Arctic Engineering Module 1a Script

University of Alaska Anchorage

Global Perspectives

Slide 1 Title slide

Slide 2 Arctic scene with Robert Service poem excerpt and musical background:

You who this faint day the High North is luring

Unto her vastness, taintlessly sweet;
You who are steel-braced, straight-lipped, enduring,
Dreadless in danger and dire in defeat;
Honor the High North ever and ever,
Whether she crown you, or whether she slay;
Suffer her fury, cherish and love her-
He who would rule he must learn to obey.

Note: This photo of Turnagain Arm (near Anchorage), Alaska, by Orson Smith, has been
displayed in large format at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Slide 3 Presenter Introduction

This is Orson Smith with you for our first Fundamentals of Arctic Engineering learning
module, regarding Global Perspectives on climate and the definition of Cold Regions.
You may want to have a printed copy of the slides Im about to describe, available in the
Course Materials area of the course web page. Well consider now some principles of
Earth Science that pertain to the seasonal and long-term climate zones of our planet.

Slide 4 Learning Objectives

Our learning objectives in this course content module are to

Reach a fundamental understanding of physical reasons for
o Seasonal changes in the weather from place to place on Earth,
o Heat balance of the continents, oceans, and atmosphere, and
o Long-term climate change.
Recognize climate parameters that define cold regions
Learn of some current public sources for climate information.

Slide 5 Earths orbit

Seasonal climate, as measured by air and surface temperatures at given regions of the
Earth, relates directly to latitude. The spherical shape of the Earth and the 23- degree
tilt of the Earths rotational axis to Earths orbital plane about the sun are responsible for
the correspondence of latitude and seasonal climate. The Arctic and Antarctic circles, at
66- degrees North and South latitude, respectively, mark the extremes of that tilt,
indicated in the figure. The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, at 23- degrees North and
South, mark the North and South extremes of direct sunlight, perpendicular to the Earths
surface at summer solstice.

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The Earths orbit is slightly elliptical, but it is the oblique angle of sunlight on the
planets spherical surface that has the greater effect. The northern hemisphere summer
actually occurs when the Earth is a little bit farther from the Sun than it is in northern
hemisphere winter. All latitudes above the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn receive only
oblique sunlight.

Slide 6 Solstices and Equinoxes

The tilt of the Earths axis to its orbital plane affects the duration of daylight and darkness
on the planets surface. Days of total darkness occur in winter at latitudes above the
Arctic and Antarctic circles at 66 degrees North and South Latitude, respectively. Long
hours of winter darkness are an operational concern, as well as a heat loss factor in polar
regions.

Slide 7 Solar radiation intensity

The angle of the suns rays at the surface of the Earth makes a significant difference in
seasonal heating. Rays striking at a low angle must travel through more of the
atmosphere than rays striking at high angles. Rays striking at more oblique angles are
more depleted by reflection and absorption. The inset figure compares solar radiation per
unit surface area at an equinox and at the summer solstice of the northern hemisphere.
The elliptical orbit of the Earth around the sun and the associated variation of the Earths
distance from the sun are less significant, in terms of seasonal variations of solar heating.
Equatorial regions receive significantly more solar energy than do polar regions.

Slide 8 Global heat balance

Fortunately for all of us, the Earths atmosphere and oceans provide a mechanism for
poleward transfer of heat energy. The figure illustrates the relationship of surplus solar
energy received in equatorial regions to the deficit of solar energy received in polar
latitudes. Since the average temperature of the surface of the Earth varies very little, a
global heat balance must exist. The North-South circulation of heat energy in the
atmosphere and oceans is responsible for the global heat balance.

Slide 9 Wind cells

Solar energy variations first affect the atmosphere. A hypothetical Earth without rotation
can be visualized to have a single vertical air circulation cell in each hemisphere, rising at
the equator and falling at the poles. The atmosphere of an idealized rotating Earth has
three doughnut-shaped vertical circulation cells in each hemisphere. The circulations of
these cells at the Earths surface correspond to real prevailing winds that have been
recognized for centuries. The Earths rotation tends to divert large-scale fluid motion of
this type to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern
hemisphere. This diversion, known as the Coriolis effect, explains why the trade winds
are not flowing directly Northward or Southward.

