Storminess in the Bering Sea: integrating instrumentation data with local and indigenous knowledge to support flood mitigation strategies in Goodnews Bay and St. Paul Island

Abstract

Extratropical cyclones in the Bering Sea have the potential to cause widespread damage to the coastline of western Alaska, a threat that disproportionately affects Indigenous communities that inhabit these remote regions. A paucity of historical and instrumentation data in these regions, combined with the potential for increases in coastal hazards as a result of climate change, hinders coastal resilience at the local level. To address this problem, this study incorporates local and Indigenous Knowledge into a historical assessment of storm impacts in two communities in the Bering Sea, St. Paul Island and Goodnews Bay, to partially fill these gaps and improve coastal hazard mitigation and preparation. We conducted interviews with local and Indigenous Knowledge bearers in both communities, performed topographic field surveys of historical storm heights, and mapped flooding based on surface models generated from Unmanned Aircraft Systems and flood heights. Particularly impactful storms were described in storm histories, which detail information gathered from instrumentation, on-the-ground field visits, and Indigenous Knowledge interviews. Finally, an online Esri Storymap was designed as an outreach product to combine and visualize the various data products from this analysis with narrative on the experience of living through extreme storm events. This thesis integrates Western and Indigenous Knowledge into actionable, community-prioritized data products to support coastal resilience to climate changes.