Kivalina Sea Level Rise Analysis
Herrera assisted the Native Village of Kivalina (the Village), a coastal community on the shores of the Chukchi Sea, to prepare for significant changes to their community as a result of climate change. Kivalina is a small village on Kason Spit in the Chukchi Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The Village has made international news because of accelerated erosion due to melting permafrost, sea level rise and a reduction in the duration of shore-fast sea ice. The Village has agreed to move further inland and is in the process of doing so. However, to assist the Village protect itself in the meantime, Herrera performed an analysis of sea level rise, which included producing a map of inundation frequency for three future dates and inundation frequencies of key locations at these times. The analysis was based on the methodology of recent Washington State guidance applied to the special conditions present at Kivalina. It also included the effects of storm surge and wave run-up.