Quantifying recent shoreline changes along the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, NWT and the implications for future coastal management.

This study utilized a Geographical Information System based approach to evaluate recent rates of coastal change in the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk and the surrounding region. A time series of empirical shoreline data obtained from aerial photos and Landsat satellite imagery covering the period 1984 to 2017 was used to quantify rates of shoreline movement. The data was incorporated into ArcGIS and the AMBUR (Analyzing Moving Boundaries Using R) package was used to determine and analyze rates of change. Results indicate significant alongshore increase in the rates of erosion and the spatial extent of land loss across the study area over the past decade (2007-2017). The relative impact of elevated hydrodynamics (increased wave energy and amplitudes) fuelled by recent intense storms coupled with increases in air and sea-surface temperatures may be working to escalate erosion of this arctic coastal landscape.