Series: Alaska Park Science - Volume 15 Issue 1: Coastal Research Science in Alaska's National Parks

This issue focuses on studies occurring in coastal areas throughout national parks in Alaska. Articles include a variety of studies on arctic coastal lagoons, background on a large research project studying coastal brown bears, and more.

• Article 1: Download Alaska Park Science: Volume 15, Issue 1

  Download a print-friendly copy of Volume 15, Issue 1 of Alaska Park Science. Read more Read more

• Article 2: A Brief History of Coastal Marine Grant Projects

  

  This issue of Alaska Park Science highlights projects funded by the Coastal Marine Grant Program administered by the Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center. Read more

• Article 3: The Vulnerabilities of Cultural and Paleontological Resources to Coastal Climate Change Processes in Northwest Alaska

  

  Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument exhibit a wide variety of coastal landforms including barrier lagoons, tundra bluffs, accreting spits, and beach ridge complexes; all home to vulnerable fauna, flora, and avian communities; internationally significant archaeological, historic, and ethnographic resources; and unique paleoecological and fossil records. Coastal erosion and a changing climate pose a threat to these areas. Read more

• Article 4: Feathered Ambassadors of Arctic Coastal Parks

  

  Coastal areas in the Bering and Chukchi Seas are increasingly vulnerable to heightened industrial activity and a rapidly changing climate. Little is known regarding abundance, species composition, or distribution of shorebirds during fall migration in this region. Without such information, it will be impossible to prioritize effective oil spill response to the most critical areas if such a disaster does occur or to manage restoration activities after an incident. Read more

• Article 5: Understanding the Ecology of Arctic Coastal Lagoons through Fisheries Research and Monitoring

  

  Shallow, dynamic coastal lagoons represent a critically important ecosystem in the Arctic region, supporting avian, fish, and invertebrate populations, in addition to being used by both terrestrial and marine mammals. The lagoons are extremely vulnerable to both climate change and human impacts from increased activities in and around the region. Read more

• Article 6: Promoting Spill Preparedness in Western Arctic Parks with the Community Integrated Coastal Response Project

  

  With continued sea ice extent reductions, the Bering Strait is poised to become a crucial marine transport waterway for the world. To help safeguard Arctic parks, the NPS conducted a study of resource risk and incident response preparation that includes shipping traffic modeling, community response training, and geographic response strategies. Read more

• Article 7: Connecting Youth to Coastal Resources in Western Arctic Parks

  

  We added youth-related initiatives to three science projects in western Arctic parks: Yellow-billed Loon monitoring, shorebird migration, and marine debris clean-up. In doing so, we provided opportunities for Alaska youth to participate in NPS science, promoted cultural and social exchanges between rural and urban youth who shared their story through digital media. Read more

• Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

  Article 8: A Tale of Two Skeletons: Rearticulating Whale Bones from Glacier Bay

  

  This is a story of two whales: an adult female humpback whale and a juvenile female killer whale and the people who worked with them to provide an opportunity for people to think about the lives of whales and their ocean ecosystems. Read more

• Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

  Article 9: Whales, Seals, and Vessels: Investigating the Acoustic Ecology of Underwater Glacier Bay

  

  The Glacier Bay/Icy Strait area is the summer feeding range for nearly 250 humpback whales and home to over 5,000 harbor seals. Understanding how marine mammals interact vocally with others of their species brings us closer to assessing the biological implications of human impacts on the underwater sound environment. Read more

• Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

  Article 10: Further Study of Ocean Acidification in Glacier Bay

  

  Ocean acidification is occurring due to the increase of atmospheric CO2 absorbed by the ocean and by the addition of freshwater from glacial melt that decreases pH and alters seawater chemistry. This article describes ocean acidification and its impacts. Read more

• Article 11: A Partnership to Remove Marine Debris from Alaskan Coastal Parks

  

  Marine debris can affect marine mammals and birds through entanglement, strangulation, and digestive blockage. In summer 2015, we conducted an extensive multi-partner project to remove over 11 tons of marine debris from remote beaches in five Alaska parks. Read more

• Kenai Fjords National Park

  Article 12: The Core of the Matter: Adventures in Coastal Geology at Kenai Fjords National Park

  

  The seafloor sediments of deep coastal lagoons within Kenai Fjords National Park could provide a millennial-scale record of local environmental change and a timeline of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions, glacial advances, and tsunamis. Understanding how the park’s coastline responded to past tectonic and climate-driven changes should provide valuable context to ongoing and future conditions. Read more

• Article 13: An Overview of the Changing Tides Research Project

  

  Southwest Alaska’s coastal brown bears are the largest of their kind in the world, deriving much of their bulk from the abundant salmon resources that pulse into the rivers from the sea each summer. Bears also use intertidal resources such as clams and mussels. Along the shores of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and Katmai National Park and Preserve, bears spend hours in the mudflats digging, chomping, slurping, and digging again. Read more