How Vulnerable Is Alaska's Transportation to Climate Change? Managing an infrastructure built on permafrost
Dates
Year
2013
Citation
Connor, Billy, and Harper, James, 2013, How Vulnerable Is Alaska's Transportation to Climate Change? Managing an infrastructure built on permafrost: TR News (0738-6826), no. 284, p. 23-29.
Summary
The article examines the impacts of climate change on the transportation system of Alaska which has more than 6,600 miles of coastline, and an underlayer of permafrost in approximately 80 percent of its land mass. Its highways are revealed to be frequently icing, cracking and washing away due to the warming permafrost, coastal erosion and increasing storms. Heat is presented to increase subsurface water flow which in turn affects roads resulting in instability in surfaces and slopes.
Summary
The article examines the impacts of climate change on the transportation system of Alaska which has more than 6,600 miles of coastline, and an underlayer of permafrost in approximately 80 percent of its land mass. Its highways are revealed to be frequently icing, cracking and washing away due to the warming permafrost, coastal erosion and increasing storms. Heat is presented to increase subsurface water flow which in turn affects roads resulting in instability in surfaces and slopes.
