Alaska - case study

• What is solifluction?


  Soil becomes saturated with water due to the permafrost being impermeable. The water saturated soil starts flowing downhill under the pull of gravity
• What is thermokarst?

  irregular, marshy hollows and small hummocks formed as ice-rich permafrost thaws
• What are the development opportunities in Alaska?

  • Fishing
  • Tourism
  • Energy
  • Mineral extraction
• Fishing in Alaska

  • Provides 80,000 jobs
  • Communites rely on fish: food, oil for fuel, bones for tools
• Mineral extraction in Alaska

  • The land has a lot of gold which accounts for 1/5 of the states mining wealth
• Tourism in Alaska

  • Attracts between 1 - 2 million tourists every summer
  • The state has many national parks which attract tourists
• Energy in Alaska

  • More than 50 hydroelectric power plants, provide 1/5 of the states energy
  • Geothermal energy being harvested tectonically
  • Cheaper energy sources
• how development (oil) in Alaska impacts the environment:

  • If pebble mines reopen, it could affect the salmon population which could affect the whole fishing industry
  • If there was an accident it could kill fish for for a 20 mile radius
  • 100 mile long gaspipe
  • causes visual pollution
  • Affects brown bear population
• Why is the population density higher in south Alaska?

  • The state capital is in the south
  • Closer to the equator and therefore warmer
  • The sea isn't frozen
  • has ports
• Problems with climate and accessibility in Alaska:

  • Snow and ice make some roads unusable for certain months
  • Pipes need to be built ontop of the groun ground otherwise permafrost will freeze utilities
• Infrastructure management strategies:

  • Houses built with sloped rooves so snow doesn't build up
  • foundations go really deep into permafrost so that solifluction doesn't destroy the buildings
  • They are built on stilts so that heat from houses doesn't melt the active layer
• Positives of oil drilling in the ANWR:

  • Economic
  • Huge increase in jobs available
  • 90% of taxes comes from this sector
  • 1 in 7 Alaskans directly employed by the oil sector
  • Environmental
  • No environmental positives
  • Social
  • Some jobs are seasonal so some people need other jobs, jobs in oil can provide this
  • The tax increase will help to pay for important services
  • Providing disposable income
• Economic negatives of oil drilling in the ANWR


  • Pipeline will cost $8 billion to build
  • Major oil spills will cause a major loss of money
  • Exxon Valdez severely affected the fish population, which affects other industries like fishing and the jobs linked to fishing
  • Other high costs because the pipeline needs to be built on stilts
• Environmental negatives of oil drilling in the ANWR


  • Causes extensive thawing of glaciers and permafrost
  • Building of pipeline will affect the migration of caribou
  • Oil drilling directly contributes to global warming
• Exxon Valdez disaster

  • 5000 seagulls, sealions and seals killed
  • Thousands of fish killed
• Social negatives of oil drilling in the ANWR


  • Could severely affect local tribes
  • People living in fear of oil spills
  • Visual pollution may affect the tourism industry