Royal Dutch Shell PLC spokesman, Curtis Smith, announced in an email stating “Due to high wind and sea states, we have paused all critical operations in the Chukchi Sea,” . On 7-31-15, the semi-submersible Polar Pioneer and drillship Noble Discoverer connected to pre-set anchor chains at Shell’s “Burger J” and “Burger B” well sites The rig sent a drill bit into the floor of the Chukchi Sea about 5 p.m. Alaska time, ending an 8 year battle with environmentalists and triumphantly ending any obstacles in Shell's quest to exploit and threaten the very survival of the Artic ocean. The Obama administration gave final approval to drilling plans once the Fennica arrived at the drill site in the Chukchi Sea after having suffered a large gash in it's hull. After deciding to follow a fishing vessel into 12' of water the Fennica hit an unchartered shoal.
Alaska Dispatch reports that critical operations were "proactively" shut down prior to the storm's arrival. Severe flooding in Barrow has resulted in the relocation of up to 100 workers. Some of these workers will be flown to Anchorage and others to Dead Horse. Essential personnel will remain in Barrow. Ships at the drilling site remain and are riding out the storm. Sustained winds of 35 mph with 16 foot waves battering the rig and shipping vessels are being reported.
Arctic Newswire reported on increasing wave heights in the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering seas.
Waves grew bigger and spaced farther apart as ice cover diminished in the Arctic and sub-Arctic waters off Alaska and western Canada, new research shows.Since the 1970s, the biggest waves in the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering Seas have grown at a rate of 0.3 to 0.8 percent per year, according to a comprehensive study led by Environment Canada. The time it takes waves to cycle, a measurement known as period, has grown even more, by 3 to 4 percent per year, more than tripling since 1970, according to the study, published by the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate.
The study tracks significant wave height, which is the height of the biggest third of the waves, and mean wave period, which is the average of time for wave crests and troughs to complete their cycles.
The rapidly heating of the Arctic has once again forced ashore thousands of Walruses which is threatening their survival. The Walrus needs sea ice to feed and rest and to avoid predators.The Guardian notes:
The first reported sighting of animals forced to come ashore in the Chukchi Sea was by a photographer on 23 August, and confirmed by villagers in the remote hamlet of Point Lay late on Thursday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said.Such landings, forced by the absence of sea ice on which to rest and feed, put the animals at risk of stampede in the limited space of the barrier island.
The animals are easily spooked by aircraft or onlookers, government scientists warned. Trampling deaths are one of the biggest natural risks.
snip Last year, as many as 40,000 animals, mainly females and their young, were forced ashore. It was the biggest known haul-out of its kind in the US Arctic, according to government scientists. The Federal Aviation Authority re-routed flights and bush pilots were told to keep their distance to avoid a stampede.Agency scientists said about 60 young walruses were killed because of crowding and stampedes.
“Walruses often flee haulouts in response to the sight, sound, or odor of humans or machines. Walruses are particularly sensitive to changes in engine noise and are more likely to stampede off beaches when planes turn or fly low overhead,” Andrea Medeiros, a spokeswoman for the fish and wildlife service, said in an email.
In 2 days, President Obama will begin a 3 day tour of the Arctic highlighting the dramatic changes to the Arctic from Climate Change. The President was not happy that he has been forced to defend his decision to allow Shell to drill in the Chukchi especially since the Artic is unraveling before our very eyes due to Climate Change.The Guardian reports:
But a defensive White House was forced to push back against campaigners who accuse Obama of undermining his environmental agenda by giving the go-ahead to Shell to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea, only weeks after rolling out his signature climate change plan.Obama, in his weekly address on Saturday, insisted there was no clash between his climate change agenda and Arctic drilling.
America was beginning to get off fossil fuels, he said. But Obama went on: “Our economy still has to rely on oil and gas. As long as that’s the case, I believe we should rely more on domestic production than on foreign imports.”
EE Publishing summarizes the President's trip: The president will arrive Monday to headline a two-day conference convened by Secretary of State John Kerry dealing with Arctic climate and adaptation issues. The gathering will draw approximately 400 representatives from other Arctic nations and interested foreign observers, and will give Obama a platform to highlight how changes in the Arctic will affect the rest of the world by accelerating warming, contributing to sea-level rise and changing precipitation patterns at lower altitudes.Kerry will speak at the conference and author a summary document capturing its "key outcomes," according to Karen Florini, deputy special envoy for climate change at the U.S. State Department.
Obama will then travel on Sept. 1 to the Seward area, where he is expected to view the Kenai Fjords and the Harding Icefield, which is home to nearly 40 glaciers. Alaskan and the Canadian Arctic land-based glacier melt ranks with that of the Greenland Ice Sheet as important contributors to global sea-level rise that is already underway.