The pipeline stretches right across ALASKA from

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The pipeline stretches right across ALASKA
from Prudhoe Bay in the north Passing Fairbanks
in the middle and Valdez in the south
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The Oil is out in the Beaufort Sea and is drilled
for from oil rigs.
The sea is frozen for most of the year and so
it was too dangerous for oil tankers.
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Extreme cold makes pumping oil difficult
Half of the 799-mile pipeline is buried and half
rests on supports above ground, to avoid
permafrost melting that can lead to structural
and environmental damage. Up to two million
barrels of crude oil are pumped through the
four-foot diameter pipeline daily, cooling from
an average temperature of 49 degrees Celsius at
Prudhoe Bay to about 21 degrees Celsius at Port
Valdez.
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Tundra vegetation is easily damaged by
construction Regrowth would be very slow because
the climate is so difficult
Arctic tundra along the Dalton Highway, Alaska
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• Pipeline crosses caribou migration route
• may stop movement
• may affect feeding patterns
• may affect breeding patterns
• So scientists protect them

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The pipeline had to cross mountains up to 1460
metres high Such as the Brooks Range
View Heading south across the Brooks Range on
the way to Fairbanks
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Several major rivers have to be
crossed. Difficult and expensive technology
needed.
The road crosses over the Yukon on a 1000 metre
bridge. The Yukon is about 800 metres wide here.
The pipeline is carried on a shelf on the side of
the bridge.
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Major oil spill Likely if leak goes unnoticed
The image shows a gate valve
inserted so sections of the pipeline can be
turned off in case a leak is detected.
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Image shows pipeline above ground near camera
but below ground in distance
The TAPS crosses three mountain ranges, several
basins, and an arctic coastal plain. Soil
conditions vary substantially and include many
permafrost areas. This required about half of the
TAPS pipeline to be constructed above ground on
supports rather than being buried
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The underground pipeline may thaw the permafrost
Causing the foundations to collapse and then
the pipeline to buckle
The freeze-thaw action of arctic permafrost
subjects buried sections of the pipeline to
significant bending, and oil temperature
fluctuations introduce high thermal stresses in
the pipe wall. It would be costly to drill down
to test buried pipes for damage
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The pipeline could be a target for a terrorist
attack on the USA economy. The FBI are meant to
protect it.
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The pipeline crosses an earthquake zone which
could damage the pipe and lead to leaks
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Surface thawing and movement in summer can cause
pipeline to buckle and puncture
The Prudhoe Bay complex covers 250 square miles
and employs thousands of workers. How could
something so huge smack in the middle of the
Arctic not disrupt the area's natural
environment? The oil companies claim that oil
activities on the North Slope have had no adverse
effect on wildlife and their habitat. This is a
hard pill to swallow. Pipeline milepost 0.
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Every kind of truck were hauling up the Alaska
Highway in the early 70's to the Alyeska Pipeline
at Prudhoe Bay. A lot of the southern 48 drivers
had never seen snow or ice before.
Heavy snowfall endangers buildings Causes
possible collapse And limits access
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Serious weather conditions likely, including
fogs, gales, floods. Even natural hazards like
tidal waves called tsunamis caused by Earthquakes
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Human error can cause accidents too!
Loading piers at the Valdez terminal. Here, oil
from the trans-Alaska pipeline is loaded onto
tankers for shipment to West Coast states. At
this terminal, oil was loaded onto the Exxon
Valdez for shipment to Los Angeles/Long Beach.