weather.
Below-ground threats to underground pipelines and cellars
A hidden problem exists beneath the surface, and it is threat to underground pipes that supply water and utilities.
About a third of Utqiagvik’s water, wastewater and electrical lines run through a protected, temperature-controlled tunnel called the “Utilidor.” Built in the oil-money heyday of the 1980s, the Utilidor was too expensive to extend beyond its initial 3 miles. The rest of the system is left with underground piping. Thaw risks can exist even 12 feet below ground.
In spring 2021, this danger was present in another North Slope community. Point Lay is located 180 miles southwest from Utqiagvik. A sudden thaw in the permafrost caused a temporary cut to the main water line. This prevented water from flowing to the village clinic as well as several houses. This was an especially unfortunate event because it occurred during the COVID-19 epidemic, when clean water was crucially needed.
The Utilidor, as well protected as it is is, is not invulnerable. According to the Corps of Engineers, storms in 2015-2017 almost caused water to flood into the Utilidor. The Corps reported that seawater came within a few meters of contaminating the freshwater lake after waves broke up the beach berms. Utqiagvik suffered from a storm in October. This storm, although not as severe as those of 2015 and 2017, pushed saltwater over barriers to flood Stevenson Street again and enter the lower lagoon. One more breach would have resulted in the city’s upper-lagoon drinking waters supply being contaminated.
Permafrost flooding and storm flooding are also threatening some cultural practices.
Flooding or other incursions have damaged many of the traditional Inupiat permafrost cells in the community, sigluaqs.
This happened to the sigluaq, which was maintained by Fogg Leavitt’s relatives in 2015. Although there wasn’t any pooled water, it was warm enough to allow the meat to be thawed. She said that it was still edible but the flavor was not as good as the traditional fermented product.
She said that thaw-related threats have led to some changes in practices. She said that some younger crews use walk-in freezers exclusively. Others are more passionate about keeping their sigluaqs functional and intact. ICAS will be experimenting with technology this winter: installation and operation of thermosyphons. These devices pull heat from the ground passively. She said that only a few cellars will be included in the initial phase of the project. However, it is possible to expand the scope in the future.
Fogg-Leavitt stated, “This is how we’re going do it to sustain our culture.” “We’ll test it to see if we like it.”
At risk: Gravesites and archaeological materials
Even the dead can feel the effects of thaw.
This is evident at the modern cemetery where grave markers tilted as the soil below warmed. It can also be seen on the town’s central bluff, where remnants from historic homes built of driftwood and sod are crumbling away.
Anne Jensen , an archaeologist, has been tasked with rescuing these sites. Jensen, who is now a Bryn Mawr College student, lived in Utqiagvik for many decades and worked previously for the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp.’s science department.
Jensen was there to investigate the case when the remains of an 800-year-old girl were exposed by erosion 1994. Jensen determined that the girl had been suffering from starvation and other chronic diseases. Her body was reburied and she was given the name Anaiyaaq.
Jensen was there to rescue remains from Nuvuk when accelerating erosion exposed gravesites at Point Barrow’s ancient settlement. The sites were located in an area that had been used for over 1,000 years. Another work she did was at Walakpa an archaeological site 18 miles off the Chukchi Sea Coast. It was believed to have been stable until a fall storm carved away the once-frozen bluff.
Jensen stated that the sensitive archaeological sites are more than just cultural. Sites are more than just culture. Sites are not just culture. They can also be used as a frozen tissue archive. It preserves everything.” She said that this includes old DNA from both tissues and sediments, as well as stable isotopes. These are all pieces of information that can help reconstruct past conditions.
Jensen’s work represents only a fraction of the cultural and archaeological sites along the North Slope coastlines. Many have been lost. One example is the 100-year-old Esook Trading Post which was submerged by the Beaufort Sea during the 2000s. Jensen stated that many more could be lost before anyone realizes what they contained.
“There isn’t enough money on this planet. She said, “It’s either excavate or write them off.”
The Alaska Beacon originally published this story. It is republished with permission.
