scholarly journals Some Problems in Engineering Geology Caused by Permafrost in the Arctic Coastal Plain, Northern Alaska

ARCTIC ◽  
1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Robert F. Black
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Engineering Geology ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Alaska ◽  
Engineering Projects

Deals with permafrost as the controlling influence on certain engineering projects as observed during field studies, 1945-1951. Its direct and indirect effects on transportation, surface and underground exploration, construction and durability of structures, water supply, sewage disposal, drilling for and production of oil and gas are considered, but no attempt is made to present an overall survey. "Overland transportation is hampered most in the spring breakup and fall freeze-up periods; excavation can be made only in summer in the active layer unless special methods are used. Bench marks can be set properly only in adequately drained backfill to 10 m. depth. Foundation excavations must be kept nearly dry; construction material for roads is lacking except locally. Steel landing mats and concrete can be used safely on gravel beaches for landing strips; small airstrips can be built on sand dunes with little grading and little danger of affecting the permafrost. A frozen runway of pycrete or icecrete utilizing turf and surface soil as the foundation and permafrost as a cold reserve in a heat exchanger is recommended for areas lacking suitable materials."--SIPRE.

The influence of chick production on territory retention in Arctic-breeding Pacific and Yellow-billed loons

The Condor ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D Uher-Koch ◽  
Kenneth G Wright ◽  
Joel A Schmutz
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Site Familiarity ◽  
Northern Alaska ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Adult birds may use the production of offspring as a measure of habitat quality when prospecting for territories, increasing competition for productive territories. We evaluated the impact of breeding success on territory retention of Pacific (Gavia pacifica) and Yellow-billed (G. adamsii) loons in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska using mark–resight data and multi-state modeling. We also used behavioral observations of brood-rearing adult loons to quantify the frequency of visits by prospecting loons. We hypothesized that increased competition for productive territories would result in a decrease in territory retention rates. Territory retention rates the year following successful breeding attempts were only slightly lower (0.90) than after failed breeding attempts (0.93), and few territories were consistently successful across years. Overall territory retention rates were high (0.92) and similar for both species, suggesting that adults were able to defend their territories successfully. Males had higher territory retention rates than females, but we found no influence of mass (a possible proxy for fighting ability) on territory retention. These observations, coupled with the high frequency of visits by prospecting loons, provide additional evidence that site familiarity may provide advantages to territory holders. Quantifying territory retention behaviors may also inform land management decisions for oil and gas development in areas where loons are present. High territory retention rates, frequency of visits by prospectors, and limited habitat where new territories can be established suggest that breeding habitat in northern Alaska is saturated and may be limiting Yellow-billed Loon populations. In contrast, Pacific Loons attempting to acquire a territory may be able to form new territories on smaller, unoccupied lakes.

scholarly journals Movements and habitat use of loons for assessment of conservation buffer zones in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. e00980
Author(s):  
Sharon A. Poessel ◽  
Brian D. Uher-Koch ◽  
John M. Pearce ◽  
Joel A. Schmutz ◽  
Autumn-Lynn Harrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
Arctic Coastal Plain ◽  
Northern Alaska

Royal E. Shanks

ARCTIC ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Arctic Institute Of North America
Keyword(s):  
Field Studies ◽  
Associate Professor ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
University Of Tennessee ◽  
State College ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Composition Structure ◽  
The University ◽  
Northern Alaska

Royal E. Shanks was born in Ada, Ohio on November 11, 1912. He lost his life on August 4, 1962 while swimming and studying a coral reef in a bay of the Caribbean Sea in Porte Limon, Costa Rica. He completed his M. S. in 1937 and received his Ph.D. degree a year later. From 1940 to 1946 Dr. Shanks held the post of Professor of Biology at Austin Peay State College in Tennessee with brief periods of service in both the Army and Navy. In 1947 he joined the University of Tennessee as an Associate Professor of Botany and became a Professor two years later. In 1955 a concern with environmental aspects of ecosystems led him to propose some fundamental studies in the most simple environments, those of the arctic regions. It was this interest that developed a close relationship and association between Dr. Shanks and the Arctic Institute of North America. From 1955 until the time of his death he received six grants from the Institute for the study of composition, structure, and productivity of tundra vegetation in northern Alaska. During his field studies in Alaska Dr. Shanks covered an extensive area on the northern coast of Alaska extending eastward nearly to the Canadian border and southward to the mountains and forests. Numerous publications have resulted from this research. Not only has Dr. Shanks made a considerable contribution to arctic research, but his ability has been recognized by his election to office in a number of scientific societies. A colleague of Dr. Shanks has said, "his manner was gentle, his activity great, his enthusiasm contagious".

scholarly journals Spatial distribution of near surface soil moisture and its relationship to microtopography in the Alaskan Arctic coastal plain

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Engstrom ◽  
A. Hope ◽  
H. Kwon ◽  
D. Stow ◽  
D. Zamolodchikov
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Primary Control ◽  
Surface Soil Moisture ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Arctic Coastal Plain

