Developments In Alaska Research Articles

Looking for Common Ground: Marine Living Resource Development in Alaska and Northern Norway in the Context of the Blue Economy

Although the concept of the blue economy was created by the Small Island Developing States, its relevance extends to any coastal region around the globe, making the engagement of both state and corporate actors imperative. At the core of the blue economy framework stands the incorporation of ocean values and services into economic modeling and governance. Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture are thus significant in this endeavor, particularly for Arctic nations, the economies of which are predominantly based on seafood production. Yet, while focus is increasingly placed on sustainability and blue economy models among Arctic states, the need for structured transnational collaboration is not always acknowledged. In that respect, this article aims to articulate a comparative study of the status quo, challenges, and opportunities of fisheries and aquaculture in Alaska and northern Norway and seeks to explore potentials for cross-sectoral synergies between the two regions in the context of the blue economy.

The Philosophy of Enhanced Oil Recovery

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 196362, “Philosophy of EOR,” by Tayfun Babadagli, SPE, University of Alberta, prepared for the 2019 SPE/IATMI Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Bali, Indonesia, 29-31 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Despite the substantial investment dedicated to research-to-pilot scale investigations, the ultimate profit from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications has been below expectations since the 1980s (less than 10% of total production). The author writes that revisiting and challenging the knowledge and dogmatic assumptions gathered during 5 decades of EOR is necessary. In the complete paper, a philosophy for the future of EOR projects is developed through a series of questions that applies to the industry’s transition from completion of conventional EOR toward unconventional EOR. Why Are We Afraid of EOR? The underperformance of EOR may be explained by the following reasons: Limitations in capturing the physics of the process for proper technical and economical assessment Risks involved in field pilots Securing the supply of the materials injected Difficulties involved in EOR design Risk resulting from economic uncertainties Why Are There Fewer EOR Projects Than Desired? True Drivers of EOR Applications, Technology, and Economics. Once the technical viability of an EOR project is proven, cost-effective applications can be achieved by the high-quality optimization efforts of engineers who can decide the appropriate optimization methods or at least the conditions under which a project can turn profitable. Insufficient Attention Given to Cost-Efficient EOR Methods. Use of air as the cheapest EOR agent has been investigated substantially for field-scale projects, but its applications are still limited. Recently, air injection was demonstrated to be safe under the low-temperature oxidation process and at atmospheric pressure/temperature conditions such as those of shallow heavy-oil reservoirs. Microbial injection also offers promising possibilities as a cost-effective approach. Fear of Most-Expensive Miscible Processes. The most-expensive EOR agents are miscible gases, or solvents, which are expected to yield the highest recovery under suitable conditions. Recyclability of the injected material from the miscible injection is an attractive part of the EOR process; however, unrecovered injectant can also be a critically limiting factor. Exploiting gas as a byproduct from other operations, however, allowed sustainable EOR development in Alaska (Prudhoe Bay), the North Sea, and Canada (Zama).

A social, environmental and economic evaluation protocol for potential gas hydrate exploitation projects

There is increasing global interest in the potential commercial development of methane gas hydrate as a widespread and abundant unconventional source of natural gas. Previous work has focussed on understanding the nature and distribution of the resource, and potential recovery technology, neglecting assessment of the associated social, economic and environmental consequences. This gap needs to be addressed for any commercial gas hydrate development business case to succeed. Here we develop a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) protocol of gas hydrate development using the ELECTRE III method. Our protocol proposes criteria that evaluate the social, environmental and economic impacts of gas hydrate development proposals, which are weighted to represent the priorities of six identified stakeholder groups. We have tested the protocol on potential commercial gas hydrate development in Alaska through a series of interviews. Our results show that there is no universal preference structure, even within stakeholder groups, indicating that buy-in from all groups is a complex compromise. However, there are two fundamentally opposing groups, one composed of individuals from governmental and industry backgrounds who prioritise economic criteria, and another represented by members of the local community and environmental advocates who prioritise social and environmental criteria. The protocol concludes that gas hydrate development in Alaska is unlikely to be supported under present-day conditions. This work provides the first structured foundation for comprehensive assessment of future development proposals of gas hydrate or other natural resources.

