Evidence of 60 meter deep Arctic pressure-ridge keels
Numerous efforts have been made during the last two decades to determine the ice thickness distribution in the Arctic Ocean and in particular to learn the keel depth of the largest modern pressure ridges. With the discovery of oil and gas in the arctic offshore and the trend to extend exploration into deeper water and increasing distance from shore, knowledge of the maximum ice thickness in the continental shelf is becoming increasingly important. Various approaches have been used to directly obtain keel depth data in the Arctic, but no satisfactory technique for water depths of less than 100 meters exists. For continental shelves, virtually all public data on ridge keel configuration stems from spot measurements made with horizontally held sonar transducers lowered through the ice adjacent to ridges, and from cores of ridges. Because these techniques are time-consuming, the depths of only a few ridge keels have been determined by such methods. Fixed upward-looking sonar devices have been used with limited success in several applications to record under-ice relief and movement, but any data so obtained is not public. This report is an attempt to interpret the age of deepwater gouges seen on the Alaskan Arctic shelf.
- OSTI ID:
- 6319048
- Journal Information:
- Offshore; (United States), Journal Name: Offshore; (United States); ISSN OFSHA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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