Sub-sea temperatures and a simple tentative model for offshore permafrost at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Arthur H. Lachenbruch; B. Vaughn Marshall

doi:10.3133/ofr77395

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Sub-sea temperatures and a simple tentative model for offshore permafrost at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Arthur H. Lachenbruch·B. Vaughn Marshall

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Abstract

In this report, we present temperatures measured in three holes drilled into the sea bed in the Prudhoe Bay region and a tentative interpretation of them in terms of the gross thermal regime and shoreline history of the area. The new holes (PB-1, PB-2, and PB-3, Figure 1) were drilled in spring, 1976 (see Sellmann, 1976) as part of a cooperative study of off-shore permafrost by the USGS, CRREL, and the University of Alaska. Results from two of the holes (#190 and #3370, Figure 1) drilled earlier by the University of Alaska (Osterkamp and Harrison, 1976) have been included in our interpretation. The reader not interested in analytical details may wish to examine Figures 1, 2, and 3, and then skip to the concluding section "Summary and Discussion," page 32.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 69.95577247678344° to 70.65582438011964° latitude; -150.05282077167377° to -144.98240131329993° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Arthur H. Lachenbruch, B. Vaughn Marshall. 1977. Sub-sea temperatures and a simple tentative model for offshore permafrost at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr77395

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