Reflections on the role of due diligence in clarifying State discretionary powers in developing Arctic natural resources

AbstractThis article argues that the concept of diligence provides a useful role in clarifying (and perhaps narrowing) the discretionary powers of the State with respect to the development of natural resources. The claim has two branches. First, the concept of due diligence plays an important role in bridging the normative gap between the harms caused by private actors and the international law of State responsibility. It is the vehicle by which States can be made to assume responsibility for private developments within their jurisdiction and control that cause harm to other States. Second, the concept of due diligence plays an important role (a “generative role”) in teasing out the detailed logical implications of more abstract primary norms such as the duty of prevention. These derivative duties include the duties to make a preliminary assessment of whether the proposed activity may cause a risk of significant transboundary harm: to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) if there is a risk of significant harm and, if the EIA confirms that risk, to notify and consult with respect to possible measures to prevent or mitigate that risk. The article demonstrates both of these claims through an examination of the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and arbitral awards. Finally, the article applies these claims in the context of possible resource developments in Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon that may have transboundary implications.

The Russian Navy and the Development of Alaska: The Military Dimension1

ABSTRACTThe Russian Navy played a decisive role in the opening of Alaska, though later relatively few of its ships appeared in the region, passing the baton to ships of private merchant companies and then to the Russian-American Company, which governed Alaska until its sale to the United States in 1867. Most of the company’s ships had rather limited military capabilities. Although the navy played a significant role in the development of Alaska, the military dimension to this process manifested itself relatively weakly. The ships under the Russian flag primarily carried out transport and convoy functions, shielding flotillas of company hunting baidarki [skin boats] from the attacks of hostile Indians, and later conducted formal patrols for watching foreign whaling ships. Almost the only episodes in which Russian ships were used in battle were the participation of the sloop Neva in a fight with the Tlingit Indians in 1804 and the raids of two Russian-American Company ships in 1806–1807 on Japanese villages on Sakhalin Island and the southern Kurile Islands.

Short-run impacts of a severance tax change: Evidence from Alaska

Energy states face a fundamental tradeoff when increasing severance tax rates: potential gains in tax revenues versus potential losses in exploration, development, and production activity. Despite the significant implications of this tradeoff, there is very little empirical evidence on the short-run responsiveness of extraction-related activities to changes in severance taxes. We conduct a comparative case study to evaluate the short-term impact of a severance tax increase on oil-related activities and development in Alaska. In 2007, the introduction of “Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share” (ACES) more than tripled the tax liability for much of the oil already under production in Alaska. We construct a synthetic Alaska from a set of U.S. energy states, with the purpose of estimating the counterfactual evolution of oil production, exploration and development wells, gross state product, and employment, in the absence of ACES. Overall, our results indicate that there is no discernible difference in the outcome variables of interest between Alaska and its synthetic control after the implementation of ACES, suggesting that ACES had a minimal effect on Alaskan oil-related activity and development in the short run.

Conditions Supporting Funnel Cloud Development in Alaska

The characteristics and climatology of funnel clouds in Alaska were examined using operational radiosondes, surface meteorological observations, and reanalysis data. Funnel clouds occurred under weak synoptic forcing between May and September between 11 am and 6 pm Alaska Daylight Time with a maximum occurrence in July. They occurred under Convective Available Potential Energy >500 J·kg-1 and strong low-level wind shear. Characteristic atmospheric profiles during funnel cloud events served to develop a retrieval algorithm based on similarity testing. Out of more than 129,000 soundings between 1971 and 2014, 2724, 442, and 744 profiles were similar to the profiles of observed funnel cloud events in the Interior, Alaska West Coast, and Anchorage regions. While the number of reported funnel clouds has increased since 2000, the frequency of synoptic situations favorable for such events has decreased.

Paediatric trauma on the Last Frontier: an 11-year review of injury mechanisms, high-risk injury patterns and outcomes in Alaskan children

