The impact of the Endicott causeway on sediment transport in the Sagavanirktok River delta, North Slope Alaska

Solid filled causeways have been used along the Beaufort Sea coastline to support oil and gas drilling operations and have provided maritime access on a shallow coast. The Endicott causeway, located in the Sagavanirktok River delta on Alaska's North Slope, has altered the coastal hydrodynamics that transports sediments across the delta. Sedimentation has been observed in the lagoon, shoreward of the Endicott causeway. Past studies have raised concern that infilling of the lagoon may eventually alter fish migration. The main objectives of this thesis were to determine if the lagoon has continued to infill and if the pattern of infilling has been related to the alterations imposed by the causeway. The results indicated that sediment has continued to deposit in the lagoon and the deposition has been related to the placement of the causeway. Based on the findings, the rate of sediment deposition in the lagoon has been decreasing.