Smith Bay
Smith Bay is an estuary in the Beaufort Sea that supports a wide range of fish, birds, and marine mammals. It is located northeast of Point Barrow, Alaska. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recognizes the southeastern portion of Barrow Canyon, which covers some, but not all, of Smith Bay, as an Environmentally Important Area.[1]
Geography
[edit]Approximately 150 miles west of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Smith Bay stretches from Dease Inlet, Alaska to Cape Halkett, Alaska. Bordered by barrier islands that separate the shallow, brackish waters from the Beaufort Sea, several slow-moving rivers flow into this region. Along with its adjacent waters, Smith Bay is a shallow-water estuary.
Fauna
[edit]Smith Bay is a significant hotspot for pinnipeds.[2] The nearshore areas are important habitat for ringed seals that come to the landfast ice during the winter and spring to give birth.[3]
Polar bears and bowhead whales rely on Smith Bay for important foraging habitat.[4][5] Polar bears have been observed using Smith Bay as a major maternal denning area to raise their young.[6]
Many species of birds, including yellow-billed loons, king eiders, Arctic terns, black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous and Sabine's gulls, king eiders, long-tailed ducks, and red phalaropes, are found in Smith Bay.[7]
Oil discovery
[edit]There is a known oil seep at Cape Simpson on the western side of Smith Bay. In 2015 and 2016, Caelus Energy Alaska drilled two exploration wells in the southern part of the bay, about 59 miles southeast of Barrow.[8] In October 2016, the company announced what it called a major oil discovery in the bay[9] and said it would drill a third well in January 2018 and proceed with permitting a pipeline afterwards.[10] A pipeline under the Chukchi Sea or a pipeline on land close to "Qupaluk" ("small bird" in the Inupiaq language) would be required, threatening the habitat of at least 30,000 migratory birds.[11]
The 2016 oil discovery in the deeper Torok Formation of more than 1,000 MMBO is less than 1 mile offshore from the NPR-A. This oil pool is more than three times the size of the Willow project (300 MMBO).[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, "Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2017-2022, Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement", Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 2016. Retrieved 22-09-2016.
- ^ Kuletz, Kathy J.; Ferguson, Megan C.; Hurley, Brendan; Gall, Adrian E.; Labunski, Elizabeth A.; Morgan, Tawna C. (2015-08-01). "Seasonal spatial patterns in seabird and marine mammal distribution in the eastern Chukchi and western Beaufort seas: Identifying biologically important pelagic areas". Progress in Oceanography. 136: 175–200. Bibcode:2015PrOce.136..175K. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2015.05.012. ISSN 0079-6611.
- ^ Kelly B., Bengtson J., Boveng P., and Wilder M., "Status review of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida)", NOAA Technical Report, 2010. Retrieved 22-09-2016.
- ^ Kalxdorff S., ["Collection of local knowledge regarding polar bear habitat use in Alaska"], Technical Report, USFWS, 1997.
- ^ Citta, John J.; Quakenbush, Lori T.; Okkonen, Stephen R.; Druckenmiller, Matthew L.; Maslowski, Wieslaw; Clement-Kinney, Jaclyn; George, John C.; Brower, Harry; Small, Robert J.; Ashjian, Carin J.; Harwood, Lois A.; Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter (2015-08-01). "Ecological characteristics of core-use areas used by Bering–Chukchi–Beaufort (BCB) bowhead whales, 2006–2012". Progress in Oceanography. Synthesis of Arctic Research (SOAR). 136: 201–222. Bibcode:2015PrOce.136..201C. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2014.08.012. hdl:1912/7504. ISSN 0079-6611.
- ^ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ["Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas Coastal and Ocean Zones Strategic Assessment: Data Atlas"], NOAA, 1988.
- ^ Smith, Melanie A.; Walker, Nathan J.; Free, Christopher M.; Kirchhoff, Matthew J.; Drew, Gary S.; Warnock, Nils; Stenhouse, Iain J. (2014-04-01). "Identifying marine Important Bird Areas using at-sea survey data". Biological Conservation. 172: 180–189. Bibcode:2014BCons.172..180S. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2014.02.039. ISSN 0006-3207.
- ^ Bailey, Alan (2016-05-22). "Caelus hints at big find on North Slope". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ "Caelus confirms 6-Bbbl oil find offshore Alaska". Offshore. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ Gold, Russell (October 4, 2016). "Oil Explorer Claims Major Alaskan Find". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ^ "Alaska's petroleum reserve is open for drilling. Will the birds survive?". nationalgeographic.com. 2019-09-10. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ David W. Houseknecht; Richard O. Lease; Christopher J. Schenk; Tracey J. Mercier; William A. Rouse; Palma J. Botterell; Katherine J. Whidden; Christopher P. Garrity; Kristen A. Lewis; Samuel J. Heller; William H. Craddock; Timothy R. Klett; Phuong A. Le; Rebecca A. Smith; Marilyn E. Tennyson; Stephanie B. Gaswirth; Cheryl A. Woodall; Michael E. Brownfield; Heidi M. Leathers-Miller; Thomas M. Finn (2017). "Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations, Alaska North Slope, and summary of resource potential of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2017". U.S. Geological Survey. Fact Sheet. doi:10.3133/fs20173088.