BackgroundPaediatric trauma system development in Alaska is complicated by a vast geographic coverage area, wide regional variations in environment and culture, and a lack of available published data.ObjectiveTo provide a detailed description of paediatric trauma mechanisms, high-risk injury patterns and outcomes in Alaska.DesignThis retrospective study included all children aged 17 years or younger in the State of Alaska Trauma Registry database admitted with traumatic injury between 2001 and 2011. Each injury record was reviewed individually and assigned a mechanism based on Centers for Disease Control E-codes. Geographic definitions were based on existing Emergency Medical Services regions. Mechanisms were compared by geographic region, patient demographics, injury characteristics and outcome. Subgroup analysis of fatal injuries was performed to identify causes of death.ResultsOf 5,547 patients meeting inclusion criteria, the most common mechanisms of injury were falls (39%), motor vehicle collisions (10%) and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents (9%). The overall case fatality rate was 2%. Mechanisms with the greatest risk of death were gunshot wounds (21%), pedestrians struck by motorized vehicles (9%) and motor vehicle collisions (5%). These 3 mechanisms accounted for 15% of injuries but 60% of deaths in the overall cohort. Injury patterns involving combined central nervous system (CNS) and torso injuries were unusual but especially lethal, occurring in 3% of patients but carrying a case fatality rate of 18%. Although the distribution of mechanisms was generally similar for each geographic region, ATV and snowmobile injuries were significantly more common in remote areas (23% remote vs. 7% non-remote, p < 0.0001).ConclusionsMechanisms of paediatric trauma in Alaska have widely varying impacts on outcome and show some variation by region. Highest-risk mechanisms include gunshot wounds and motorized vehicle-related accidents. Prevention efforts should give special attention to CNS injury prevention, ATV and snowmobile safety in remote areas, and optimization of management of multisystem trauma. Further studies should investigate predictors of outcome in greater detail.

Creative Alaska: creative capital and economic development opportunities in Alaska

ABSTRACTThe flaws of the 20th century–type development ‘mega–projects’ in the circumpolar North prompt Arctic regions actively to search for alternative strategies of regional development that break away from resource–dependency and reconcile local (traditional) societies with the realities of post–Fordism and globalisation. This paper presents a study that focuses on the notion of creative capital (CC) and assesses its ability to foster economic development in Alaska. The findings suggest that some characteristics of the CC observed in Alaskan communities are similar to those found in southern regions, whereas others are distinct (but similar to those in the Canadian North). In Alaska, the synergy between cultural economy, entrepreneurship and leadership appear to be more important in characterising creative capacities than formal education. The geographical distribution of the CC is uneven and heavily clustered in economically, geographically and politically privileged northern urban centres. However, some remote regions also demonstrate considerable levels of creative potential, in particular associated with the aboriginal cultural capital (artists, crafters, etc.). A number of Alaskan regions, creative ‘hot spots’, could become places that can benefit from alternative strategies of regional development based on CC, knowledge–based and cultural economies.

Mapping large-scale forest dynamics: a geospatial approach

Digital map of forest dynamics is emerging as a useful research and management tool. As a key issue to address in developing digital maps of forest dynamics, spatial autocorrelation has been distinguished into “true” and “false” gradients. Previous ecological models are mostly focused on either “true” or “false” gradient, and little has been studied to simultaneously account for both gradients in a single model. The main objective of this study was to incorporate both gradients of spatial autocorrelation in a deterministic geospatial model to provide improved accuracy and reliability in future digital maps of forest dynamics. The mapping was based on two underlying assumptions—unit homogeneity and intrinsic stationarity. This study shows that when the factors causing the spatial non-stationarity have been accounted for, forest states could become a stationary process. A prototype geospatial model was developed for the Alaska boreal forest to study current and future stockings across the region. With areas of the highest basal area increment rate projected to cluster along the major rivers and the lowest near the four major urban developments in Alaska, it was hypothesized that moisture limitation and inappropriate human interference were the main factors affecting the stocking rates. These results could be of unprecedented value, especially for the majority of Alaska boreal region where little information is available.

Toward an Anthropology of Energy: Ontologies and Ecologies in the Yukon Flats

Despite its significance in everyday practices like powering a laptop or, writ large, in the workings of global geocapital, energy remains relatively invisible to anthropology. Perhaps guided by cultural ecology’s concern with energy as caloric ability, social scientists have so far attended to the ‘human aspects’ - or consumption - of fossil energy. They also document local environmental outcomes of carbon energy dependency and climate change. But the production of expertise and knowledge about energy remain under-examined, shrouded in what Laura Nader calls inevitability talk. In this paper, I suggest the potential for a critical ethnographic approach to energy by untangling some of the ontological and political conceptions that underpin intense local conflict over natural gas development in Alaska’s Yukon Flats Refuge. I ask, how does one study energy as an ethnographer? Theories of materiality have gained traction among scholars seeking to move beyond constructivist accounts of the nonhuman. Yet materiality doesn’t lend itself easily to a methodological approach. Tracing theories of materiality back to studies of the more-than-human ontology of aboriginal North American hunters provides me a practical starting point, suggesting that skill and experience in energy work also rests on ontologically significant ways of knowing energy. Knowledge about energy in the Yukon Flats reflects workers’ and activists’ everyday practices of producing natural gas as a physical substance and as a site of environmental protest. I argue that energy is conceptualized in culturally distinctive ways and that these conceptions are vigorously contested in the present conflict.

