Oil exploration in Alaska

How many barrels of oil are there in Prudhoe bay?

25 billion, of that 50% are already drilled

How big is the Alyeska (trans alaskan) pipeline?

1300km

How many barrels does Alyeska (trans alaskan pipeline) transport per day

500,000

In 2019, how many barrels of oil did the USA use per day

19,000W

What percentage of day to day oil barrels in the USA are imported?

40%

What is area 1002

A coastal section within the ANWR (Arctic national wildlife reserve)

How big is area 1002

6070km2 or 1.5million acres

How much oil is there in area 1002

16 billion barrels total, though only 6 billion that we can actually drill currently.

How much money do alaskans receive from the government for the project?

$3000 per person

What are the incentives to drill the area?

• Income for the government

• Employment opportunities

• Energy security without having to rely on other countries (political instability)

• Locals get payed by the government

What are the cons for drilling area 1002?

• Its a calving ground for Caribou (native species)

• Home to native Gwichn people

• Damages tundra vegetation (& releases CO2)

• Melts surrounding permafrost

What percentage of Alaska is permafrosted land?

80%

How is the trans alaskan pipeline developed to prevent environmental impacts?

• 420 miles on stilts

• Zig-zag shape - so it doesn’t move with earthquakes

• Allows animals to move around it (stilts)

• Sits across rivers rather than along their beds as not to disturb deposition

What is solifluction?

Temperature’s increase enough to melt the active layer of permafrost. Water is unable to move, as ground underneath is frozen and it is too cold to evaporate. Excessive lubrication in the active layer allows soil to move - becoming the ‘saturated layer’, and forming solifluction lobes.

How is solifluciton/solifluction lobes a hazard?

The downhill flow of saturated soil (solifluction lobes) can disrupt roads and pipelines - destabalising their foundations. It can also bury/displace existing vegetation.

Managements for solifluction lobes? And how are material flows impacted

Gravel pads - extracting gravel from river and stream beds, and used as an insulating layer for construction (preventing flow of soil). This impacts the rate at which sediment is transported & deposited, and affects the equilibrium between depositional and erosional processes in a river.

How does gravel extraction impact hydrological proccesses?

(Palmer area) - ground water levels fell by 1m+, extending 2km from the extraction site.

What is gas flaring?

When extracting oil, natural gasses produced are burnt off - releasing CO2.

How does extraction affect energy flows (1) ? impact of drilling on energy flows

Gas is released and burnt (emitting CO2) , or vented (such as methane). These are greenhouse gasses, and can contribute to the enhanced greenhouse gas effect - trapping gasses lower down in the atmosphere, raising temperatures.

What are the two ways extraction & production impact energy flows?

• Emission of greenhouse gasses

• Production of excess heat

What is the urban heat island effect?

Human activity (such as domestic energy use and heating) as well as heat from drilling can raise the temperature of the surrounding area.

How much higher are temperatures in Barrow than surrounding rural areas?

2.2 degrees Celcius, with a maximum difference of 6 degrees observed on a particularly calm day.

How does energy released by humans further impact geomorphic proccesses?

9% fewer days of temperature fluctuations around zero (freeze-thaw cycles) observed since drilling began.

What is permafrost

permenantly frozen ground.

What is thermokast?

A landscape covered in depressions formed by thawing of ground ice. They are often filled with water - thaw lakes.

How is thermokast formed?

• Normally, due to climate change (melting of PF)

• However, anthropogenic climate change (human activity) increases their formation

• removal of vegetation allows heat to penetrate soil, increasing the depth of teh thaw

• Thermokast can cause building subsidence (sinking of buildings)

What are the impacts of thawing permafrost (vegetation):

• Initially, with more water available plants will grow rapidly - however, as PF melts and there is no impermeable layer to prevent drainage, a few months after thawing there will be little water - hindering vegetation growth, and affecting vegetation and use by animals.

• Organic matter frozen in plants will decay

How much has the active layer of permafrost widened in 40 years

90cm

Another name for gravel pads?

Aggregate pads.