Jessica Bryant, 2016 Artist in Residence.
Coastal environments within Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument are experiencing rapid environmental changes including coastal erosion, bluff retreat, beach accretion, sediment deposition, and permafrost thaw. The fragile coastal zone is changing rapidly as Arctic warming lengthens the ice-free season, causes sea-level rise, increases seawater temperature, and increases storm frequency and severity. A variety of nearshore marine, terrestrial, and freshwater habitats are threatened by coastal erosion, including: subtidal zones, sandy shores, barrier spits and islands, lagoons, bays and inlets, tundra bluffs, dune systems, rocky bluffs, deltas, and wetlands. Such areas provide critical habitat for unique plant communities, seal haul-outs, potential denning sites, freshwater and anadromous fish, and migratory stopover sites for birds and marine mammals. Coastal zone changes also impact human activities such as travel routes, subsistence fishing, egg-gathering, hunting of waterfowl and marine mammals. Further, these changes can alter or destroy archaeological sites.
We monitor coastal shoreline changes in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument to:
- Determine long-term trends in coastline accretion, erosion, and bluff retreat, and how these rates have changed through time.
- Evaluate high spatial variability in erosion rates in relation to local environmental factors.
- Detect areas that are most vulnerable, and assess impacts on ecosystems and habitats.
| Files | Type | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Geospatial Dataset | Swanson DK. 2022. Digital shorelines for Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, 2022. National Park Service, Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network. Fairbarks, AK |
| 4 | Standard Operating Procedure | Swanson DK. 2022. Standard Operating Procedures for the NPS ARCN Coastal Erosion Vital Sign. NPS Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network |
| 38 | Map | Swanson DK. 2020. Coastal Change Maps of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, 1978 - 2014. National Park Service, Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network. Fairbanks, Alaska |
| 5 | Geospatial Dataset | Swanson DK. 2019. Digital shorelines for Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument. National Park Service, Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network. Fairbarks, AK |
| 9 | Geospatial Dataset | Farquharson L and Others. 2018. Digitized Shorelines Dataset, 1950s to 2014, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument. National Park Service Arctic Network Inventory and Monitoring Program. Fairbanks, AK |
| 1 | Journal Article | Farquharson LM and Others. 2018. Temporal and spatial variability in coastline response to declining sea-ice in northwest Alaska. Marine Geology. 404(2018):71–83 |
| 1 | Dissertation | Farquharson LM. 2017. Arctic Landscape Dynamics: Modern Processes and Pleistocene Legacies. University of Alaska Fairbanks |
| 1 | Published Report | Jones T. 2014. Alaska region FY 12 coastal operations report: Status of operations update. Natural Resource Report. NPS/AKRO/NRR—2014/792. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado |
| 1 | Published Report | Manley WF and Lestak LR. 2012. Protocol for High-Resolution Geospatial Analysis of Coastal Change in the Arctic Network of Parks. Natural Resource Report. NPS/ARCN/NRR—2012/537. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado |
| 2 | Journal Article | Gorokhovich Y and Leiserowiz A. 2012. Historical and Future Coastal Changes in Northwest Alaska. Journal of Coastal Research (JCR). 28(1A):174-186 |
| 1 | Resource Brief | |
| 4 | Geospatial Dataset | Lestak LR and Others. 2010. Digital Shorelines and Analysis for the Coastal Areas of Bering Land Bridge NP (BELA) and Cape Krusenstern. National Park Service. Northwest Alaska, USA |
| 1 | Geospatial Dataset | Lestak L and Manley W. 2010. ASTER/NED Global Digital Elevation Model: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument. National Park Service. Fairbanks, Alaska. U.S.A. |
| 2 | Geospatial Dataset | Manley WF and Others. 2007. Extent Layers for High-Resolution Orthorectified Imagery from 2003 for the Coastal Areas of Bering Land Bridge NP (BELA). National Park Service. Fairbanks, Alaska. U.S.A. |
| 2 | Geospatial Dataset | Manley WF. 2007. Extent Layers for High-Resolution Orthorectified Imagery from 2003 for the Coastal Areas of Cape Krusenstern NM (CAKR), Northwest Alaska. Eric G. Parrish. Fairbanks, Alaska. U.S.A. |
| 2 | Geospatial Dataset | Manley WF. 2007. Index Layers for High-Resolution Orthorectified Imagery from 2003 for the Coastal Areas of Bering Land Bridge NP (BELA). Eric G. Parrish. Fairbanks, Alaska. U.S.A. |
| 2 | Geospatial Dataset | Manley WF. 2007. Index Layers for High-Resolution Orthorectified Imagery from 2003 for the Coastal Areas of Cape Krusenstern NM (CAKR), Northwest Alaska. Eric G. Parrish. Fairbanks, Alaska. U.S.A. |
| 1 | Conference Proceeding Paper | Jordan J and Others. 2006. Field-based measurement of coastal erosion in the Southeast Chukchi Sea, Alaska. In Jordan J and Others (ed): Field-based measurement of coastal erosion in the Southeast Chukchi Sea, Alaska. Netherlands. 2006. Netherlands |
| 2 | Published Report | Swanson DK. 2020. Coastal change maps of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, 1980-2014. Natural Resource Report. NPS/ARCN/NRR—2020/2152. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado |
| 2 | Generic Document | Manley WF and Others. 2007. Coastal Change since 1950 in the Southeast Chukchi Sea, Alaska, Based on GIS and Field Measurements.. National Park Service |
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Showing results 1-4 of 4
- Locations: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Read the abstract and link to this published article about methods for mapping coastal vegetation in Alaska's Arctic parks: Hampton-Miller, C. J., P. N. Neitlich, and D. K. Swanson. 2022. A high-resolution map of coastal vegetation for two Arctic Alaskan parklands: An object-oriented approach with point training data. PLOS ONE 17(8): e0273893.
- Locations: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument
The coastlines of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA) and Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR) have eroded in most areas over the past seven decades, but accretion (seaward advance of the shore) has occurred in some places. Erosion at rates of over 1 meter per year continue in many areas and could threaten archeological sites.
- Locations: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Arctic coastlines are changing as a result of warming temperatures and decreasing sea ice extent and duration. An understanding of these changes can contribute to the effective management of coastal habitats and ecosystems, oil-spill response, marine debris collection, and the preservation of cultural artifacts. Alaska Park Science 18(1):2019.
The St. Matthew Islands, which include St. Matthew, Hall, and Pinnacle islands and are a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, are the most remote lands in the entire 50 states. They support perhaps a million or more colonial-nesting and ground-nesting bird species, largely in eroded areas along the coast where predators, like foxes, have a difficult time reaching them.
Last updated: December 8, 2025
