Arctic Alaska Coastal Hazards Dataset (1979 - 2024)

### Access

All files can be accessed and downloaded from the directory via: [http://arcticdata.io/data/10.18739/A2MW28G9D](http://arcticdata.io/data/10.18739/A2MW28G9D).

### Overview

Storm surge extremes are intensifying across Arctic coastlines, yet limited observational records hamper detailed spatial and temporal characterization of these events. To address that, this data is a 45-year hydrodynamic hindcast of storm-driven water levels across Northern and Western Alaska. We utilize ADCIRC+SWAN to simulate interactions between the ocean, land, sea ice, and atmosphere, focusing on the period from 1979 to 2024 for Western to Northern Alaska coasts. Data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis (ERA5), including sea ice concentration and atmospheric forcing were utilized to support these simulations, which investigate annual conditions in the Alaskan Arctic. The Processed_DATA dataset contains extracted parameters for communities located in western to northern Alaska. For other areas in the state not included here, please refer to the Raw_DATA file.

### Goal

The goal of this study's data is to attribute long-term changes in Arctic storm surge extremes to evolving physical drivers—primarily the transition from sea-ice-dominated to wind-driven surge regimes. Furthermore, to fill in the gap in observed water levels and wave conditions throughout Alaska.

### Methods

This study’s hindcast model framework is to evaluate the storm driven water levels from 1979 to 2024. The framework integrates a coupled hydrodynamic–wave model driven by time-varying boundary inputs representing atmospheric, oceanic, tidal, and sea ice conditions. We used the coupled Advanced CIRCulation and Simulating WAves Nearshore model (ADCIRC+SWAN) to simulate water levels and wave conditions.