The Beaufort Sea coast in Arctic Alaska and neighboring northern Canada has recently experienced extreme and accelerated climate change, including a dramatic reduction in summer sea ice. Human systems will likely be impacted through changes to oil industry and community infrastructure currently in place along parts of the coast, to habitat availability for harvested species such as caribou, waterbirds, and anadromous fish, to culturally important landscape elements, and to both recreational and subsistence coastal access. We used literature review and structured interviews to 1) identify current, broad interests for ongoing coastal research in the arctic, 2) identify the best mechanisms and format for communicating coastal research outcomes to area stakeholders, and 3) define the characteristics and requirements for a visualization tool for Beaufort/Chukchi Sea coastal change that addresses stakeholder concerns and questions. We found that resource managers and Kaktovik residents had largely convergent needs and interests in coastal change research. Interviewees preferred fin-scale, accurate, and precise models for small areas, and were skeptical with regard to broad-scale modeling. Changes in water elevation were of great interest. Outreach to coastal communities should include both digital and paper map-based products.