Inupiat Health and Proposed Alaskan Oil Development: Results of the First Integrated Health Impact Assessment/Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed Oil Development on Alaska’s North Slope

We report on the first Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for proposed oil and gas development in Alaska’s North Slope region. Public health is not generally analyzed in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process in the U.S. We conducted an HIA for proposed oil development within the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska in response to growing concerns among North Slope Inupiat communities regarding the potential impacts of regional industrial expansion on their health and culture. We employed a qualitative HIA methodology, involving a combination of stakeholder input, literature review, and qualitative analysis, through which we identified potential health effects. The possible health outcomes identified include increases in diabetes and related metabolic conditions as a result of dietary change; rising rates of substance abuse, domestic violence, and suicide; increased injury rates; more frequent asthma exacerbations; and increased exposure to organic pollutant, including carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. There are also potential benefits, including funding for infrastructure and health care; increased employment and income; and continued funding of existing infrastructure. Based on these findings, we recommend a series of public health mitigation measures. This project represents the first formal effort to include a systematic assessment of public health within the U.S. EIS process. The inclusion of public health concerns within an EIS may offer an important and underutilized avenue through which to argue for environmental management strategies that focus on public health, and may offer communities a stronger voice in the EIS process.

Connecting Alaska: The Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System

In response to the Klondike gold rush, the U.S. Army established isolated forts throughout Alaska. Between 1900 and 1905, the Signal Corps connected those posts with each other and with the contiguous United States by means of the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS). A significant logistical and technological achievement, the system of thousands of miles of suspended landlines and underwater cable included the first successful long-distance radio operation in the world. The first physical link between the United States and Alaska, the telegraph was also the first major contribution to Alaskan infrastructure provided by the federal government, marking the beginning of the government's central role in the development of Alaska.

Law Libraries of “The Last Frontier”

This article by Cynthia Fellows describes the growth and development of Alaska's state court law libraries. To provide perspective, the first part of the article highlights the pre-statehood history of Alaska's laws and constitution. The second half describes general characteristics of court libraries in the United States, comments on U.S. case reports and computerised research, and traces the evolution of the Alaska state court libraries and the role of court librarians.

Developing Geographic Response Strategies: A Model Approach

ABSTRACT A critical element of an oil-discharge/hazardous-substance-release contingency plan is its utility in guiding protection of priority sensitive areas following a discharge or release. This paper discusses a cooperative effort to develop such a tool, the Geographic Response Strategy (GRS), that may be used by other regions in their own contingency plans. A GRS combines local knowledge of sensitive areas with proven operations and logistics into a document with specific guidance for rapid response that can be used in the field. A GRS includes a site map, photograph, and table of associated information describing the resources to protect, operational tactics to carry out the protection, equipment and personnel needs, and site access. Sites are selected based on their environmental sensitivity, the risk of a discharge/release, and the ability to protect the site. Natural resource trustee agencies make preliminary site selections. After consideration of public comments, a GRS Work Group selects the GRS sites. An Operations/Tactics Subgroup designs the response strategy using basic response tactics. GRSs are field tested, when possible, to verify operational feasibility and to ensure that proposed response actions do not inadvertently harm sensitive resources. Completed GRSs for a subarea are compiled into an addendum to the appropriate federal/state subarea contingency plan. The collaborative process to create GRSs is a recent development in Alaska. Concepts framed at a 1998 workshop in Anchorage coalesced early work on site-specific response plans into a common approach that was accepted by the Alaska Regional Response Team. Since 1999, over 145 site-specific GRSs have been prepared for high-risk sensitive areas by work groups consisting of representatives of oil industry; spill response organizations; federal, state, and local agencies; tribal entities; and citizens groups. The GRS process helps stakeholders and the public understand what actions may be feasible during a response.

Arctic grazing systems and industrial development: can we minimize conflicts?

