The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field

In spite of the harsh conditions that characterize the Arctic, it is a surprisingly fragile ecosystem. The exploration for oil in the Arctic over the past 30 years has had profound effects on the plants and animals that inhabit this frozen clime. The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field synthesizes decades of research on these myriad impacts. Specialists with years of field experience have contributed to this volume to create the first widely available synopsis of the ecology and wildlife biology of animals and plants living in close association with an actively producing oil field.

This volume (published by Academic Press, 2000) presents for the first time in peer-reviewed format a synopsis of technical knowledge about wildlife and fish populations and their habitats in the giant petroleum complex that surrounds Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The authors, recognized specialists on their respective topics, summarize available knowledge about caribou, grizzly and polar bears, arctic foxes, waterfowl and other wetland birds, freshwater and coastal fishes, and the habitats that support these animals.

The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska covers an area of approximately 230,000 square kilometers north of the Brooks Range, with 71,000 square kilometers located between the Colville and Canning Rivers. Within this region are several producing oil fields.

Since production began at Prudhoe Bay in 1977, more than 12 billion barrels of oil have been transported to the marine terminal in Valdez via the 1,288-km Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

This chapter details the history of North Slope oil exploration and development, the nature of oil development, the identification and monitoring of environmental impacts, and the authors draw conclusions from over 25 years of North Slope activity.

The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field is available from Amazon.com

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