Case Study #2: Landscape Ice Road Suitability Assessment NSDSS Workshop 4 September 19-20, 2012 Fairbanks & Anchorage, Alaska

Motivation for the Case Study NSDSS Workshop #3  Held in Fairbanks, April 2011  Attendees asked for promising case studies to demonstrate effectiveness and needs for improvement  Among the suggestions: Possibility of ice road construction off of potential permanent roads  Potential road to Umiat is good example  Key questions:  Is there water available for ice road construction?  Would cost be feasible?  Can we compare route alternatives versus each other?

Basic Assessment Concept Since we don’t know all the details, keep it simple Plan regular spurs off of main road at regular intervals Do basic Ice Road Planning procedure for each spur (Sullivan 2007)

Case Illustration Hypothetical road: Dalton Hwy – Kavik Camp – Coast ~47 mi; “Lake-rich” at ends, “Lake-poor” in middle

Case Illustration Suitability analysis: Ice road start points at 50,000 ft spacing Each ice road 25,000 ft long Lakes identified along corridor

Case Illustration Tool batch processes 10 ice road routes and displays properties of lowest cost routes for each road.

Case Illustration Water haul distance changes dramatically along gravel road mi mi mi mi ~5 mi