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Slide 10 Air circulation and prevailing winds

The prevailing surface winds of the world are portrayed in the figure. The north-south
trends lead away from zones of divergence where air is falling to the surface. The
prevailing winds lead toward zones of convergence where air rises.

Slide 11 Season wind variations

Expressions of Earth climate must acknowledge seasonal differences that are

superimposed on the long-term average. These two figures show large-scale patterns of
surface air pressure and associated wind patterns and their differences from place to place
as summer changes to winter. Also shown are effects of the continental land masses and
high mountains of the world.

Slide 12 Ocean currents

Wind stress on the water drives major circulation in the oceans. Prevailing ocean currents
transport tremendous amounts of heat poleward in circulating gyres. The subtropical gyre
in the North Atlantic includes the much-studied Gulf Stream current. The Gulf of Alaska
has the counter-clockwise Alaska Current. Sea water flows northward through the Bering
Strait between Alaska and Russia, into the Arctic Ocean. Arctic Ocean circulation is in a
phase of discovery with interest of many nations in the changes accompanying reduction
of the polar ice cap.

Slide 13 El Nino

A climatic anomaly involving both circulation in the atmosphere and ocean is El Nino. A
mound of warm water is pushed up in the western Pacific by the trade winds. Some years
the Inter-tropical Convergent Zone of the trade winds, usually a bit north of the geometric
equator, shifts southward. In these years, the trade winds are weak, allowing warm water
to spread farther eastward in winter. Unusually warm water on the eastern side of the
Pacific disrupts weather cycles, such as monsoons, and stresses various ocean ecologies.
El Nino Southern Oscillation years are often followed by anomalous La Nina
conditions, before a more typical distribution of ocean temperatures is restored. The cycle
of El Nino-Southern Oscillation and La Nina conditions has an apparent period of 7 8
years.

Slide 14 Spectra

Longer term changes may be occurring and many suspect that the works of humanity
may be responsible. Our burning of hydrocarbon fuels may have affected the balance of
outgoing radiant heat energy. The suns surface temperature of 6,000 degrees Celsius
corresponds to a peak energy emission in the range of visible light to which our eyes are
adapted. The Earths lower surface temperature corresponds to longer wavelength
radiation in the infrared range of restaurant heating lamps.

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The rows of irregular shaded bars below the energy spectra indicate the wavelength of
radiation most absorbed by gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is essentially
transparent to sunlight, but tends to absorb longer wave radiation emitted by the Earth.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere controls how much Earth radiation is
absorbed.

Slide 15 Greenhouse Effect

Evidence is building that we have artificially elevated the amount of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and have given the atmosphere greater capacity to
absorb heat emitted by the Earth. This change in the balance of incoming and outgoing
heat appears to have contributed to global warming.

Slide 16 Air temperature

The phrase cold regions makes direct reference to temperature. Air temperature is the
most frequently applied physical parameter to define cold regions. Lets look at some air
temperature-related parameters that are common in engineering practice.
The temperature at which water turns to ice is a threshold of extreme importance in cold
regions engineering. The duration of continuous temperatures below freezing relates to
important responses of various materials and the need to heat buildings and machines for
their intended use. Various duration criteria have come into practical use.
The figure shows a projection of the Earth. The B contour delineates regions north of
which average temperatures are below freezing, that is below 0 degrees Celsius or 32
degrees Fahrenheit, during the coldest month of the year. The B contour provides a
definition of cold regions that includes much of North America, Europe, and Asia.
The A contour surrounds regions where average annual air temperatures are below
0C, maximum snow depths exceed 60 cm, and lakes and rivers are ice covered for more
than 180 days. The strong influence of the oceans on air temperature is apparent in the
asymmetry of both the A and the B contours.

