Arctic coastlines are decreasing half a meter annually. The cause to this is a warming climate according to an Alaskan study that has also calculated the amount of minerals and nutrients being washed into the shores. Erosion annually in some parts is more than 8 meters and it continues to increase. Arctic coasts are quite vulnerable because they’re held together by ice. What is occurring in the coastlines is that sediments are breaking apart in places where global warming is high. An analysis on Beaufort Sea coast in Alaska concludes that land losses are two times greater than what they were during the 1950s-80s. As warming air worsens and thaws icy patches in the permafrost, it affects soils causing it to sink below sea level.
This is an example of hypothesis-based science because experiments and observations were made in order to get to a conclusion. This research is important because it answers why the arctic shores are melting and provides to studies to make people aware of this. It also provides more knowledge about global warming.
Author: Janet Raloff
Title: Warming Arctic comes unglued
Journal: Science News
Date published: May 21, 2011
Page: 13
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