Advancing Engineering with Nature Initiatives in Point Hope, Alaska

Abstract

Growing environmental risk threatens communities in cold regions, particularly as climate change contributes to permafrost thaw, a reduction in sea-ice extent, and some of the largest rates of coastal erosion on earth. In the context of these significant and growing risks, the Engineering With Nature (registered trademark) (EWN (registered trademark)) program formed its cold regions work unit in 2021 to explore the potential to apply EWN approaches in these areas to mitigate environmental risk while supporting resilient outcomes. The work units objectives include working with communities to preserve the natural environment and traditions, advancing the work units understanding of cold-region environments, and providing guidance on the implementation of natural and nature-based features (NNBF) and EWN in cold regions to increase resilience. This technical note (TN) provides an overview of the EWN in cold regions technical approach as applied to Point Hope, Alaska, which includes community engagement, the integration of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) throughout the project, and the development of cold-regions-specific knowledge and tools.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 17, 2023
Accession Number
AD1214979

Entities

People

  • Christopher Small
  • Ellen J. Mcdermott
  • Jeffrey K. King
  • Lauren V. Bosche
  • Nicholas Cohn
  • Samuel A. Whitin
  • Taber L. Midgley
  • Taylor D. Sullivan
  • Thomas A. Douglas

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cameras
  • Chukchi Sea
  • Civil Engineering
  • Climate Change
  • Coastal Engineering
  • Cold Regions
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Environment
  • Floods
  • Geography
  • Groundwater
  • Measurement
  • Salt Water
  • Sea Level
  • Sea Level Rise
  • Storm Surges

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Wetland-Land-Environmental Management.