Thesis Defense: Past and Present Evolution of a High Arctic delta

In the coming weeks, UW master's students will defend their theses. The subjects are varied and the students are from both master's programs, Coastal Marine Management and Coastal Communities and Regional Development. The defenses are accessible to everyone through zoom links but they are also open to the public, at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Ísafjörður.

Thursday at 16:00 May 2nd

Student: Alice Hough
Thesis title: Past and Present Evolution of a High Arctic delta
Program: Coastal Marine Management
Abstract: Arctic coastlines have been experiencing increased rates
of erosion over the last few decades in response to the
heightened rate of warming in the Arctic. However, the
precise mechanisms and rates of change remain uncertain
due to the understudied nature of much of Arctic
coastlines, which makes future prediction and
management of these coastlines difficult. The community
of Ausuittuq in Grise Fjord, Canada makes use of a
paraglacial delta system nearby that has been impacted
by storm events in the last few years, but it is unknown if
this is part of a longer trend of erosion and will thus
impact the use of the beach by the community in the
future. To that end, drone and near-shore bathymetric
surveys were combined with wave observations to
analyze the current influence of wave height and power
on erosive events. In conjunction, a shoreline migration
analysis was run on historical satellite and aerial imagery
to establish long term trends of coastline movement.
There has been significant movement of the sand spits in
front of the delta, with one spit experiencing 20m of
rollover retreat over a single year. Wave run-up analysis
indicates waves overtop the sand spits, primarily in
extreme storm events. The beach does not seem to be
under immediate risk from catastrophic erosion, but as
the open water season continues to lengthen and storms
continue to grow in power and frequency, that may
change in the future and effect traditional activities.

Zoom link: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/66009613786

Defense schedule for this defense season: