Thawing permafrost could imperil Alaska oil, gas exploration

摘要

North Slope oil and gas operators face a long-term, existential threat to infrastructure for which there is no easy solution-thawing permafrost. Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have been taking deep temperature measurements in permafrost soils underlying the producing oilfields on the slope and along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Since 1978, when measurements began, temperatures at the 65-foot depth have shown steady warming, with the steepest increase at 6 F in the oil fields at the northern end of TAPS.