usteq

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Yup'ik uste- (“erode, cave in”). First attested in 2018.

Noun

usteq (uncountable)

1. (Alaska) Catastrophic land collapse caused by the melting of permafrost, coastal flooding and erosion.
   • 2019 November, University of Alaska Fairbanks & U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Statewide Threat Assessment‎^[1], Denali Commission, →OCLC, page 3-1:

     When the threat of permafrost thaw is high in a location also subject to erosion and flooding, the occurrence of usteq may be high.

   • 2021, Elizaveta Barrett Ristroph, “Navigating climate change adaptation assistance for communities”, in Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences‎^[2], volume 11, number 3, Springer, →ISSN, page 333, column 2:

     Newtok was able to win roughly $1.7 million in 2018 to buy out seven of the most usteq-threatened homes in Newtok.

   • 2022 April, Sarah Ruiz, “Woodwell launches new project monitoring, combatting the effects of permafrost thaw”, in Notes from the Field, Woodwell Climate Research Center, page 3:

     The land upon which many Alaska Native communities are located is destabilizing in the face of usteq—a Yupik word for the catastrophic ground collapse that occurs when thawing permafrost, erosion, and flooding combine to pull the ground out from under them.

Anagrams

• QUEST, Quest, quest