Richard M. Buzard

Coastal Hazards Program

• Position:

  FormerGeologist, Engineering Geology

• Current Employee

  : No

Education

M.S. 2017, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geology
B.S. 2015, University of Washington Bothell, Environmental Science

Projects and/or Research Interests

Rich is a coastal geologist working on storm surge flood mapping in western Alaska. Previously, he worked with DGGS on an Alaska Sea Grant funded project to establish community-based erosion and flood monitoring sites. Rich has developed a broad skillset, ranging from remote sensing and GIS analysis to conducting aerial surveys and working directly with community residents. In his NOAA Digital Coast Fellowship with DGGS, he determined the flood risk categories of individual communities using a combination of fieldwork, storm reports, and GIS techniques. Rich is also developing a tool to visualize storm surge impacts, to be used by the broad range of end-users in the state. The results of this effort will help Alaskans relate storm forecasts to their community, boosting their capacity to prepare for and respond to coastal hazards.

Selected Publications

• Buzard, R.M., Overbeck, J.R., Miller, K.Y., and Christian, J.E., 2021, Coastal flood impact assessments for Alaska communities: Napakiak, in Buzard, R.M., Overbeck, J.R., Chriest, Jonathan, Endres, K.L., and Plumb, E.W., Coastal flood impact assessments for Alaska communities: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigation 2021-1B, 45 p. https://doi.org/10.14509/30782
• Buzard, R.M., Maio, C.V., Verbyla, David, Kinsman, N.E.M., and Overbeck, J.R., 2020, Measuring historical flooding and erosion in Goodnews Bay using datasets commonly available to Alaska communities: Shore & Beach, vol. 88, no. 3, p. 3-13.http://doi.org/10.34237/1008831
• Bogardus, R.C., Maio, C.V., Mason, O.K., Buzard, R.M., Mahoney, A.R., and de Wit, C., 2020, Mid-winter breakout of landfast sea ice and major storm leads to significant ice push event along Chukchi Sea coastline: Frontiers in Earth Science, vol. 8, no. 344.https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00344
• Buzard, R.M., Overbeck, J.R., and Maio, C.V., 2019, Community-based methods for monitoring coastal erosion: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Information Circular 84, 35 p. https://doi.org/10.14509/30182
• Buzard, R.M., Maio, C., Overbeck, J., Lujan, E., Flensburg, Susan, Holen, D., and Dunham, G., 2018, Dobbyn, P. (ed), Montano, D. (design), Laying the foundation for resilient coastal communities: case studies—Port Heiden and Goodnews Bay: Alaska Sea Grant, 14 p.https://adaptalaska.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Resilient-Coastal-Communities-bulletin_lowres.pdf
• Gonneea, M.E., Maio, C.V., Kroeger, K.D., Hawkes, A.D., Mora, J., Sullivan, R., Madsen, S., Buzard, R.M., Cahill, N., and Donnelly, J.P., 2018, Salt marsh ecosystem restructuring enhances elevation resilience and carbon storage during accelerating relative sea-level rise: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 217, p. 56-68.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2018.11.003
• Jones, B.M., Farquharson, L.M., Baughman, C.A., Buzard, R.M., Arp, C.D., Grosse, G., Bull, D.L., Guenther, F., Nitze, I., Urban, F., Kasper, J.L., Frederick, J.M., Thomas, M., Jones, C., Mota, A., Dallimore, S., Tweedle, C., Maio, C.V., Mann, D.H., Richmond, B., Gibbs, A., Xiao, M., Sachs, T., Iwahana, G., Kanevskiy, M., and Romanovsky, V.E., 2018, A decade of remotely sensed observations highlight complex processes linked to coastal permafrost bluff erosion in the Arctic: Environmental Research Letters, v. 13, no. 11, 13 p.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae471
• Farquharson, L.M., Mann, D.H., Swanson, D.K., Jones, B.M., Buzard, R.M., and Jordan, J.W., 2018, Temporal and spatial variability in coastline response to declining sea-ice in northwest Alaska: Marine Geology, 404, p. 71-83.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2018.07.007
• Buzard, R.M., 2017, Spatiotemporal patterns of bluff erosion at Goodnews Bay, Alaska: University of Alaska Fairbanks, M.S. thesis, 96 p.https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/7865
• Maio, C.V., Sullivan, R., Buzard, R.M., Bogardus, R.C., and Whitley, M., 2017, Protecting cultural resources through geomorphological and Archeological investigations in Kenai Fjords National Park: Geology Field Component Final Report, Kenai Fjords National Park, 83 p.
• Overbeck, J.R., Buzard, R.M., and Maio, C.V., 2017, Community-based methods for monitoring coastal erosion: Fairbanks, Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant, 44 p.
• Overbeck, J.R., Buzard, R.M., and Maio, C.V., 2017, Storm impacts in western Alaska: documenting shoreline change and flooding through remote sensing and community-based monitoring: Oceans, 2017.

