Arctic Ice Islands
The development of offshore oil and gas resources in the Arctic waters of Alaska requires offshore structures which successfully resist the lateral forces due to moving, drifting ice. Ice islands are floating, a tabular icebergs, up to 60 meters thick, of solid ice throughout their thickness. The ic...
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University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute.
1988
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ftunivnotexas:info:ark/67531/metadc1113913 2023-05-15T14:48:45+02:00 Arctic Ice Islands Sackinger, W. M. Jeffries, M. O. Lu, M. C. Li, F. C. United States. Department of Energy. 1988-01-01 Pages: (322 p) Text https://doi.org/10.2172/6091444 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1113913/ English eng University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute. other: DE91002027 rep-no: DOE/MC/20037-2939 grantno: AC21-83MC20037 doi:10.2172/6091444 osti: 6091444 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1113913/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc1113913 Research Programs Beaufort Sea 540310 -- Environment Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (1990-) Thickness Usa 020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves Geology & Exploration Petroleum Deposits Mathematical Models Document Types Drag 54 Environmental Sciences Mechanical Properties Geologic Deposits Safety Engineering Resource Development Offshore Platforms Motion Mineral Resources Alaska Mitigation Surface Waters Age Estimation North America Velocity Flow Models Wind Probability Coastal Regions Chukchi Sea Seas Progress Report Fluid-Structure Interactions Icebergs Engineering 03 Natural Gas Federal Region X Size Marine Surveys 02 Petroleum Dimensions Impact Strength Coriolis Force Ice Natural Gas Deposits Surveys Monte Carlo Method Arctic Ocean 030200 -- Natural Gas-- Reserves Synthesis Resources Hazards Report 1988 ftunivnotexas https://doi.org/10.2172/6091444 2021-01-16T23:08:11Z The development of offshore oil and gas resources in the Arctic waters of Alaska requires offshore structures which successfully resist the lateral forces due to moving, drifting ice. Ice islands are floating, a tabular icebergs, up to 60 meters thick, of solid ice throughout their thickness. The ice islands are thus regarded as the strongest ice features in the Arctic; fixed offshore structures which can directly withstand the impact of ice islands are possible but in some locations may be so expensive as to make oilfield development uneconomic. The resolution of the ice island problem requires two research steps: (1) calculation of the probability of interaction between an ice island and an offshore structure in a given region; and (2) if the probability if sufficiently large, then the study of possible interactions between ice island and structure, to discover mitigative measures to deal with the moving ice island. The ice island research conducted during the 1983-1988 interval, which is summarized in this report, was concerned with the first step. Monte Carlo simulations of ice island generation and movement suggest that ice island lifetimes range from 0 to 70 years, and that 85% of the lifetimes are less then 35 years. The simulation shows a mean value of 18 ice islands present at any time in the Arctic Ocean, with a 90% probability of less than 30 ice islands. At this time, approximately 34 ice islands are known, from observations, to exist in the Arctic Ocean, not including the 10-meter thick class of ice islands. Return interval plots from the simulation show that coastal zones of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, already leased for oil development, have ice island recurrences of 10 to 100 years. This implies that the ice island hazard must be considered thoroughly, and appropriate safety measures adopted, when offshore oil production plans are formulated for the Alaskan Arctic offshore. 132 refs., 161 figs., 17 tabs. Report Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Chukchi Chukchi Sea Iceberg* Alaska University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library Arctic Arctic Ocean Chukchi Sea |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnotexas |
language |
English |
topic |
Research Programs Beaufort Sea 540310 -- Environment Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (1990-) Thickness Usa 020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves Geology & Exploration Petroleum Deposits Mathematical Models Document Types Drag 54 Environmental Sciences Mechanical Properties Geologic Deposits Safety Engineering Resource Development Offshore Platforms Motion Mineral Resources Alaska Mitigation Surface Waters Age Estimation North America Velocity Flow Models Wind Probability Coastal Regions Chukchi Sea Seas Progress Report Fluid-Structure Interactions Icebergs Engineering 03 Natural Gas Federal Region X Size Marine Surveys 02 Petroleum Dimensions Impact Strength Coriolis Force Ice Natural Gas Deposits Surveys Monte Carlo Method Arctic Ocean 030200 -- Natural Gas-- Reserves Synthesis Resources Hazards |
