Storm surge, ocean wave, and weather remodeling of coastal sandy beach in the eastern Bering Sea. 2009-2010. Smolen, M. J., S. Johnson, and R. Tuluk

Climate change is expected to alter weather patterns leading to changes in the paths and frequency of storms in the Bering Sea. Such changes are reflected in the observations by people in Native villages along the coast that these storms are now more frequent, of greater magnitude, and extend the usual storm season. This research is a direct result of the concern by Hooper Bay and Paimiut about erosion and flooding and they identify this as a primary concern for the welfare of their community. This research estimates the effects of ocean waves and weather driven storm surge events on erosion and accretion processes on the sandy beaches and Nuok Spit that protects Hooper Bay. The 2009 profiles, with three replicates, of sections of beach indicate that the beaches grew in height in the upper reaches of the beach when compared to 2010 profiles. The growth is believed to be from wind blown sand from the splash zone to the bluffs. Overall erosion was not documented in the interval from late July to early August 2009 to 2010. These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.