Selected Presentations

• Buzard, R.M., Overbeck, J.R., Maio, C.V., Flensburg, Susan, and Dunham, G., 2018, Community-based monitoring of erosion and flooding in Alaska Native villages (poster), abstract [ED43F-1283] : American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C.
• Buzard, R.M., Farquharson, L.M., Overbeck, J.R., and Maio, C.V., 2018, Impacts of ice-free storm seasons for Alaska's coastal communities (poster), abstract [EP23D-2362]: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C.
• Buzard, R.M., Mitchell, Erica, Anderson, Scott, Geist, Marcus, Overbeck, J.R., and Maio, C.V., 2018, Monitoring erosion in Bristol Bay & Port Heiden vulnerability/adaptation assessment: Alaska Forum on the Environment, Anchorage, Alaska, 15 February.
• Maio, C.V., Overbeck, J.R., Buzard, R.M., Dunham, G., and Flensburg, Susan, 2018, Building coastal resiliency in indigenous communities through erosion monitoring programs (poster), abstract [ED51D-0691]: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C.
• Maio, C.V., Bogardus, R.C., Bigelow, N.H., Buzard, R.M., Roberts, J.W., and Mason, O.K., 2018, A 3000-year sediment proxy record of extreme storm surges, Chukchi Coastline, Alaska (poster), abstract [EP23D-2352]: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C.
• Mason, O.K., Maio, C.V., Bogardus, R.C., and Buzard, R.M., 2018, Changing Arctic climate leads to rare and destructive ivu (ice override) (poster), abstract [EP23D-2355]: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C.
• Buzard, R.M., Maio, C.V., Overbeck, J.R., Flensburg, Susan, and Dunham, G., 2017, Stakes for stakeholders: Community-driven erosion monitoring in Bristol Bay: Alaska Cross Content Conference, Fairbanks, Alaska, 29 September.
• Buzard, R.M., Overbeck, J.R., and Maio, C.V., 2017, Stakes for stakeholders: Community-driven erosion monitoring in Bristol Bay: Alaska Forum on the Environment, Anchorage, Alaska, 6-10 February.
• Buzard, R.M., Flensburg, Susan, Overbeck, J.R., Maio, C.V., and Dunham, G., 2017, Monitoring erosion in Bristol Bay: Bristol Bay Native Corporation Leadership Forum, Anchorage, Alaska, 7 December.
• Buzard, R.M., Overbeck, J.R., and Maio, C.V., 2016, Raising the stakes for stakeholders: TEK and community-based approaches to evaluating coastal flooding and erosion (poster): Arctic Observing Summit, Fairbanks, Alaska.
• Buzard, R.M., Maio, C.V., and Verbyla, D., 2016, Historic and contemporary shoreline change rates at the community of Goodnews Bay, Alaska (poster), abstract [EP13C-1042]: American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California.
• Farquharson, L.M., Buzard, R.M., Mann, D.H., Jones, B.M., and Overbeck, J.R., 2016, Coastal responses to changing sea-ice regime: an Arctic mega-transect: European Conference on Permafrost.
• Maio, C.V., Overbeck, J.R., and Buzard, R.M., 2016, Investigating coastal change through space and time, southwest Alaska: Alaska Forum on the Environment, Anchorage, Alaska, 9 February.
• Moore, J., Buzard, R.M., Rummler, R., and Balazs, M.S., 2016, Monitoring bluff erosion in Homer, Alaska using unmanned aerial systems and structure from motion (poster): Alaska Geological Society Annual Technical Conference, Fairbanks, Alaska, 22 April.
• Buzard, R.M., Shinneman, A.L.C., Strömberg, C.A.E., and Dunn, R.E., 2014, Using diatom and phytolith assemblages to investigate moisture availability during grassland evolution in Gran Barranca, Argentina (poster): Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.