Meet the 2021 ConocoPhillips Arctic Science and Engineering Endowment Award recipients
by Austin Osborne |
As the nation鈥檚 only Arctic state, Alaska faces unique challenges and environmental conditions unlike anywhere else in the United States. Faculty and students at the 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 (老澳门六合彩开奖记录) are driving research that tackles Arctic challenges in practical ways, such as developing models and tools that assess the effects of permafrost thaw on infrastructure, evaluate pipeline integrity as a result of corrosion and monitor for oil spills in marine environments.
Through the ConocoPhillips Arctic Science and Engineering Endowment Awards, the university awarded support to seven exploratory research projects for 2021 totaling more than $470,000.
鈥淭hrough this generous gift from ConocoPhillips, 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 researchers have made direct and impactful contributions to Arctic science and engineering,鈥 said Aaron Dotson, 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 associate vice chancellor for research. 鈥淭he projects funded by this gift directly address issues of significant relevance to Alaska and the circumpolar north while engaging community members, businesses, students and faculty, providing the tools and skills required to address current and future challenges. Moreover, these projects act as the local research seed that grows into nationally relevant and externally funded research.鈥
Selected projects must promote and grow the fields of Arctic science and engineering, demonstrate a likelihood of major scientific or engineering impact and strongly connect to community and industry. Programs, research and activities inclusive of Alaska students, communities, projects and opportunities are given priority.
Created in 2008 as part of a $15 million gift from ConocoPhillips Alaska, the endowment provides annual support to Arctic science and engineering programs and research at 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 and is the largest endowment in the University of Alaska system.
The selected projects for fiscal year 2021 include:
A framework to analyze infrastructure subsidence on thawing permafrost (Jifeng Peng, principal investigator; Joey Yang, co-principal investigator; Caixia
Wang, co-principal investigator)
Most infrastructures on Alaska鈥檚 North Slope were built on permafrost and rely on
鈥渇reezing strength鈥 or bearing capacity of the frozen ground for foundation support.
Existing models are insufficient for properly evaluating the effects of permafrost
thaw on North Slope infrastructures. This project aims to establish an infrastructure-specific
numerical model, which takes into account local soil, environmental conditions and
specific infrastructure foundation designs. This establishes a framework for short-
and long-term infrastructure subsidence forecasting, helps mitigate risk and could
save millions in maintenance costs.
Monitoring of warm permafrost response under climate change and mitigation of associated
hazards: a case study of Bethel, Alaska (Joey Yang, principal investigator; Utpal Dutta, co-principal investigator; Jens
Munk, co-principal investigator; Vicki Nechodomu, co-principal investigator)
The Arctic is experiencing the fastest climate warming on the planet, causing a widespread
impact on infrastructure built on permafrost. Bethel, Alaska, is among the top 20
communities facing the greatest combined threat of erosion, flooding and thawing permafrost
resulting from climate warming. This project aims to bridge the knowledge and data
gap and assess the performance of existing countermeasures by conducting a thorough
case study of Bethel. The results will help advance understanding of warm permafrost
response to climate change and mitigate associated hazards to infrastructure.
Climate change and the hydrogeochemistry of environmentally important elements in
the Northwest Alaska Zn-Pb-Ag-Ba Mineral Belt (LeeAnn Munk, principal investigator; Jordan Jenckes, co-principal investigator;
Eric Klein, co-principal investigator; Jens Munk, co-principal investigator)
This project investigates the effects of natural weathering and changing climate on
stream geochemistry in the mineralized bedrock zones of northwest Alaska. This includes
studying permafrost thaw and the flux of water and metal or solute into streams in
the region.
Oxidized petroleum detection in Alaska: Water, sediment and biological tissues (Patrick Tomco, principal investigator)
Oxidized petroleum has been identified as a priority class of chemicals that should
be monitored following an oil spill, but in cold regions such as Alaska, the classification
of these chemical compounds is poorly understood. This project advances new tools
and techniques, including a fluorosensor design used to detect oxidized petroleum
residues in the water column. Additionally, the project will characterize baseline
levels of oxidized petroleum residues in water, sediment and biological tissues in
Cook Inlet.
Magnetostrictive sensor for integrity monitoring of unpiggable pipelines (Oleg Shiryayev, principal investigator; Raghu Srinivasan, co-principal investigator)
Corrosion persists as one of the major environmental, societal and fiscal threats
to the integrity of pipelines. This project investigates the feasibility of magnetostrictive
sensors that detect and monitor magnetic flux that leaks out of the pipe wall due
to deterioration caused by corrosion. The magnetostrictive material will react to
the magnetic flux by inducing strain, which a fiber optic strain sensor will measure.
The promising, non-intrusive sensor concept does not rely on any form of electricity
and can be deployed over large distances along pipelines.
Improving offshore oil spill detection and monitoring by SAR images with deep learning (Caixia Wang, principal investigator)
Efficiently monitoring open water in the Alaska Arctic is increasingly important for
identifying oil slicks, providing early alerts and facilitating a rapid mitigation
response. This project aims to develop a robust and automated framework based on convolutional
neural networks to detect and classify oil slicks in synthetic-aperture radar images.
This process provides valuable insights and a consistent, cost-effective solution
for improving oil spill monitoring and preparedness in the marine environment.
Thermal decontamination of drill cuttings (Getu Hailu, principal investigator)
Drill cuttings are high-volume waste materials, such as mud and rock, that are removed
from boreholes and brought to the surface during oil and gas drilling. Upon removal,
these cuttings are notable for their high moisture content and contamination by oil
or gas and biocides, causing problems for collection, storage and transportation during
disposal. This project aims to produce a business-ready waste management tool for
predicting combustion temperatures as a function of different parameters of drill
cuttings such as moisture content, size distribution, mass flow rate, airflow rate
and ambient temperature.
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 is Alaska鈥檚 largest university, educating nearly
12,000 students annually. 老澳门六合彩开奖记录鈥檚 mission is to discover and disseminate knowledge through
teaching, research, engagement and creative expression. Learn more at uaa.alaska.edu.
CONOCOPHILLIPS ALASKA
ConocoPhillips has been leading the search for energy in Alaska for more than 50 years
and is committed to being a good steward in communities where it operates. ConocoPhillips
has been a long-standing supporter of the University of Alaska and has contributed
more than $43 million to the university system, including its historic $15 million
contribution to 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 in 2008.