Figure I.E-1. Simple Illustration of a Marine Seismic Survey Operation using Streamers
Source: USDOI, MMS, Alaska OCS Region
177°0'E 180°0'W 177°0'W 174°0'W 171°0'W 168°0'W 165°0'W 162°0'W 159°0'W 156°0'W 153°0'W 150°0'W 147°0'W 144°0'W 141°0'W 138°0'W
Figure III.A-1
Circulation
74°0'N
over Chukchi and
72°0'N
Beaufort Seas
ey
V all
ld
H era
Legend
138°0'W
177°0'E
Wrangel Herald
Island Canyon Be
au
72°0'N
for
tS
he
lf
Atl
an
Arctic Currents
Lo
Je tic
Hanna Shoal t Wa
ng
te Be Name
70°0'N
r auf
S
ort
tra
G yre
nt
it
urre
Flo
al C
el
st
w
nn
Coa Alaska Coastal Current
ska
ha
Ala
C
Alaska Coastal Water
al
Herald Shoal
ntr
Barrow
Ce
Anadyr Water
Atlantic Water
Wainwright
180°0'W
70°0'N
Sib
Beaufort Gyre
Atqasuk
eri
Kaktovik
an
Beaufort Shelf Jet
Nuiqsut
Co
Hope
He
as
Bering Shelf Water
68°0'N
ra
Valley
tal
ld
C
Central Channel
Va
urr
lle
en
y
Herald Valley
t
Long Strait Flow
Central Channel
Point Hope Siberian Coastal Current
Russia
68°0'N
Kivalina
66°0'N
Alaska
177°0'W
Kotzebue
Shishmaref
66°0'N
Diomede Locator Map
Tin City
Alask
ater
lf W
a Co
64°0'N
Sh e
astal
r
ate
ing
W
yr
Ber
Wate
ad
An
r
64°0'N
174°0'W 171°0'W 168°0'W 165°0'W 162°0'W 159°0'W 156°0'W 153°0'W 150°0'W 147°0'W 144°0'W
Figure III.B-1. Typical 3D marine seismic array configuration (Sources MMS AK OCS).
Beaufort Sea
Planning Area
Chukchi Sea
Planning Area
National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska
Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
Figure III.C-1. Arctic Ocean Outer Continental Shelf 2D Seismic Data Collected from 1970 through 1979 (Source: MMS-AK OCS, Anchorage, Alaska).
Beaufort Sea
Planning Area
Chukchi Sea
Planning Area
A
National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska
Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
Figure III.C-2. Arctic Ocean Outer Continental Shelf 2D Seismic Data Collected from 1980 through 1989 (Source: MMS-AK OCS, Anchorage, Alaska).
Chukchi Sea
Beaufort Sea
Planning Area
Planning Area
National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska
Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
Figure III.C-3. Arctic Ocean Outer Continental Shelf 2D Seismic Data Collected from 1990 through 2004 (Source: MMS-AK OCS, Anchorage, Alaska).
156° 154° 152° 150° 148° 146° 144° 142° 140°
Alaska
Arctic Ocean
NS05-07
Figure III.C-4. Beaufort Sea
Existing Leases January 2006
NS05-08 Existing Leases
Beaufort Sea Blocks Deferred from Sale Area
72°
NR05-01
Barrow Sale Area Boundary
72°
Submerged Lands Act Boundary
Official Protraction Diagram
#
#
NR05-02 NR06-02
NR06-01
eI nlet
D eas
Smith
Bay
71°
71°
Teshekpuk NR07-03
Lake
Harrison
Bay
NR05-03 Nuiqsut
140°
NR05-04 #
Deadhorse#
NR06-03 NR06-04
son
#
Kaktovik
p
hom NR07-06
intT
Po
National Petroleum NR07-05
Reserve - Alaska
70°
70°
Canada
Alaska
Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
69°
40 0 40 80 Kilometers
69°
30 0 30 60 Miles
January 2006
154° 152° 150° 148° 146° 144° 142°
171° 169° 167° 165° 163° 161° 159° 157°
60 0 60 120 Kilometers
ALASKA
50 0 50 100 Miles
73°
IC O CEAN
73°
NS02-08
NS03-07 A RCT NS03-08 NS04-07 NS04-08
72°
72°
NR02-02
NR03-01
NR03-02 NR04-01 NR04-02Barrow
71°
#
71°
y a
NR02-04 P olyn
NR03-03 # Wainwright
# Atqasuk
NR03-04 NR04-03 NR04-04
Icy Cape
I SEA
70°
CH
CHUK
70°
# Point Lay
NR02-06
NR03-05
NR03-06
a
Po lyny
69°
Cape
Lisburne #
69°
NR02-08
NR03-07 Figure III.C-5. Previously Leased Blocks
Point Hope NR03-08 in the
Chukchi Sea Program Area
Cape Thompson All Relinquished
68°
#
Submerged Lands Act Boundary
68°
#Kivalina
2002-2007 Chukchi Sea Program Area
Official Protraction Diagrams
Hope Basin
January 2006
167° 165° 163° 161° 159° 157°
Figure III C-6. North Slope oil and gas activities and discoveries, as of January 2006. (Source: ADNR/Division of Oil and Gas).
Figure III.F-1. Spectacled eider critical habitat at Ledyard Bay and molt migration
distances from shore. Distances are based on female eiders which migrate further from
shore than males. Distances depicted are approximate and based on Petersen et al.,
1999.
