Abstract
Permafrost coastlines represent a large portion of the world’s coastal area and these areas have become increasingly vulnerable in the face of climate change. The predominant mechanism of coastal erosion in these areas has been identified through several observational studies as thermomechanical erosion—a joint removal of sediment through the melting of interstitial ice (thermal energy) and abrasion from incoming waves (mechanical energy). However, further developments are needed looking how common design parameters in coastal engineering (such as wave height, period, sediment size, etc.) contribute to the process. This paper presents the current state of the art with the objective of establishing the necessary research background to develop a process-based approach to predicting permafrost erosion. To that end, an overarching framework is presented that includes all major, erosion-relevant processes, while delineating means to accomplish permafrost modelling in experimental studies. Preliminary modelling of generations zero and one models, within this novel framework, was also performed to allow for early conclusions as to how well permafrost erosion can currently be modelled without more sophisticated setups.
Highlights
The Arctic is one of the most dynamic and vulnerable regions in the face of climate change as a result of rapidly rising temperatures, eroding coastlines and fragile ecosystems [1,2,3,4,5]
Similar to other coastal erosion problems, the structure of the permafrost is an important consideration in evaluating coastal erosion as the structure can dictate differences in rheological behaviour [32] as well as the formation of discontinuities that can contribute to mass failure
Controlling the explanatory variables of permafrost erosions is the key advantage of physical modelling; the number of physical parameter increases the complexity of modelling
Summary
The Arctic is one of the most dynamic and vulnerable regions in the face of climate change as a result of rapidly rising temperatures, eroding coastlines and fragile ecosystems [1,2,3,4,5]. The mechanism of coastal retreat is primarily coastal thermal erosion (or thermal abrasion); though nivation, landslides, sloughing, though ice and aeolian processes contribute [25]. These processes greatly vary spatiotemporally, with a strong seasonality. Preliminary considerations concerning the reconstitution and reproduction of a permafrost specimen, the wave setup, and the temperature issues were assessed through the experimental setup with a focus on the feasibility, challenges, and potential of the development of a process-based approach to thermomechanical erosion
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