International study finds climate-driven glacial melt drives development of new coastline
The study, co-authored by UNE's Will Kochtitzky, Ph.D., is the first to show how climate change is contributing to the development of new Arctic coastlines.
A groundbreaking international study has found that glacial retreat driven by climate change exposed over 1,500 miles (2,500 kilometers) of new coastline in the Northern Hemisphere between 2000 and 2020, providing the first comprehensive documentation of how global warming is reshaping Arctic coastlines and contributing to an evolving ecological and geopolitical landscape.
The study, published today in Nature Climate Change, was conducted by an international team of researchers from the U.S., including the University of New England, and institutions in Poland, Canada, and the Czech Republic (Czechia).
The first-of-its-kind study highlights the implications of glacial retreat for Arctic communities, including the creation of new habitat, increased coastal hazards such as landslides and tsunamis, and the potential for expanded mineral exploration and resource extraction.
Using satellite imagery and analysis of glacial records using geographic information systems (GIS), the researchers tracked glacier retreat across Arctic regions over the past two decades. By analyzing these satellite records, they identified areas where glaciers had receded enough to expose new coastal landscapes.
The team found 1,532 miles (2,466 kilometers) of new coastline was exposed by glacial retreat across the Northern Hemisphere, with Greenland accounting for the largest portion of the data (66%). At the same time, the authors said, only 50 kilometers of coastline had disappeared under advancing glaciers, indicating that continued glacial retreat is expected to expose even more land in the coming decades.
“While glacier retreat and changes in mass balance are widely studied on a global scale, how deglaciation affects adjacent coastal geomorphology is often overlooked and therefore poorly understood,” the study authors wrote. “The changes wrought by retreating glaciers and newly exposed coastline can have significant impacts on local ecosystems and communities.”
The Arctic is one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth, and continued glacial retreat is expected to expose even more coastline in the coming decades, researchers said. As the closest U.S. state to Greenland and much of Arctic Canada, Maine has a growing role in Arctic commerce, particularly with the increased presence of the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip in Portland.
Increased mineral exploration in the Arctic could further strengthen Maine’s role as a key player in Arctic trade and resource management, said Will Kochtitzky, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs at the University of New England and one of the study’s authors.
At the same time, continued glacial retreat may bring new coastal hazards, posing threats to Arctic settlements, ecosystems, and animal habitats, Kochtitzky cautioned.
“Glaciers are the primary driver of sea level rise globally, and the rapid changes we are seeing in the Arctic have direct consequences for coastal communities, including those here in Maine,” Kochtitzky said. “Our research highlights how glacial retreat is reshaping Arctic coastlines at an unprecedented scale. These changes bring both challenges, such as increased coastal hazards, and opportunities, such as new economic activities.”
A glaciologist whose database on the recession of marine-terminating glaciers was used in the study, Kochtitzky further emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary efforts to better understand complex Arctic systems.
"The only way to reverse the long-term decline of glaciers and the associated impacts on polar regions and sea level rise is to reduce carbon emissions," Kochtitzky remarked. "Understanding these complex changes requires a multifaceted approach — combining remote sensing, fieldwork, and collaboration across institutions — to fully grasp how Arctic systems are evolving.
“By integrating these efforts with policy and renewable energy solutions, we can mitigate climate change and work toward a more sustainable future,” he said.
The research was funded by the National Science Centre in Poland within the framework of the GLAVE project, which aims to better understand the coastal environments impacted by glacial degradation, as well as National Science Foundation Award No.1927553. The study also includes authors from the University of South Bohemia and Masaryk University in Czechia; University of Wroclaw in Poland; University of Alaska Fairbanks; and McGill University in Canada.
Will Kochtitzky, Ph.D.