Environmental Science, 10th Edition (Cunningham)

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Overview: ANWR and Prudhoe Bay, p. 434

Ecologists' chief concerns involve the potential for spills of oil and drilling fluids in the tundra, as well as the impacts of road networks needed to access drilling pads. Just northwest of the place marker you can see a drilling site where black and brown tones mark an apparent area of contaminated tundra.

1			What is the latitude of the Prudhoe Bay place marker?
			A)	60 degrees N
			B)	65 degrees N
			C)	70 degrees N
			D)	75 degrees N
			E)	80 degrees N
2			Zoom in to the patterned ground visible in the snow-free image south of the place marker. What makes up the polygon patterns?
			A)	Pools in the permafrost, classic patterned ground that occurs in tundra
			B)	Helicopter landing pads, necessary to haul heavy oil exploration equipment in a difficult environment
			C)	Recreational fields, necessary for exercise in a difficult environment
			D)	Patchy fields of a grass species that can survive the arctic environment
			E)	Pools of leaked industrial fluids
3			Southeast of the place marker are a number of linear (or rectangular) black and white features. The black areas are containment ponds to store fluids used in drilling. What evidence do you see that these ponds do or don't pose a hazard to water quality in the area?
			A)	There is no way to determine from a satellite image whether there is a water quality hazard related to the containment ponds.
			B)	Many of the rectangular black ponds are surrounded by open tundra ponds, and containment from these waters is likely to be extremely hard over time.
			C)	The containment ponds appear to be tidy and well maintained, indicating that they are being competently monitored to ensure completely safe containment.
4			Rates of biological activity—especially decomposition—are very different in the high arctic than at lower latitudes. How might this difference influence our assessment of the risks of oil drilling?
			A)	Varying rates of biological activity are unlikely to be a factor affecting the risks of oil drilling, because oil is a geological phenomenon, not a biological one.
			B)	In many warmer environments, bacteria can degrade petrochemicals over time, reducing their toxicity, but this activity is likely to be extremely slow in an arctic environment.
			C)	Mobility of toxic compounds should be small in the long winter months, which could slow their rate of spread.
			D)	In many warmer environments, bacteria can degrade petrochemicals over time, reducing their toxicity, but this activity is likely to be extremely slow in an arctic environment and mobility of toxic compounds should be small in the long winter months, which could slow their rate of spread.
			E)	None of the answers provided are accurate.