Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89)
Economic and social development in northern Alaska during the past 25 years has created great demands for sand and gravel. Although this resource is available on some beaches, riverbeds, barrier islands, beach ridges, and alluvial fans, surficial mining often results in undesirable environmental mod...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
1994
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/64342 2023-05-15T13:09:07+02:00 Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) Walker, H. Jesse 1994-01-01 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64342 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64342/48277 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64342 ARCTIC; Vol. 47 No. 2 (1994): June: 109–205; 176-183 1923-1245 0004-0843 Dredging Effects monitoring Environmental impacts Granular resources extraction Permafrost Rivers Thermal protection of permafrost Alaska Northern Colville Delta North Slope Borough Nuiqsut info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 1994 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:21:32Z Economic and social development in northern Alaska during the past 25 years has created great demands for sand and gravel. Although this resource is available on some beaches, riverbeds, barrier islands, beach ridges, and alluvial fans, surficial mining often results in undesirable environmental modification in this permafrost-dominated environment and has led to restrictions on extraction. In 1981, for the first time, sand and gravel were transferred directly from the thalweg portion of a river to the tundra surface by a transportable suction dredge at Nuiqsut in the Colville River delta, Alaska. The 400 000 cubic meters of sand and gravel extracted were sufficient to construct a runway and create a stockpile for village use. This procedure has been used in two other rivers (the Meade and Kokolik), three lagoons (Wainwright, Kaktovik, and Barrow), and two lakes (Atqasuk and Barrow). Profiling through 1989 shows that infilling of the dredged channels is a variable process.Key words: Alaska, North Slope Borough, Colville River, Nuiqsut, permafrost, ice wedge, river dredging, gravel, construction pads Au cours des 25 dernières années, le développement économique et social dans le nord de l'Alaska a créé une forte demande pour le sable et le gravier. Bien que cette ressource soit accessible sur quelques plages, lits de cours d'eau, îles-barrières, crêtes de plage et cônes alluviaux, une exploitation superficielle aboutit souvent à modifier l'environnement de façon non souhaitable dans ce milieu dominé par le pergélisol, ce qui a amené des restrictions concernant l'extraction. En 1981, pour la première fois, le sable et le gravier ont été transférés directement de la zone du talweg d'un cours d'eau à la surface de la toundra par une drague suceuse transportable. Cela s'est passé à Nuiqsut, dans le delta de la rivière Colville en Alaska. Les 400 000 m³ de sable et de gravier extraits ont suffi à construire une piste d'atterrissage et à créer une réserve pour le village. On a utilisé ce procédé dans deux autres rivières (la Meade et la Kokolik), trois étangs côtiers (Wainwright, Kaktovik et Barrow) et deux lacs (Atqasuk et Barrow). L'établissement de profils durant 1989 a révélé que le remblayage des chenaux dragués est un processus variable.Mots clés : Alaska, North Slope Borough, rivière Colville, Nuiqsut, pergélisol, fente de glace, drague fluviale, gravier, matériau de remblai Article in Journal/Newspaper Alaska North Slope Arctic Arctic Barrow Ice north slope permafrost toundra Tundra wedge* Alaska pergélisol University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic Barrier Islands ENVELOPE(-92.283,-92.283,62.784,62.784) Gravier ENVELOPE(-67.350,-67.350,-67.217,-67.217) Meade ENVELOPE(-60.068,-60.068,-62.450,-62.450) ARCTIC 47 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Dredging Effects monitoring Environmental impacts Granular resources extraction Permafrost Rivers Thermal protection of permafrost Alaska Northern Colville Delta North Slope Borough Nuiqsut |
spellingShingle |
Dredging Effects monitoring Environmental impacts Granular resources extraction Permafrost Rivers Thermal protection of permafrost Alaska Northern Colville Delta North Slope Borough Nuiqsut Walker, H. Jesse Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) |
topic_facet |
Dredging Effects monitoring Environmental impacts Granular resources extraction Permafrost Rivers Thermal protection of permafrost Alaska Northern Colville Delta North Slope Borough Nuiqsut |
description |
Economic and social development in northern Alaska during the past 25 years has created great demands for sand and gravel. Although this resource is available on some beaches, riverbeds, barrier islands, beach ridges, and alluvial fans, surficial mining often results in undesirable environmental modification in this permafrost-dominated environment and has led to restrictions on extraction. In 1981, for the first time, sand and gravel were transferred directly from the thalweg portion of a river to the tundra surface by a transportable suction dredge at Nuiqsut in the Colville River delta, Alaska. The 400 000 cubic meters of sand and gravel extracted were sufficient to construct a runway and create a stockpile for village use. This procedure has been used in two other rivers (the Meade and Kokolik), three lagoons (Wainwright, Kaktovik, and Barrow), and two lakes (Atqasuk and Barrow). Profiling through 1989 shows that infilling of the dredged channels is a variable process.Key words: Alaska, North Slope Borough, Colville River, Nuiqsut, permafrost, ice wedge, river dredging, gravel, construction pads Au cours des 25 dernières années, le développement économique et social dans le nord de l'Alaska a créé une forte demande pour le sable et le gravier. Bien que cette ressource soit accessible sur quelques plages, lits de cours d'eau, îles-barrières, crêtes de plage et cônes alluviaux, une exploitation superficielle aboutit souvent à modifier l'environnement de façon non souhaitable dans ce milieu dominé par le pergélisol, ce qui a amené des restrictions concernant l'extraction. En 1981, pour la première fois, le sable et le gravier ont été transférés directement de la zone du talweg d'un cours d'eau à la surface de la toundra par une drague suceuse transportable. Cela s'est passé à Nuiqsut, dans le delta de la rivière Colville en Alaska. Les 400 000 m³ de sable et de gravier extraits ont suffi à construire une piste d'atterrissage et à créer une réserve pour le village. On a utilisé ce procédé dans deux autres rivières (la Meade et la Kokolik), trois étangs côtiers (Wainwright, Kaktovik et Barrow) et deux lacs (Atqasuk et Barrow). L'établissement de profils durant 1989 a révélé que le remblayage des chenaux dragués est un processus variable.Mots clés : Alaska, North Slope Borough, rivière Colville, Nuiqsut, pergélisol, fente de glace, drague fluviale, gravier, matériau de remblai |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Walker, H. Jesse |
author_facet |
Walker, H. Jesse |
author_sort |
Walker, H. Jesse |
title |
Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) |
title_short |
Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) |
title_full |
Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) |
title_fullStr |
Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental Impact of River Dredging in Arctic Alaska (1981-89) |
title_sort |
environmental impact of river dredging in arctic alaska (1981-89) |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64342 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-92.283,-92.283,62.784,62.784) ENVELOPE(-67.350,-67.350,-67.217,-67.217) ENVELOPE(-60.068,-60.068,-62.450,-62.450) |
geographic |
Arctic Barrier Islands Gravier Meade |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barrier Islands Gravier Meade |
genre |
Alaska North Slope Arctic Arctic Barrow Ice north slope permafrost toundra Tundra wedge* Alaska pergélisol |
genre_facet |
Alaska North Slope Arctic Arctic Barrow Ice north slope permafrost toundra Tundra wedge* Alaska pergélisol |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 47 No. 2 (1994): June: 109–205; 176-183 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64342/48277 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64342 |
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ARCTIC |
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47 |
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