Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Vulnerable Coastal Cultural Resources

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The project ⿿Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Vulnerable Coastal Cultural Resources⿝ was developed and initiated by Western Arctic Parklands (WEAR) and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA) cultural resource management staff. The original intent of the project was to assess the condition of archaeology sites found in a coastal context in BELA and Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). As climate change continues to warm global temperatures the environmental response in Arctic settings has been dramatic. These changes include rising sea levels, increased storm frequencies and severity (which leads to greater coastal erosion), and increased permafrost thaw, which also contributes to the destabilization of coastlines and loss of preserved organic artifacts. Researchers have recognized these threats for many decades now, but there has been no systematic assessment of the current vulnerability of these archaeological resources. To deal with the lack of knowledge about climate change impacts to coastal resources in northwest Alaska, this four year project was developed. The first phase of the project was designed to survey the coasts of BELA and CAKR to locate unknown sites, to re-visit known sites that have not been monitored or assessed for many years, and to assess the condition of these sites. The second phase of the project was meant to develop and apply a vulnerability matrix to the recovered data as a means for prioritizing which sites were most threatened and in need of immediate treatment. This prioritization process was intended to include: determining the relative significance of the archaeological site, the level of disturbance, and the probability that the site was going to be destroyed in the near future. After identification of the most significant and vulnerable sites were made, NPS staff would develop a treatment or mitigation strategy in phase three of the project. This strategy could include data collection through excavation or other measures meant to protect the site from imminent threats.

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