CLIMATE CHANGE AND OIL IN THE ARCTIC
What is Climate Change? Rising temperatures Changes in weather Warm acidic oceans Melting ice caps Rising sea levels Photo from uab.edu
A Way Forward: Facing Climate Change
Glacial Retreat Photos from nsidc.com
Video from NSIDC
Sea Ice Sea ice is frozen seawater. There are different types Fast Ice vs Pack Ice Old Ice vs First Year ice
Sea Ice in the Arctic
Image from CRREL
Video from NOAA
Why do we care about Sea Ice? Sunlight The Albedo Effect Ice/Snow Reflects Heat Water Absorbs Heat
Positive Feedback Loop Sunlight The Albedo Effect Sunlight warms exposed water Melting Ice exposes more seawater Warm water melts ice
What Does this Mean for the Arctic?
Effects on Climate The Arctic is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average. Loss of sea ice Loss of permafrost Shifts in pattersn of rain/snowfall and runoff Increased forest fires
Video from passporttoknowledge.com
Effects on Arctic Plants Longer growing season Tree line farther north Change in plant composition Earlier blooming Photos from wwf.panda.org & livescience.com
Effects on Arctic Animals Changing plant composition (food source) Increased plant production in the summer Decreased access to food in the winter Loss of breeding habitat Photos from wwwf.panda.org & ithryn.org
Effects on Arctic Animals Changes in algae blooms along ice edge Changes in fish stocks Ice-dependent animals will lose habitat Photos from imr.no & travelwild.com
Effects on Caribou Longer growing season Decreased access to food in the Winter Increased Pests Photos from wwwf.panda.org
Effects on People Dependence on marine mammals Changing forage for reindeer Changing animal and fish resources Changing ice and snow conditions Photos from nsidc.org
The Causes of Climate Change
What causes climate change? Burning fossil fuels Deforestation Industrial processes Agricultural processes Photos from britannica.com
Atmosphere reflects some sunlight Some heat escapes out into space Earth reflects some heat Earth absorbs some heat The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more heat is trapped, causing the Earth to warm. Some heat is returned to the Earth by greenhouse gases
Oil and the Arctic
Where does oil come from? Organisms living millions of years ago died and were buried under sediment at the bottom of the ocean. As they were buried deeper, heat and pressure changed the mud into rocks and the dead organisms into oil and natural gas. Some of this oil and gas was trapped under rocks and these are the oil deposits people drill into today. Sand and Silt Plant and Animal Remains Photos from techalive.mtu.edu
Drilling for Oil Legally obtain land Conduct environmental impact studies Build access roads Clear and level land Photo from zimbio.com
Drilling for Oil Drill water well Dig reserve pit Prepare the pad Start drilling the main hole Set up the main rig equipment Photo from zimbio.com
Transporting Oil Pipelines Trains Trucks Tankers Barges Photos from english.alshadid.net & swri.org
Oil in the Arctic Harsh winter weather Unpredictable ice and weather conditions Dark Remote area with limited access Poor soil and permafrost Environmentally sensitive area Photo from alaskapipelinejobinfo.com
Impacts of drilling in the Arctic Habitat destruction Fragmentation of migration routes Erosion Gravel mining for roads Damage to subsea and seafloor habitats from drilling infrastructure Photo from unc.edu
Impacts of an oil spill in the Arctic Environmentally sensitive region Top predators tend to congregate Dependent on plankton blooms Short productive season Photo from wwf.panda.org
Image from NOAA
Impacts of an oil spill in the Arctic There is no effective method for containing and cleaning up an oil spill in ice conditions. Photo from wwf.panda.org
Potential Response Equipment Booms and skimmers In-situ burning Icebreakers Photo from Alaska Dispatch