A U.S. Energy Department climate scientist visited Utqiaġvik to evaluate research progress on permafrost and climate change, highlighting the importance of accurate measurements and models in predicting future climate patterns in the Arctic.

Melting permafrost will increase the maintenance costs for critical infrastructure by $15.5 billion by mid-century but unable to prevent some $21.6 billion in damages. Nearly 70% of current infrastructure located on permafrost is at risk, including major oil and gas fields, pipelines, and mines.

The Permafrost and Infrastructure Symposium this month brought together over 50 scientists, engineers and residents this month, creating a space for them to exchange their perspectives on the effects of thawing permafrost in the Arctic.

In Utqiaġvik, where the coast is eroding at some of the fastest rates in the nation, storms, flooding and thawing permafrost damage houses, roads and cultural sites. Ice forms later each year and storms are becoming longer and more severe.

Because ice makes up a good portion of the underground foundation of northern Alaska, thawing has dropped the landscape as much as 3 feet in some places.

Alaska’s tundra landscapes carpet a good portion of the state, from the North Slope to the elbow of the Alaska Peninsula. Researchers say it's slowly sinking in places -- as much as a fifth of an inch each year.