Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019 To guard against thawing permafrost and associated thaw subsidence, the oil facilities in the Arctic are constructed on gravel pads placed on top of the existing arctic tundra, however the impacts of this infrastructure to the sensitive hydrology ar...
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ftunivalaska:oai:scholarworks.alaska.edu:11122/10631 2023-05-15T13:09:13+02:00 Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations a study on the human - hydrology relationship in Arctic environments Miller, Ori Barnes, David L. Stuefer, Svetlana L. Shur, Yuri 2019-08 http://hdl.handle.net/11122/10631 en_US eng http://hdl.handle.net/11122/10631 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering oil wells abandonment Alaska North Slope hydrology Thesis ms 2019 ftunivalaska 2023-02-23T21:37:32Z Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019 To guard against thawing permafrost and associated thaw subsidence, the oil facilities in the Arctic are constructed on gravel pads placed on top of the existing arctic tundra, however the impacts of this infrastructure to the sensitive hydrology are not fully understood. Production in some of the older fields is on the decline; however oil exploration in the Arctic Coastal Plain is resulting in the discovery and development of new reserves. In the coming years, old sites will need to be decommissioned as production transitions to new sites. New facilities will also need to be designed and constructed. Oil companies in Alaska have historically conducted operations under leases issued through the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The leases stipulate that once resource extraction operations are completed, the facilities must be decommissioned and the sites restored, however they are often vague in their requirements and are variable in their specifics from lease to lease. As the oil companies transition to the new sites, decisions must be made regarding what should be done with vacated gravel pads. The construction of gravel pads essentially destroys underlying arctic tundra. In undisturbed areas in the Arctic, the tundra itself creates an insulating layer that limits the seasonal thaw depth to around 0.5 m. Removal of this layer causes thaw depths to greatly increase impacting the stability of the ground and the hydrology of the surrounding area. Because of this impact, other possible restoration techniques are being considered, such as vegetating and leaving the pads in place. Water movement is one of the major driving factors in the arctic contributing to permafrost degradation. Groundwater carries with it heat, which is transferred to the soil as the groundwater moves. Therefore, hydrology plays a major role in the stability of the arctic environment. This is especially relevant in areas where gravel pads exist. Gravel pads are anthropogenic ... Thesis Alaska North Slope Arctic north slope permafrost Tundra Alaska University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA Arctic Fairbanks |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalaska |
language |
English |
topic |
oil wells abandonment Alaska North Slope hydrology |
spellingShingle |
oil wells abandonment Alaska North Slope hydrology Miller, Ori Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
topic_facet |
oil wells abandonment Alaska North Slope hydrology |
description |
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019 To guard against thawing permafrost and associated thaw subsidence, the oil facilities in the Arctic are constructed on gravel pads placed on top of the existing arctic tundra, however the impacts of this infrastructure to the sensitive hydrology are not fully understood. Production in some of the older fields is on the decline; however oil exploration in the Arctic Coastal Plain is resulting in the discovery and development of new reserves. In the coming years, old sites will need to be decommissioned as production transitions to new sites. New facilities will also need to be designed and constructed. Oil companies in Alaska have historically conducted operations under leases issued through the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The leases stipulate that once resource extraction operations are completed, the facilities must be decommissioned and the sites restored, however they are often vague in their requirements and are variable in their specifics from lease to lease. As the oil companies transition to the new sites, decisions must be made regarding what should be done with vacated gravel pads. The construction of gravel pads essentially destroys underlying arctic tundra. In undisturbed areas in the Arctic, the tundra itself creates an insulating layer that limits the seasonal thaw depth to around 0.5 m. Removal of this layer causes thaw depths to greatly increase impacting the stability of the ground and the hydrology of the surrounding area. Because of this impact, other possible restoration techniques are being considered, such as vegetating and leaving the pads in place. Water movement is one of the major driving factors in the arctic contributing to permafrost degradation. Groundwater carries with it heat, which is transferred to the soil as the groundwater moves. Therefore, hydrology plays a major role in the stability of the arctic environment. This is especially relevant in areas where gravel pads exist. Gravel pads are anthropogenic ... |
author2 |
Barnes, David L. Stuefer, Svetlana L. Shur, Yuri |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Miller, Ori |
author_facet |
Miller, Ori |
author_sort |
Miller, Ori |
title |
Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
title_short |
Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
title_full |
Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
title_fullStr |
Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Alaska Arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
title_sort |
alaska arctic coastal plain gravel pad hydrology: impacts to dismantlement removal and restoration operations |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/10631 |
geographic |
Arctic Fairbanks |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Fairbanks |
genre |
Alaska North Slope Arctic north slope permafrost Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Alaska North Slope Arctic north slope permafrost Tundra Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/10631 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
_version_ |
1766167482537607168 |