Environmental Change and Potential Impacts: Applied Research Priorities for Alaska's North Slope

Streever, Bill; Suydam, Robert; Payne, John; Shuchman, Robert A.; Angliss, Robyn P.; Balogh, Gregory R.; Brown, Jerry; Grunblatt, Jesse; Guyer, Scott; Kane, D. L.; Kelley, John J.; Kofinas, Gary P.; Lassuy, Dennis R.; Loya, Wendy M.; Martin, Paul S.; Moore, Sue E.; Pegau, W. Scott; Rea, Caryn L.; Reed, Denise J.; Sformo, Todd; Sturm, Matthew; Taylor, Jason J.; Viavant, Tim; Williams, D. Lyn H.; Yokel, David A.

doi:10.14430/arctic4137

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Since 1995, new technologies, including much closer spacing of the well heads, directional drilling to reach deposits up to 6.4 km from the drilling sites, and reinjection of drilling fluids into the geological formations to eliminate the need for reserve pits, considerably reduced the size of gravel pads for drill sites in newer oilfields. The use of winter ice-roads and roadless access to drill sites have further reduced the footprint of modern oilfields (Gilders & Cronin, 2000;AMAP, 2010;Streever et al, 2011).…”

Section: The Prudhoe Bay Oilfieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These will be constructed against a backdrop of rapid climate change, rapid technological changes, and unpredictable social-ecological changes (Truett & Johnson, 2000;Orians et al, 2003;ACIA, 2005;AMAP, 2010;Krupnik et al, 2011;Kofinas et al, 2013). Documenting the history of these developments as they occur will aid local communities, researchers, land managers, industry, and policy makers in developing adaptive approaches to plan for and respond to future changes (AMAP, 2010;Streever et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cumulative geoecological effects of 62 years of infrastructure and climate change in ice‐rich permafrost landscapes, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska

Raynolds

Walker

Ambrosius³

et al. 2014

Global Change Biology

188

218

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Many areas of the Arctic are simultaneously affected by rapid climate change and rapid industrial development. These areas are likely to increase in number and size as sea ice melts and abundant Arctic natural resources become more accessible. Documenting the changes that have already occurred is essential to inform management approaches to minimize the impacts of future activities. Here, we determine the cumulative geoecological effects of 62 years (1949-2011) of infrastructure- and climate-related changes in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, the oldest and most extensive industrial complex in the Arctic, and an area with extensive ice-rich permafrost that is extraordinarily sensitive to climate change. We demonstrate that thermokarst has recently affected broad areas of the entire region, and that a sudden increase in the area affected began shortly after 1990 corresponding to a rapid rise in regional summer air temperatures and related permafrost temperatures. We also present a conceptual model that describes how infrastructure-related factors, including road dust and roadside flooding are contributing to more extensive thermokarst in areas adjacent to roads and gravel pads. We mapped the historical infrastructure changes for the Alaska North Slope oilfields for 10 dates from the initial oil discovery in 1968-2011. By 2010, over 34% of the intensively mapped area was affected by oil development. In addition, between 1990 and 2001, coincident with strong atmospheric warming during the 1990s, 19% of the remaining natural landscapes (excluding areas covered by infrastructure, lakes and river floodplains) exhibited expansion of thermokarst features resulting in more abundant small ponds, greater microrelief, more active lakeshore erosion and increased landscape and habitat heterogeneity. This transition to a new geoecological regime will have impacts to wildlife habitat, local residents and industry.

