3 Matching Annotations
  1. May 2017
    1. Mackenzie River
      The Mackenzie River is a major river system in northwestern North America. It is exceeded only in basin size by the Mississippi-Missouri system. The entire Mackenzie River system is 2,635 miles long and passes through many lakes before emptying into the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. The Mackenzie River alone is 1,025 miles long when measured from Great Slave Lake. It begins at Great Slave Lake where the elevation is 512 feet above sea level. Great Slave Lake can be as deep as 2,000 feet in certain places. It is filled with clear water on the eastern side and shallow, murky water on the western side. The headwaters of the Mackenzie River include numerous large rivers. The drainage basins of the Mackenzie River include the Liard River, Peace River, and Athabasca River. The ice that forms on the Mackenzie River over the winter months begins the break up in early to mid-May in the southern sections. Ice covering some portions of the Mackenzie River can break up as late as the end of May. The Mackenzie River basin is home to a very small and sparse population despite the natural resources available in this area. This area is home to muskrat, marten, beaver, lynx, and fox. Pulpwood and other small conifer trees can be found here. Petroleum and natural gas are usually the underlying reason larger settlements have formed in this area (Robinson 1999). 
      

      References

      Robinson, J. Lewis. 1999. Mackenzie River. July 26. Accessed May 2017, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/place/Mackenzie-River#ref466063.

  2. Mar 2017
    1. the Beaufort Sea

      (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Beaufort+Sea/@70.8553171,-158.2142268,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x51743798efc593cb:0x41234bfebcaad073!8m2!3d72.8431409!4d-145.5684843)

      The Beaufort Sea is a division of the Atlantic Ocean in northwest Canada and northwest Alaska. It is where the Mackenzie River empties into the Canadian side of the sea. This area of the Arctic is known to be a major source of oil and petroleum. It has been the target of pipeline and drilling projects both in the past and presently.

      Not much has changed for the Beaufort Sea when it comes to oil extraction. Recently, new oil and gas drilling has been suspended for the next five years in the Beaufort Sea in order for the US and Canada to evaluate the environmental impacts drilling would have on the area. In the 1970’s when this article was written, the same caution was taken by both governments in order to understand the impacts that the pipeline would have on the area and it’s inhabitants. Currently, although the Beaufort Sea is a major reserve for gas and petroleum, it is still dangerous to drill. The landscape of the arctic is much different of that in the Gulf of Mexico, making it more difficult and more dangerous to drill. Even after three decades, this area is still facing the same challenges with its reserves.

      Annotation taken from Amman, Jordan Canada cancel extension of the existing Arctic offshore oil exploration licenses. (Energy Monitor Worldwide, 2017)

    1. Beaufort Sea Project

      The Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change began as a research project in Canada in 2002. The project was started by Magdalena A.K. Muir and Geographic Information System (GIS) specialists with support from the Fisheries and Joint Management Committee and governmental organizations. The focus of the project from 2002 to 2007 was to study the effects of climate change on marine mammals and fish in the Beaufort Sea. In conjunction, the research studied the effects of using, managing, and allocating marine resources. After 2008, the research has focused on identifying species of marine wildlife that could be at risk in the future due to overfishing and climate change related effects. This research continues to study the effects of climate change on the health of marine species and management of marine resources. The management of these resources includes gaining species knowledge, setting limits on the number of marine mammals and fish that are allowed to be captured and killed per year, and enforcing legislature about managing marine resources. Specifically, researchers are studying the effects of climate change in marine mammal migrations patterns. The specific environmental effects are changes in the fresh water Mackenzie River inputs, sea and land ice, and water circulation. Researchers plan to use these changes to catalogue direct effects of climate change on migration. Sea and land ice changes will be detrimental to ice dependent animals. This research will provide information for scientists, researchers, organizations, charities, and government officials so that appropriate laws and regulations can be established (Muir n.d.).

      Source:

      Muir, Magdalena A.K. "Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change." Arctic Institute of North America. Accessed March 05, 2017. http://arctic.ucalgary.ca/beaufort-sea-project-climate-change.