Slide 17 North America, mean annual temperatures

The colors on this map of the world indicate mean annual air temperatures. Green, blue
and grey areas are frozen for more than half the year. This distribution of temperatures is
changing. Global warming is causing these contours to move northward. The shift
northward of the -1 degree Celsius or 31 degree Fahrenheit contour is of particular
consequence to areas where soil, beneath a shallow active layer, has been permanently
frozen.

Slide 18 Heating index

The lines on this map show one of several temperature-related indexes in common use.
The degree-day concept is common to most of these indexes. A degree-day represents a
day during which the average temperature departed from a given basis by one degree. For
example, the heating index usually refers to a basis of 18 degrees Celsius. Buildings must

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typically be heated when the outside air is colder than 18 degrees Celsius. One day at 16
degrees Celsius would represent 2 heating degrees-days. The sum of heating degree-days
throughout a year is the heating index.
You should always be sure to note the particular temperature scale, either Fahrenheit or
Celsius, and the particular basis of any indexes of this type quoted in literature.

Slide 19 Freezing index

Freezing index, with its counterpart thawing index, is the most common of engineering
parameters related to air temperature. Freezing index is typically computed as the annual
sum of degree-days below 0 degrees Celsius. Occasionally, it is computed with a colder
base temperature, such as when freezing seawater is of interest. The salt in seawater
reduces its freezing temperature, calling for a lower freezing index basis.

Slide 20 Thawing index

Thawing index is complementary to freezing index, almost always defined as the annual
sum of degree-days above the freezing temperature of fresh water, 0 degrees Celsius.

Slide 21 Snow depth

Significant accumulations of snow on the ground certainly identify cold regions. Snow is
strongly affected by local weather patterns and nearby mountains, lakes, and oceans.
Once fallen, snow can be dispersed by winds. Some extremely cold areas accumulate
little snow. Snow accumulation is an important structural criterion, but snow depth trends
do not necessarily follow temperature trends.

Slide 22 Alaska Permafrost

Much of Alaska has permanently frozen ground beneath a surface soil layer of seasonally
changeable temperature. Sub-arctic areas have sporadic patches of permafrost in the
process of thawing. Continuous permafrost exists in the high Arctic and is a fundamental
parameter of all construction there. The amount of included frozen water is proportional
to the tendency of permafrost to subside on thawing. Global warming and thaw
subsidence in permafrost regions is a grave concern for the structural foundations of
present infrastructure.

Slide 23 Alaska Infrastructure on Permafrost

Important Alaska infrastructure, as indicated by this slide, lies above permafrost. About
21 percent of Alaskas road miles and 42 percent of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline are built
on continuous permafrost. Another 57 percent of roads and 43 percent of the pipeline are
built on discontinuous permafrost. Thaw subsidence of these permafrost foundations is a
great concern as the climate warms.

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Slide 24 Circumpolar Permafrost

Similar concerns for climate warming and melting permafrost exist in all the Arctic
regions of the world. The International Permafrost Association and other groups are
actively studying global trends in permafrost change.

Slide 25 NCDC

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is the US agency

most responsible for collecting and archiving climatic measurements. The National
Weather Service, a NOAA branch, collects all manner of atmospheric data, all of which
is archived. The National Climatic Data Center, available through the web address on this
slide, is one of several national centers of archived data useful for cold regions
engineering.

Slide 26 Alaska Climate Research Center

Selected climate statistics for some Alaskan cities are presented on the web by the
Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Alaska Climate
Research Center leads research in the State on global warming and its effects.

Slide 27 Alaska State Climate Center

The comprehensive archives of the State Climate Center in Anchorage provide detailed
data for application to both climate study and engineering problems. The State
Climatologist also can provide advice on the nature of archived data and can provide
summaries, on request.

Slide 27 Conclusion

Your first homework assignment will allow you to try your hand at online access to
climate data at Alaska sites.

Ill be back with you for the second part of the first module to discuss in more detail
climate change impacts on northern infrastructure.

This is Orson Smith, saying So long for now.