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Oil Extraction in Alaska - Coggle Diagram
Oil Extraction in Alaska
What human activity is taking place in Alaska and why?
Extraction of oil to meet demands for domestic use
Alaska has huge oil fields so it is therefore a good place to extract oil
They need this because they have no energy security as they import the majority of their oil
What impact is human activity having on the processes and flows of materials?
Use of gravel pads
Loss of gravel alters the rate of transportation and deposition further downstream
Also affects the equilibrium between erosional and depositional processes
Hydrological processes are affected - ground water levels fall by almost 1m
Energy flows are affected in two ways (heat)
Release + burning of gas during drilling (CO2 CH4) - increases global temperature
Production of heat from the extraction and transportation processes
On average rural areas are 2.2 degrees higher
Heating from poorly insulated buildings is a major contributor
How are periglacial landforms changing due to the impacts of human activity?
Permafrost is thawing due to heating systems in the ground
Means the active layer has become more mobile allowing solifluction (mass movement) to occur
Solifluction lobes are being formed (debris,tongue shaped) at the base of slopes
Thermokarst landscapes are occurring more due to thawing permafrost
What are the consequences of these changes to the landscape?
Thermokarst = depressions in the ground are filling up with water to form shallow thaw lakes (5m deep + 1-2km wide)
Removal of vegetation decreases the insulation of ground ice = more thawing + bigger active layer
Alyeska pipeline:
1300km long
1.4 million barrels of oil per day
Crosses 4 major fault lines
75% built on permafrost