Extreme events shapping Svalbard coast: emergence of new coastal landscapes

The High Arctic, and Svalbard in particular, is currently experiencing rapid warming, which has serious consequences for various geosystem components, especially the cryosphere. Coastal areas are especially sensitive to these changes due to their position at the interface of marine and terrestrial geosystems. Retreating glaciers, degrading permafrost, prolonged sea ice-free seasons, and increasing weather extremes are all key factors influencing the development of coastal areas. In this study, we focus on the accumulation of coastal features and their stability during the instrumental record period following the Little Ice Age. We demonstrate that, despite abrupt climatic changes, the major features of the coastal landscape are surprisingly stable, unlike their counterparts in Greenland. We argue that the most dramatic development of coastal areas occurred in the Early Holocene, during the melting of the massive Barents Sea Ice Sheet. The current deglaciation, however, is not producing sufficient meltwater or releasing enough sediments to form new accumulation coastal landforms. On the contrary, we observe episodic rapid events connected to glacier dynamics, such as glacier surges or glacial lake outburst floods, where new deltas can form within weeks or months. We provide a regional overview of Svalbard delta systems, highlighting the most striking examples of their current dynamics, and propose a conceptual model for the development of coastal areas in this region.