In summer 2022, our team of University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) scientists and engineers visited Point Lay to gain an understanding of the permafrost underlying the village, assess the impact of thawing permafrost on the infrastructure, as well as impacts of the infrastructure on thermokarst development, and to identify potential solutions to the damage to the community's infrastructure reported in previous assessments. This report will address each of these goals in turn. Primary funding for the research is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) project, Navigating the New Arctic: Landscape Evolution and Adapting to Change in Ice-Rich Permafrost Systems (Award 1928237) with additional support from NSF Awards 1820883, 1806213, 1927708, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Logistics support was provided by Battelle ARO through a contract with UIC Science, including lodging and transportation in Utqiaġvik and aircharter service from Utqiaġvik to Point Lay. Lodging in Point Lay was provided by the North Slope Borough School District. The team thanks the Native Village of Point Lay and Kali School for their hospitality and members of the project's local Steering Committee for their invaluable help before and during the visit.
