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Tundra has snow, needs cold for opening
The State of Alaska said Nov. 4 that while three of four tundra opening areas on the North Slope have sufficient snow, none of them have soil temperatures cold enough for off-road travel on state-owned land.
As of Oct. 31, the western coastal, lower foothills and upper foothills all had enough snow (9 inches or more) for tundra opening, but none of the four areas (the eastern coastal is the fourth area) had required soil temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) at a depth of 30 centimeters (just shy of a foot).
The Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water said that because there is adequate snow but inadequate soil temperature, companies planning to construct ice roads “should consider packing the snow on ice road routes using summer-approved vehicles to accelerate the freeze-up process.”
More snow this year There is more snow in all of the areas than at the end of October in either 2006 or 2007, the division said. In both previous seasons the snow cover at the end of October ranged from 3.8 to 5 inches. This year, snow depths ranged from 7.8 to 11.8 inches.
Requests for pre-packing need DNR approval. The division said requests should include a map, a list of vehicles to be used, depth of snow in the area and a description of the ice road construction process to be used.
DNR staff will return to the North Slope Nov. 10 to continue monitoring snow depths and soil temperatures.
The division said openings will be released separately.
—Petroleum News
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