Climate change and Shishmaref, Alaska | GRID-Arendal

HOME

About

Activities

Maps & Graphics

Photo Library

Publications

News & Features

Home >> Climate change and Shishmaref, Alaska

Collection: Climate change and Shishmaref, Alaska

Climate change and Shishmaref, Alaska
The effect of global climate change upon Shishmaref is sometimes seen as the most dramatic in the world. Rising temperatures have resulted in a reduction in the sea ice which serves to buffer Shishmaref from storm surges and Shishmaref is facing potential evacuation as the island vanishes into the sea.

Sinking stones of the protective seawall, Shishmaref, Alaska In Shishmaref, Alaska, there is an ongoing battle with the rising sea. Seawalls made of various materials are being constructed as houses are undermined by severe erosion on the coastline. A wall made of sandbags was th...

By Lawrence Hislop

Erosion of sand cliff at the edge of Shishmaref This image is of the waterline at the village of Shishmaref in N. Alaska, which has been inhabited for 400 years and is a small, low-lying island 400m wide and 4km long situated off the North-East coast of Alaska.

By Lawrence Hislop

Sinking seawall As higher storm surges reach shore, Shishmaref is shrinking by around 3m every year. The man-made protective sea wall seen here has done little to help. The villagers of Shishmaref are facing relocation, which is estimat...

By Lawrence Hislop

Abandoned home near the coast of Shishmaref The town's homes, water system and infrastructure in Shishmaref are being destroyed by a rising tide, to the point where homes are being abandoned as they literally fall into the ocean. Residents can do nothing to stop t...

By Lawrence Hislop

Aerial view of the old runway now used for housing Shishmaref is facing evacuation due to rising temperatures which are melting and destroying the protective barrier of sea ice that keeps sea surges away from the island. The runway of the international airport, visibl...

By Lawrence Hislop

Houses collapsing due to coastal erosion The situation in Shishmaref is not helped by the fact that in addition to the encroaching ocean swells, the melting of Permafrost (the frozen layer of earth and rock that exists in perennial cold climates) destabilizes t...

By Lawrence Hislop

Aerial view of Shishmaref This image is of the village of Shishmaref in N. Alaska, which has been inhabited for 400 years and is a small, low-lying island 400m wide and 4km long situated off the North-East coast of Alaska. Shishmaref is facin...

By Lawrence Hislop

Feedback form
Sitemap