Nansen Drift Station Project - Remote Sea-Ice Runway Construction.

• Main Author: Barthelemy,J L
• Other Authors: CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB (NAVY) PORT HUENEME CALIF
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1978
• Subjects: Terminal Flight Facilities; Civil Engineering; Pumps; Filters; Pipes; Tubing; Fittings & Vlvs; Nuclear Fission Reactors(power); *RUNWAYS; *SEA ICE; PORTABLE EQUIPMENT; COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS; ALASKA; FIELD TESTS; SURFACES; FREEZING; LIGHTWEIGHT; REMOTE AREAS; FLOODING; ARCTIC REGIONS; ARCTIC OCEAN; BULLDOZERS; CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS; Nansen Drift Station; PE61153N; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Ice Runway; Barrow; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA054720; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA054720

In the past, surface-flooding activities have been confined to areas near major military logistic centers. As a result, techniques developed for sea-ice runway construction relied extensively upon the use of heavy equipment to clear snow and position large stationary pumping equipment. At remote sites, such as that planned for the proposed Nansen Drift Station, requirements are different. Construction crews will be severely restricted as to their size and number of support equipment available, and they may be required to work concurrently at a number of scattered locations. A field-test program conducted by the Civil Engineering Laboratory at Barrow, Alaska, during March 1977 added a new dimension to surface-flooding technology. The exercises demonstrated the feasibility and capability of using small, lightweight pumps to prepare sections of a sea-ice runway. The water-handling equipment included two modified, highly portable, centrifugally driven trash pumps that had undergone preliminary low-temperature testing in the cold-chamber facilities at CEL. (Author)