Use of geoinformation technologies to study climate risk and socio-economic vulnerability in coastal Arctic regions: state of the art, challenges & future perspectives

This literature review critically evaluates how geoinformation technologies, specifically Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Earth Observation Indices (EO indices), are applied to develop and implement socio-economic vulnerability indices to assess climate change impacts across coastal and coastal adjacent Arctic regions. While these areas currently face increasing environmental pressures, their vulnerability is also shaped by socio-economic conditions, governance mechanisms and community resilience. Based on the analysis of 40 peer-reviewed studies published between 2008 and 2025, this review systematically categorizes research approaches by data sources, indicator types, spatial scale and geospatial methodologies, following a structured analytical framework. The results reveal a dominant reliance on quantitative, infrastructure-based indicators, with comparatively limited integration of adaptive capacity, governance structures, or cultural dimensions. GIS-based overlays and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) analyses are the most frequently used tools, while participatory and combined frameworks are overlooked. The European Arctic emerges as particularly underrepresented in policy-relevant spatial vulnerability assessments. Addressing a critical gap in scholarship regarding climate risk and socio-economic vulnerability in the Arctic, this review, offers a focused synthesis of how geospatial technologies have been used to construct and apply socio-economic vulnerability indices for coastal Arctic climate risk assessment It also provides a roadmap for future research by highlighting overlooked regions, methodological biases and opportunities for advancing more inclusive, scalable and policy-relevant assessments to support adaptation planning in the rapidly transforming Arctic. • Examination of geoinformation technology use in socio-economic climate vulnerability assessments of coastal Arctic regions. • Emphasizing the widespread reliance on infrastructure-related indicators, reflecting their ease of geospatial integration and compatibility with EO indices and GIS tools. • Identification of gaps in adaptive capacity, cultural and governance integration. • Recommendation of more standardized, participatory and locally grounded approaches. • A structured, and critical synthesis of how geoinformatics have been applied to assess socio-economic vulnerability to climate change across coastal Arctic regions.