Oil Extraction In Alaska Flashcards
Which case study is oil extraction in Alaska?
How human activity causes change in periglacial landscape systems
Name a location in the north of Alaska with lots of oil.
Prudhoe Bay (proven reserves) and Area 1002 in the Arctic National Refuge (unproven reserves)
How much oil reserves are there n Prudhoe Bay?
3 million barrels (much of it has been already extracted)
How much oil is thought to be in Area 1002?
16 billion barrels
What % of US oil comes from imports ?
40%
How is the oil transported to the rest of the USA?
Through the Alyeska pipeline
How much hotter is the town of Barrow than its surroundings due to the urban heat island effect?
2.2 degrees C
Where did groundwater levels fall by over a m due to gravel extraction?
Palmer
How many % fewer days experienced temperature fluctuations around 0 degrees C in the area around Barrow since records began?
9%
Which process would this affect?
Freeze thaw and frost heave
Which landforms would this affect?
Patterned ground
How deep are thermokast depressioms filled with lakes?
5m
How wide are the thermokast depressions?
1-2km
How deep are alases?
5-50m deep
How long are the alases?
100m-15km
When alases combine they form alas valleys which can be how long?
Tens of kms
Why are subsidence rates on the thermokarst on the North Slope of Alaska?
3-4cm per year
How thick is the permafrost in this area?
300-600m deep
How thick is the active layer in this area?
30-80cm thick
What caused localised thermokarst?
Heat from settlements.
Infrastructure and oil extraction activities.
What causes large scale thermokarst landscapes?
Global warming caused by burning fossil fuels among other things
