Erosion accelerates along Alaskan coast

Rates of erosion along Alaska’s northern coast have more than doubled in recent decades, overhead views suggest.

ALL FALL DOWN. Erosion of the permafrost cliffs along Alaska’s Arctic coast (note slumping blocks at center) has more than doubled. G. Clow/U.S. Geological Survey

Mud-rich permafrost cliffs standing 3 to 4 meters tall constitute much of the shore that runs from Barrow, Alaska, to the Canadian border.