Climate Science Champions, Season 2: Ann Gibbs, Geologist (AD)

Geologist Ann Gibbs studies the vulnerability of the rapidly-warming Alaska coast to climate change effects like sea level rise and permafrost thawing.

The Beaufort Sea coast along the northern edge of Alaska is a place of extremes. Home to the northernmost year-round settlements in the United States, this region sees round-the-clock daylight during the three-month Arctic summer and is shrouded in darkness and ice for much of the rest of the year.  As climate change brings rising sea levels, warmer surface water and air temperatures, and powerful storms to coastal areas across the country, it is Alaska’s Arctic coast that may see the most extreme effects: The region is warming faster than anywhere else in the country. USGS researchers studying these rapid changes are helping Arctic Alaska’s coastal communities plan for a climate-altered future. 

Learn more about Ann Gibbs’s work.