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COAST-X 2026: Linking communities and coastlines through shared observations and knowledge exchange
COAST-X 2026: Linking communities and coastlines through shared observations and knowledge exchange
COAST-X (Collaborative Observations of the Arctic Shorezone: A Traverse for Knowledge Exchange) 2026 is a collaborative, ~1,500-mile snowmachine traverse along Alaska’s western and northern coasts that integrates community knowledge exchange with scientific observations of rapidly transforming Arctic shorezones.
In Spring 2026, Benjamin Jones and Phillip Wilson with the Institute of Northern Engineering (INE) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) will travel 1,500 miles by snowmachine from Bethel to Utqiaġvik, stopping in more than a dozen communities across the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea coasts.
The project responds to arctic domain challenges posed by rapid coastal erosion, permafrost thaw, storm impacts, and sea ice loss, changes that directly affect safety, cultural continuity, infrastructure planning and national defense logistics in arctic coastal communities. Many villages along the route are experiencing accelerating shoreline retreat and increased flood risk, yet long-term monitoring remains limited, and community perspectives are often underrepresented in scientific and military assessments.
COAST-X pairs systematic observations, including shoreline surveys, thaw monitoring, drone mapping, snow-ice-and-permafrost studies, and environmental sensing, with knowledge exchange through school visits, youth activities, and hands-on demonstrations. Each stop supports dialogue and co-production of priorities, ensuring the science remains relevant to local needs. The traverse allows the team to track coastal processes across regions while connecting communities facing shared challenges.
By combining research, education, and sustained engagement, COAST-X will produce high-resolution datasets, community-informed priorities, and a model for mobile Arctic outreach rooted in respect, reciprocity, and long-term partnership.
Land and Knowledge Acknowledgment
Land and Knowledge Acknowledgment
COAST-X travels across the homelands of many Indigenous peoples along Alaska’s western and northern coasts, including Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Inupiaq communities. These lands, waters, and ice have been traveled, known, and cared for since time immemorial.
Our ability to move safely across this terrain — by snowmachine, over land, rivers, sea ice, and coast — is grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems developed through generations of observation, experience, and stewardship. Members of the COAST-X team have learned how to travel, read conditions, and make decisions on the land through mentorship from Indigenous Elders and experienced local travelers.
As we move through these regions, we commit to traveling with respect, listening first, and recognizing Indigenous knowledge as essential to understanding Arctic coastal environments. COAST-X approaches this traverse not only as a scientific effort, but as a responsibility to honor place, relationships, and the knowledge systems that make this journey possible.
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