Update of the River Overflood on Sea Ice and Strudel Scour in the U.S. Beaufort Sea

Publication Title: Update of the River Overflood on Sea Ice and Strudel Scour in the U.S. Beaufort Sea

Subject: Physical Oceanography; Cryosphere
Coastal & Estuarine Habitat
Alaska; Beaufort Sea; river overflood; sea ice; strudel scour

CSE Reference: Hearon G, Plana Casado A, Scott C, Dickins D (Coastal Frontiers Corporation, Moorpark, CA; DF Dickins Associates, LLC, Monterey, CA). 2022. Update of the river overflood on sea ice and strudel scour in the U.S. Beaufort Sea. Anchorage (AK): US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 98 p plus appendices. Contract No.: M0121C0001. Report No.: OCS Study BOEM 2022-044. URL: https://espis.boem.gov/Technical%20Summaries/BOEM_2022-044.pdf

Abstract: The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region commissioned a study designed to map the extent of peak river overflood onto the landfast sea ice in the nearshore region of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea during the 13-year period from 2008 to 2020. The study builds on, updates, and supersedes all products generated as part of a similar study published in 2009 (the “2009 Study”) in the framework of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) project Mapping Sea Ice Overflood Using Remote Sensing: Smith Bay to Camden Bay (covering the period from 1995 to 2007; Hearon et al., 2009). The combined dataset, presented in a geodatabase, includes satellite imagery, interpreted overflood boundaries, isolines of probability of overflood occurrence, strudel drain and scour data, and an inventory of offshore ice roads for the 26-year period from 1995 to 2020. The geodatabase can be used by BOEM, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the State of Alaska to assess the potential environmental hazards associated with present and future oil and gas facilities that may be located within the study area.