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Section: The Prudhoe Bay Oilfieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative geoecological effects of 62 years of infrastructure and climate change in ice‐rich permafrost landscapes, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska

Raynolds

Walker

Ambrosius³

et al. 2014

Global Change Biology

188

218

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Applying adaptive management to land use and climate change relies on scientists from multiple disciplines and agencies working interactively with stakeholders to address both longstanding (e.g., tundra impacts from development) and emerging (e.g., freshwater habitat connectivity) issues (Martin et al 2009;Wilby et al 2010;Streever et al 2011). Managing ice roads and the freshwater habitats that they are built from (i.e., lakes and connected watersheds) in the NPR-A is only one example of the complexities of science-informed decision making in the Arctic.…”

Section: Adaptive Management In Arctic Watershedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Challenges related to Figure 9. Example of freshwater habitat response (stream-lake system) to scenarios of drought, water withdrawal, and their combined effects on streamflow relative to a control climate scenario (based on Gädeke et al 2016). permafrost degradation, flooding, and coastal erosion are currently impacting industry and native village infrastructure (Streever et al 2011;Raynolds et al 2014;Toniolo et al 2017). Maintaining populations of subsistence fish and wildlife (Martin et al 2009) and a strong subsistence culture in native communities will be ongoing struggles for Arctic Alaska (Brinkman et al 2016).…”

Section: Adaptive Management In Arctic Watershedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The combined pressure of local industrial development and regional climate-change impacts will present ongoing challenges to multiple Arctic stakeholders (Walker et al 1987;Martin et al 2009;Streever et al 2011). For government agencies charged with managing Arctic lands and resources, rapid changes in both climate and land use require adaptive management driven by interdisciplinary science teams with input from stakeholders (Wilby et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ice roads through lake-rich Arctic watersheds: Integrating climate uncertainty and freshwater habitat responses into adaptive management

Arp

Whitman

Jones

et al. 2019

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Vast mosaics of lakes, wetlands, and rivers on the Arctic Coastal Plain give the impression of water surplus. Yet long winters lock freshwater resources in ice, limiting freshwater habitats and water supply for human uses. Increasingly the petroleum industry relies on lakes to build temporary ice roads for winter oil exploration. Permitting water withdrawal for ice roads in Arctic Alaska is dependent on lake depth, ice thickness, and the fish species present. Recent winter warming suggests that more winter water will be available for ice-road construction, yet high interannual variability in ice thickness and summer precipitation complicates habitat impact assessments. To address these concerns, multidisciplinary researchers are working to understand how Arctic freshwater habitats are responding to changes in both climate and water use in northern Alaska. The dynamics of habitat availability and connectivity are being linked to how food webs support fish and waterbirds across diverse freshwater habitats. Moving toward watershed-scale habitat classification coupled with scenario analysis of climate extremes and water withdrawal is increasingly relevant to future resource management decisions in this region. Such progressive refinement in understanding responses to change provides an example of adaptive management focused on ensuring responsible resource development in the Arctic. ARTICLE HISTORY

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A lake-centric geospatial database to guide research and inform management decisions in an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska experiencing climate and land-use changes

Jones

Arp

Whitman

et al. 2017

Ambio

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Lakes are dominant and diverse landscape features in the Arctic, but conventional land cover classification schemes typically map them as a single uniform class. Here, we present a detailed lake-centric geospatial database for an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska. We developed a GIS dataset consisting of 4362 lakes that provides information on lake morphometry, hydrologic connectivity, surface area dynamics, surrounding terrestrial ecotypes, and other important conditions describing Arctic lakes. Analyzing the geospatial database relative to fish and bird survey data shows relations to lake depth and hydrologic connectivity, which are being used to guide research and aid in the management of aquatic resources in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Further development of similar geospatial databases is needed to better understand and plan for the impacts of ongoing climate and land-use changes occurring across lake-rich landscapes in the Arctic.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-017-0915-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Environmental Change and Potential Impacts: Applied Research Priorities for Alaska's North Slope

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

Cumulative geoecological effects of 62 years of infrastructure and climate change in ice‐rich permafrost landscapes, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska

Cumulative geoecological effects of 62 years of infrastructure and climate change in ice‐rich permafrost landscapes, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska

Ice roads through lake-rich Arctic watersheds: Integrating climate uncertainty and freshwater habitat responses into adaptive management

A lake-centric geospatial database to guide research and inform management decisions in an Arctic watershed in northern Alaska experiencing climate and land-use changes

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