spellingShingle |
Research Programs Beaufort Sea 540310 -- Environment Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (1990-) Thickness Usa 020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves Geology & Exploration Petroleum Deposits Mathematical Models Document Types Drag 54 Environmental Sciences Mechanical Properties Geologic Deposits Safety Engineering Resource Development Offshore Platforms Motion Mineral Resources Alaska Mitigation Surface Waters Age Estimation North America Velocity Flow Models Wind Probability Coastal Regions Chukchi Sea Seas Progress Report Fluid-Structure Interactions Icebergs Engineering 03 Natural Gas Federal Region X Size Marine Surveys 02 Petroleum Dimensions Impact Strength Coriolis Force Ice Natural Gas Deposits Surveys Monte Carlo Method Arctic Ocean 030200 -- Natural Gas-- Reserves Synthesis Resources Hazards Sackinger, W. M. Jeffries, M. O. Lu, M. C. Li, F. C. Arctic Ice Islands |
topic_facet |
Research Programs Beaufort Sea 540310 -- Environment Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (1990-) Thickness Usa 020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves Geology & Exploration Petroleum Deposits Mathematical Models Document Types Drag 54 Environmental Sciences Mechanical Properties Geologic Deposits Safety Engineering Resource Development Offshore Platforms Motion Mineral Resources Alaska Mitigation Surface Waters Age Estimation North America Velocity Flow Models Wind Probability Coastal Regions Chukchi Sea Seas Progress Report Fluid-Structure Interactions Icebergs Engineering 03 Natural Gas Federal Region X Size Marine Surveys 02 Petroleum Dimensions Impact Strength Coriolis Force Ice Natural Gas Deposits Surveys Monte Carlo Method Arctic Ocean 030200 -- Natural Gas-- Reserves Synthesis Resources Hazards |
description |
The development of offshore oil and gas resources in the Arctic waters of Alaska requires offshore structures which successfully resist the lateral forces due to moving, drifting ice. Ice islands are floating, a tabular icebergs, up to 60 meters thick, of solid ice throughout their thickness. The ice islands are thus regarded as the strongest ice features in the Arctic; fixed offshore structures which can directly withstand the impact of ice islands are possible but in some locations may be so expensive as to make oilfield development uneconomic. The resolution of the ice island problem requires two research steps: (1) calculation of the probability of interaction between an ice island and an offshore structure in a given region; and (2) if the probability if sufficiently large, then the study of possible interactions between ice island and structure, to discover mitigative measures to deal with the moving ice island. The ice island research conducted during the 1983-1988 interval, which is summarized in this report, was concerned with the first step. Monte Carlo simulations of ice island generation and movement suggest that ice island lifetimes range from 0 to 70 years, and that 85% of the lifetimes are less then 35 years. The simulation shows a mean value of 18 ice islands present at any time in the Arctic Ocean, with a 90% probability of less than 30 ice islands. At this time, approximately 34 ice islands are known, from observations, to exist in the Arctic Ocean, not including the 10-meter thick class of ice islands. Return interval plots from the simulation show that coastal zones of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, already leased for oil development, have ice island recurrences of 10 to 100 years. This implies that the ice island hazard must be considered thoroughly, and appropriate safety measures adopted, when offshore oil production plans are formulated for the Alaskan Arctic offshore. 132 refs., 161 figs., 17 tabs. |
author2 |
United States. Department of Energy. |
format |
Report |
author |
Sackinger, W. M. Jeffries, M. O. Lu, M. C. Li, F. C. |
author_facet |
Sackinger, W. M. Jeffries, M. O. Lu, M. C. Li, F. C. |
author_sort |
Sackinger, W. M. |
title |
Arctic Ice Islands |
title_short |
Arctic Ice Islands |
title_full |
Arctic Ice Islands |
title_fullStr |
Arctic Ice Islands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arctic Ice Islands |
title_sort |
arctic ice islands |
publisher |
University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute. |
publishDate |
1988 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.2172/6091444 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1113913/ |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Chukchi Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Chukchi Sea |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Chukchi Chukchi Sea Iceberg* Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Chukchi Chukchi Sea Iceberg* Alaska |
op_relation |
other: DE91002027 rep-no: DOE/MC/20037-2939 grantno: AC21-83MC20037 doi:10.2172/6091444 osti: 6091444 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1113913/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc1113913 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2172/6091444 |
_version_ |
1766319830646915072 |