Hazard Mapping for Infrastructure Planning in the Arctic

• Main Author: Amaddio, Christopher I.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: AFIT Scholar 2021
• Subjects: #afcec; Glaciers; United States. Space Force; Early warning systems; Geotechnical Engineering; Arctic; Greenland; Thule Air Base; Thule Air; Thule
• Online Access: https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/4938; https://scholar.afit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5941&context=etd

Using modern high-resolution aerial photographs, LiDAR, historical aerial photographs, and facility data, a hazard mapping effort identified risks to infrastructure at Thule Air Base, Greenland, based on visible terrain features, surface hydrology, and slope; the distribution of these risks were then compared to existing foundation damage. The analysis indicated abundant and widespread geotechnical hazards at Thule Air Base and a weak relationship to existing foundation damage that requires more research to understand. The resulting hazard maps provide a critical tool for risk assessment and planning as well as a model for other locations to follow.