The Arctic coastal plain of Alaska is characterized by marked heterogeneity in microtopography and above ground vegetation productivity at a variety of scales. This heterogeneity may be expected to lead to large variations in near surface soil moisture and have a substantial impact on measured and modeled fluxes of carbon and water. In this study, we hypothesized that microtopography was the primary control over the spatial patterns of near surface soil moisture. Near surface soil moisture measurements were collected in the summers of 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 in the fetch of an eddy flux tower (0.5 km2). Results confirmed the expected relationship between intra- and inter-seasonal variations in near surface soil moisture and variations in precipitation. However, over two time periods, near surface soil moisture increased without corresponding measured precipitation inputs and this was attributed to fog and dew, which are difficult to measure, and/or the melting of the active layer. Spatial variations in near surface soil moisture are largely controlled by microtopography in areas characterized by high centered polygons and troughs. In areas without large variations in microtopography, macrotopography, in the form of drained thaw lakes, has a substantial control over near surface soil moisture.

scholarly journals Remote sensing of lake water volumes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire E. Simpson ◽  
Christopher D. Arp ◽  
Yongwei Sheng ◽  
Mark L. Carroll ◽  
Benjamin M. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Water ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Regional Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Lake Depth ◽  
Arctic Coastal Plain ◽  
Water Volumes ◽  
Northern Alaska

Abstract. The Pleistocene Sand Sea on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of northern Alaska is underlain by an ancient sand dune field, a geological feature that affects regional lake characteristics. Many of these lakes, which cover approximately 20 % of the Pleistocene Sand Sea, are relatively deep (up to 25 m). In addition to the natural importance of ACP Sand Sea lakes for water storage, energy balance, and ecological habitat, the need for winter water for industrial development and exploration activities makes lakes in this region a valuable resource. However, ACP Sand Sea lakes have received little prior study. Here, we use in situ bathymetric data to test 12 model variants for predicting Sand Sea lake depth based on analysis of Landast-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images. Lake depth gradients were measured at 17 lakes in mid-summer 2017 using a HumminBird 798ci HD SI Combo automatic sonar system (Simpson and Arp, 2018). The field measured data points were compared to Red-Green-Blue (RGB) bands of a Landsat-8 OLI image acquired on 8 August 2016 to select and calibrate the most accurate spectral-depth model for each study lake and estimate bathymetry (Simpson, 2019). Exponential functions using a simple band ratio (with bands selected based on lake turbidity and bed substrate) yielded the most successful model variants. For each lake, the most accurate model explained 81.8 % of the variation in depth, on average. Modeled lake bathymetries were integrated with remotely sensed lake surface area to quantify lake water storage volumes, which ranged from 1.056 × 10−3 km3 to 57.416 × 10−3 km3. Due to variation in depth maxima, substrate, and turbidity between lakes, a regional model is currently infeasible, rendering necessary the acquisition of additional in situ data with which to develop a regional model solution. Estimating lake water volumes using remote sensing will facilitate better management of expanding development activities and serve as a baseline by which to evaluate future responses to ongoing and rapid climate change in the Arctic. All sonar depth data and modeled lake bathymetry rasters can be freely accessed at https://doi.org/10.18739/A2SN01440 (Simpson and Arp, 2018) and https://doi.org/10.18739/A2TQ5RD83 (Simpson, 2019), respectively.

scholarly journals Landsat-derived bathymetry of lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1135-1150
Author(s):  
Claire E. Simpson ◽  
Christopher D. Arp ◽  
Yongwei Sheng ◽  
Mark L. Carroll ◽  
Benjamin M. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Water ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Regional Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Lake Depth ◽  
Arctic Coastal Plain ◽  
Northern Alaska

Abstract. The Pleistocene sand sea on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of northern Alaska is underlain by an ancient sand dune field, a geological feature that affects regional lake characteristics. Many of these lakes, which cover approximately 20 % of the Pleistocene sand sea, are relatively deep (up to 25 m). In addition to the natural importance of ACP sand sea lakes for water storage, energy balance, and ecological habitat, the need for winter water for industrial development and exploration activities makes lakes in this region a valuable resource. However, ACP sand sea lakes have received little prior study. Here, we collect in situ bathymetric data to test 12 model variants for predicting sand sea lake depth based on analysis of Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images. Lake depth gradients were measured at 17 lakes in midsummer 2017 using a Humminbird 798ci HD SI Combo automatic sonar system. The field-measured data points were compared to red–green–blue (RGB) bands of a Landsat-8 OLI image acquired on 8 August 2016 to select and calibrate the most accurate spectral-depth model for each study lake and map bathymetry. Exponential functions using a simple band ratio (with bands selected based on lake turbidity and bed substrate) yielded the most successful model variants. For each lake, the most accurate model explained 81.8 % of the variation in depth, on average. Modeled lake bathymetries were integrated with remotely sensed lake surface area to quantify lake water storage volumes, which ranged from 1.056×10-3 to 57.416×10-3 km3. Due to variations in depth maxima, substrate, and turbidity between lakes, a regional model is currently infeasible, rendering necessary the acquisition of additional in situ data with which to develop a regional model solution. Estimating lake water volumes using remote sensing will facilitate better management of expanding development activities and serve as a baseline by which to evaluate future responses to ongoing and rapid climate change in the Arctic. All sonar depth data and modeled lake bathymetry rasters can be freely accessed at https://doi.org/10.18739/A2SN01440 (Simpson and Arp, 2018) and https://doi.org/10.18739/A2HT2GC6G (Simpson, 2019), respectively.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Gyres in Oriented Lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska Based on Remotely Sensed Images

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 9170-9193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengan Zhan ◽  
Richard Beck ◽  
Kenneth Hinkel ◽  
Hongxing Liu ◽  
Benjamin Jones
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Coastal Plain ◽  
Remotely Sensed Images ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Northern Alaska
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