The industrialized world is expanding its search for energy, minerals, timber and other resources into the Arctic and adjacent higher latitudes. Up to now, large-scale development projects in the Arctic and sub-Arctic have been few. We can, however, profit from experiences gained from several of these, including oil and gas exploration and development in Alaska and on Russia's Yamal Peninsula, the Norilsk metalurgical complex of Siberia, Alaska's Red Dog mine and others. Conclusions drawn from these experiences are that industrial impacts on Arctic grazing systems can be minimized if the following considerations guide their planning: 1) most of the large development projects that have been undertaken in the North have lacked adequate background information on the grazing systems that they might impact; 2) there needs to be recognition by industry and governments for the amount of time required to gather such information and provision made for this; 3) because types of impacts on northern grazing systems that may result from development projects vary depending on whether they involve mining, oil or gas, hydroelectric or other activities, each proposed project must be assessed independently; 4) cumulative effects of multiple projects, often sequentially developed, are seldom addressed by the responsible governments, thus planning for development of an individual project should be within the context of regional and long-range development planning; and 5) types and sources of contaminants entering northern ecosystems, threatening the health of northern residents, must also be a major focus of project assessment.

Arctic grazing systems and industrial development: can we minimize conflicts?

The industrialized world is expanding its search for energy, minerals, timber and other resources into the Arctic and adjacent higher latitudes. Up to now, large-scale development projects in the Arctic and sub-Arctic have been few. We can, however, profit from experiences gained from several of these, including oil and gas exploration and development in Alaska and on Russia's Yamal Peninsula, the Norilsk metalurgical complex of Siberia, Alaska's Red Dog mine and others. Conclusions drawn from these experiences are that industrial impacts on Arctic grazing systems can be minimized if the following considerations guide their planning: 1) most of the large development projects that have been undertaken in the North have lacked adequate background information on the grazing systems that they might impact; 2) there needs to be recognition by industry and governments for the amount of time required to gather such information and provision made for this; 3) because types of impacts on northern grazing systems that may result from development projects vary depending on whether they involve mining, oil or gas, hydroelectric or other activities, each proposed project must be assessed independently; 4) cumulative effects of multiple projects, often sequentially developed, are seldom addressed by the responsible governments, thus planning for development of an individual project should be within the context of regional and long-range development planning; and 5) types and sources of contaminants entering northern ecosystems, threatening the health of northern residents, must also be a major focus of project assessment.

Tourists and Tourism: Identifying with People and Places

Contents: Simone Abram Jacqueline Waldren, Introduction -- Tamara Kohn, Island Involvement and the Evolving Tourist -- Simone Abram, Performing for Tourists in Rural France -- Jacqueline Waldren, We Are Not Tourists: We Live Here -- Sara Cohen, More than the Beatles: Popular Music, Tourism and Urban Regeneration -- Connie Zeanah Atkinson, Whose New Orleans? Musics Place in the Packaging of New Orleans for Tourism -- Hazel Tucker, The Ideal Village: Interactions through Tourism in Central Anatolia -- Donald V.L. Macleod, Alternative Tourists on a Canary Island -- Niels Sampath, Mas Identity: Tourism and Global and Local Aspects of Trinidad Carnival -- Ken Teague, Representations of Nepal -- Michael Hitchcock, Nick Stanley Siu King Chung, The Southeast Asian Living Museum and its Antecedents -- Mark Nuttall, Packaging the Wild: Tourism Development in Alaska

Oil and Gas Developments in Alaska in 1989

A significant increase in exploration activity over past years occurred in 1989. Two and one-half times the number of exploration wells were drilled and evaluated, and more than twice as much geophysical work took place as in 1988. Included in this effort were the first 3 wildcat wells spudded in the frontier basin of the Chukchi Sea, and the announcement of a new oil field discovery at Point McIntyre on the Arctic Slope. The year's positive events were overshadowed significantly by the oil spill which occurred in March 1989 in Prince William Sound. The impacts of the spill are still being felt in oil and gas leasing, development, taxation, and petroleum transportation policies throughout the state of Alaska as well as nationwide. Despite this situation, the renew d exploration effort continued at the end of 1989, and promises to remain at least as strong through 1990.

The Battles for Alaska: Planning in America's Last Wilderness

Abstract Alaska contains abundant land and exceptional resources. Since the turn of the century, federal agencies, territory and state agencies, and residents, both native and non-native, have competed for the land and resources. This competition has thwarted numerous attempts to initiate and coordinate planning and development in Alaska. The competition has also prompted, since 1958, the passage of three federal acts that have divided the state into a mosaic of ownerships. While federal and state agencies have completed plans for their tracts, the plans have conflicting goals and are poorly coordinated. Thus, the plans do little to protect Alaska's special resources — such as wildlife and rivers — that cross management boundaries. To mitigate the competition over land and resources, which continues unabated, Alaska's planners should consider instituting a form of “superprocess” to update plans concurrently on a regional basis.