Within the conterminous United States, the Gulf of Mexico coast has the highest erosion rates. The Texas coast, in many respects similar to that of the Beaufort Sea, retreats on average 1.2 m/yr, or about half the Beaufort Sea average. Since coastal erosion in arctic regions is restricted to three summer months when waves and coastal currents are active, erosion rates there must be multiplied by a factor of four for a meaningful comparison with the Texas coast, which experiences waves and currents year round. Accordingly arctic erosion rates are 8 times higher than Texas rates. Additionally, arctic fetches commonly are restricted by the ever present polar pack, unlike the long and constant Texas fetch allowing generation of larger and more pervasive waves. Classic wave theory therefore can not wholely account for the sediment dynamics of the arctic coastal zone, and we are left with fundamental questions which are important to future coastal development by petroleum industry.

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