Coastal Erosion 

The mighty oceans of the world are such a prominent part of our planet and affect us and nearly everything around us in many ways. Billions of the world's population lives in coastal zones so the monitoring and adaptation to these processes are crucial for a significant amount of the people currently/will be alive. Chances are that a number of us currently in this class might live in or very close to a coastal zone. Perhaps a comrade amongst us has or knows a comrade who has experienced or witnessed coastal erosion first hand. I can't say or know for sure about that, but I can tell you that there are comrades in Russian lands that are seeing drastic changes along their coasts. Some of which is not only extreme but unstoppable.

The most intense areas of coastal erosion that is being seen in Russia is along the Northern coasts. In this area there is

a large number of glacial coasts or lands that are up to 80% ice. It has been observed that longer periods of summer weather directly leads to this reduction, which to me comes of no surprise. The extra summer weather means that the coasts are surrounded by open water longer. This extra time exposed means extra time for ocean waves to take their toll on the permafrost. These waves transfer heat that either melts the ice or melt the ice mixed soil which is then washed away never to be replaced. When storms hit this process, already rapid, is even more intense. Scientists say that this type of erosion cannot be stopped for it is natural and there is no technology available to combat it. Unlike sandy coastlines or cliffs that might possibly be able to be reinforced this frozen coasts cannot be. The ice cannot be kept frozen nor can protective ice be created. The images here show how extreme these changes are in some areas in a relatively short amount of time. An article published in 2015 states that the northern coastlines are losing 500 square kilometers yearly which roughly equates to the European state of Andorra. Thankfully there are not large populations living in this section of the coast due to how extreme the weather can be in Siberia.

The Black Sea Coast, Baltic Sea Coast - Eastern Gulf of Finland, and Baltic Sea Coast - Kaliningrad Region, are areas that do use the strategies discussed in our text to combat erosion. In some of these areas, man-made structures are being created or have been created to try to slow down the erosion process. These would include T-form groins, submarine breakwaters, artificial reefs, protective walls, beach nourishment, and dams. Even planting pine trees have been used in an attempt to stem the tides. Overall though these solutions are only temporary at best. They either render natural nourishment impossible or make erosion downstream from the structures more intense. So adding them is a game of picking the most valuable beaches which sacrifices the coasts next door and/or committing to continue repairing the beach which can be quite costly.

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Works Cited

“Alarming Erosion in Russian Arctic.” WWF Russia, WWF Russia, 9 Aug. 2016, new.wwf.ru/en/resources/news/klimat-i-energetika/wwf-vyyavil-rekordno-bystroe-razrushenie-beregov-v-arktike/.

                 

“Coastal Erosion in Russia.” Climatechangepost.com, 12 Nov. 2017, www.climatechangepost.com/russia/coastal-erosion/.

                 

Gertz, Emily J. “This Island in Russia's Arctic Is Vanishing Into the Sea.” TakePart,  Participant Media, 10 Aug. 2016, www.takepart.com/article/2016/08/10/this-island-in-russian-arctic-is-vanishing-into-the-sea-climate-change.

                 

“Russia Is Shrinking Due to Global Warming – Expert.” New Cold War: Ukraine and Beyond, TASS, 9 Nov. 2015, www.newcoldwar.org/russia-is-shrinking-due-to-global-warming-expert/.

                 

“Russia Loses 468 Square Kilometers Annually to Erosion.” The Moscow Times, The Moscow Times , 9 Nov. 2015, themoscowtimes.com/articles/russia-loses-468-square-kilometers-annually-to-erosion-50672.