Erosion at Cape Blossom

Observation by Bonnie Viveiros with Jackie Schaeffer:

My sister went out on four wheelers and took pictures of the erosion at Cape Blossom. This is the area where the deep water port is planned for the Northwest Arctic region. This area of the coast is ice rich permafrost and you can see how the tundra is above the ice and how much is sloughing off the coast on the ocean side of Cape Blossom. Cape Blossom is located south of Kotzebue. When you consider the size of these chucks of land eroding it is very impactful. Thawing is causing a lot of devastation and you can see what the earth looks like under two feet of tundra. This area is exposed to the ocean and very vulnerable. This area is where the Chukchi Sea water enters Kotzebue Sound. With sea levels rising and unpredictable wind patterns, these events are becoming very common. It is frightening to think that one chunk of permafrost is the size of a house or a small complex.