The first settlers of Newtok, Alaska, had to squint to see the rivers in the distance. With melt every summer, the adjacent river started to get closer and closer to the village. Concerned about the pace of the river’s erosion, the village received funding in 1983 to assess the changes happening to the land around the village. Comparison of aerial photos taken over the course of thirty years revealed that the bank around town was losing between 18 and 88 feet per year.
