Erosion driven by thawing permafrost is a strong force shaping Arctic landscapes. Along some coasts, up to ten meters of land vanish into the ocean each year. For communities living along these fragile shores, the consequences can be dramatic. In 2019, the first group of residents of Niugtaq (Newtok), a settlement in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, began relocating their homes to a more stable site across the Ninglick River – a necessary step to safeguard their future. 

The Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) is a web portal designed to support communities and stakeholders in understanding rapid changes in pan-Arctic permafrost regions. It features an intuitive map view that condenses satellite remote sensing information, making it easy to identify shorelines with high erosion dynamics. Other critical landscape changes, including fire scars and lake drainage, can also be easily identified.

With a new storymap on shore erosion, ALEX now offers an in-depth look at the processes behind landscape changes such as coastal and river erosion. It explains and visualizes key factors driving erosion rates and presents change data that reveal the extent of shoreline and riverbank retreat across the Arctic.

The update also introduces new functionality, including swipe and fade tools that make it easy to compare different map layers. You can now seamlessly blend one layer into another, an especially useful feature for visualizing how terrain influences landscape changes. This is enabled by the addition of a hillshade layer from high-resolution elevation data for an intuitive visualization of the terrain.

Sharing a specific map view has never been easier. Simply copy the self-updating URL and send it via email or messenger app, or use the built-in function to include a map marker for precise location sharing. Additionally, the homepage now features a new “At a Glance” section, highlighting extraordinary landscape changes across the Arctic. 

The Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) was developed by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, as part of the EU-funded Arctic PASSION project. It provides change data derived from remote sensing analysis, offering insights into permafrost dynamics across the circum-Arctic permafrost region over the last 20 years. A data update is planned for this summer, so stay tuned!

Figure: Screenshot from the Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) storymap on shore erosion; satellite imagery overlaid with change data using the new fade tool. 

See ALEX’s enhanced functionality in a short video (2:30)