# Is the Bering Strait growing or shrinking?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 11, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898 "2016-04-11T17:37:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/1 "2016-04-11T17:37:11Z")

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Subject asks it all really. I’m wondering how erosion, isostatic rebound, etc are affecting the width and depth of the Bering Strait.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/2 "2016-04-11T17:41:50Z")

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Sea level rise should be increasing its width and depth, and probably at present exceeds the rate of other factors.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/3 "2016-04-11T17:51:22Z")

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PS. The Bering Land Bridge was not glaciated during the last Ice Age, so isostatic rebound after deglaciation would not be a factor.

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/4 "2016-04-11T21:49:07Z")

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> [@Colibri](#):
>
> PS. The Bering Land Bridge was not glaciated during the last Ice Age, so isostatic rebound after deglaciation would not be a factor.

But the adjoining lands were glaciated, so might it not be rising because they are now rising? That is, if they are now rising.

Anyway, I’m looking for a GQ answer, so does anyone know? Have measurements been taken?

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**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/5 "2016-04-11T22:55:09Z")

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There is this [article](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/14/newser-alaska-vanishing/2158017/) discussing the situation along Alaska’s Bering Sea coastline.

[This one](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/30/kivalina-climate-change_n_3678828.html) discussed another village with the same issue.

And, [another article](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/global-warming-imperils-alaska-village/).

Sea level rises are causing this expansion. Culprit - climate change.

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/6 "2016-04-12T01:07:55Z")

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> [@Quartz](#):
>
> But the adjoining lands were glaciated, so might it not be rising because they are now rising? That is, if they are now rising.

No the adjacent lands were not glaciated. Only the mountainous regions in Alaska and eastern Siberia were glaciated. Those mountainous areas were a long way away from the landbridge. They’re also still somewhat glaciated.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bering-strait-growing-or-shrinking/751898/7 "2016-04-12T02:15:00Z")

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> [@Quartz](#):
>
> But the adjoining lands were glaciated, so might it not be rising because they are now rising? That is, if they are now rising.

[There were some glaciated areas,](http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-content/photos/000/770/cache/77096_990x742-cb1393541763.jpg) but there were no large Ice Caps like there were in northern Canada, Greenland, and northern Europe. Isostatic rebound is taking place in southeastern Alaska, where it was heavily glaciated, but I haven’t seen any reference to it happening in western Alaska or eastern Siberia.