167°00' 166°30' 166°00' 165°30' 165°00' 164°30' 164°00' 163°30' 163°00' 162°30' 162°00'
Spectacled Eider
Critical Habitat Area
Ledyard Bay
Submerged Lands Act Boundary
Spectacled Eider Critical Habitat
8 0 8 16 Miles 70# 20'00" N x 164# 00'00" W
S S
70°30'
9 0 9 18 Kilometers
70°30'
70# 20'00" N x 161# 56'11" W
S S
I SEA
Icy Cape
CHUKCH
70°00'
70°00'
# Point Lay
69°30'
69# 12'00" N x 166 # 13'00" W
S S
Ledyard Bay
69°30'
68# 54'00" N x 166# 13'00" W
S S
69°00'
#
Cape
69°00'
Lisburne
ALASKA
166°00' 165°30' 165°00' 164°30' 164°00' 163°30' 163°00' 162°30' 162°00'
Figure III.F-2. Spectacled Eider Critical Habitat Area. Ledyard Bay is defined as the area bound by the
following description: from the point 1 nm true north of Cape Lisburne (68°54'00 N x 166°13'00 W),
remaining 1.0 nm offshore of the mean low tide line (maintaining a 1.0 nm buffer from the mean low tide
line) of the Alaska coast north and east to 70°20'00 N x 161°56'11 W (1 nm offshore of Icy Cape);
thence west along the line of latitude 70°20'00 N to the point 70°20'00 N x 164°00'00 W; thence along
a great circle route to 69°12'00 N x 166°13'00 W; thence due south to the point of origin 1 nm true north
of Cape Lisburne (68°54'00 N x 166°13'00 W) (USDOI, FWS 2001).
Figure III.F-3. Approximate areas used by murres when foraging from breeding colonies
in summer and by juvenile and attendant males during the post-nesting period (late
August through mid-November). Areas include common and thick-billed murres from
Cape Lisburne and Cape Thompson colonies summarized from Hatch et al., 2000.
Figure III.F-4. Sea duck fall migration distances from shore. Distances depicted are
approximate for king eiders, common eiders and long-tailed ducks. In fall, these three
species tend to migrate along the 20-meter isobath.
Summer
Point
Barrow
Alaska Canada
+++
++
+
Ic +++
e +++ Winter
F ro ++
+
n t ++
+ +++
+
Figure III.F-5. Approximate distribution of the Western Arctic stock bowhead whales
(shaded dark area). Winter, summer, and spring/fall distributions are depicted (see text).
Reproduced from Figure 43 of Angliss and Outlaw, 2005-rev. 12/23/05.
Beaufort Sea
N
Barrow
Christie Pt.
Tangent Pt.
Smith Pitt Pt.
Bay Drew
Pt. Cape Halkett
Ha
rris
on
Total Number of Whales Bay t
Atigaru Pt. in
Po Prudhoe Bay
ikt
ok Kaktovik
Ol Pt.
1 - 10 Griffin
Deadhorse Point
Brownlow Camden Bay
11 - 20 Nuiqsut
21 - 30
31 - 40
41 - 50
Flight Lines
51 - 60 Time periods included:
61 - 70 August of 1979-1986 and 2002
Title: Counts of Bowhead Whales.
71 - 80 September-October of 1979-2004
Date: 2/16/2006
81 - 90 November 1989-1991
Signature:____________________________ Count not adjusted for survey effort.
91 - 100
CM-01
ÿ´
Figure III.F-6. Counts of Bowhead Whales in the Beaufort Sea taken by the Bowhead Whale Aerial Survey Project (Counts are aggregated on a 5-km grid).
Flight Lines
A
Total Number of Whales
SE
I
1 - 10
CH
11 - 20
UK
21 - 30
CH
31 - 40
41 - 50 Barrow
51 - 60
Wainwright
Icy Cape
Point Lay
N
Cape
Lisbur
ne Time periods of flights:
April and May of 1979 - 1984
Point
Hope
June 1981
July 1980 - 1985
August 1981, 1983, 1984, 2002
September and October of 1979 - 2004
KO
November 1980, 1989 - 1991
TZ
EB Count not adjusted for survey effort.
UE
IT
SO
RA
UN Cape Kr
usenste
rn
D
ST
G
IN
Cape Lo
wenste
rn
Title: Counts of Bowhead Whales.
R
B E
Date: 2/16/2006
Cape
Prince
of Wal
es
Signature:____________________________
CM-02
Figure III.F-7. Counts of Bowhead Whales in the Chukchi Sea taken by the Bowhead Whale Aerial Survey Project
(Counts are aggregated on a 5-km grid).
Alaska Canada
Central-eastern
Bering Sea
Southeastern
Bering Sea
Central Alaska Coast
CA/OR/
WA stock
Figure III.F-8. Approximate distribution of fin whales in the eastern North Pacific (shaded area). Enclosed area indicates
general location of the pollock surveys from which regional estimates of the fin whale population was made. Figure
reproduced from Figure 40 of Angliss and Outlaw, 2005-draft:revision date 10/21/04.
Figure III.F-9. Approximate distribution of humpback whales in the western North Pacific (shaded area). Feeding and
wintering grounds are presented above (see text). Area within the dotted line is known to be an area of overlap with the
Central North Pacific stock. See Figure 39 in Angliss and Outlaw (2005) for humpback whale distribution in the eastern
North Pacific. Reproduced from Figure 38 of Angliss and Outlaw, 2005-draft:revision date 1/12/06.
Bea
ufo
rt
Sea
Barrow
t
en oin
nt
oi
P
tP
tie
is
ay
t
hr
ng
in
t
B
C
in
Po
Ta
ith
t
Po
B ket
tt
Sm
Pi
w
l
on a
re
ay
is e H
D
ap
t
t
in
in
Kaktovik
C
Po
Po
r
t
ar
ay
u
k
in
ar
to
H
Nuiqsut
B
Po
t
tig
in
lik
Deadhorse
e
Po
ho
ay
O
fin
A
ri f
B
ud
ow
n
Pr
G
t
de
nl
in
w
am
Po
ro
C
n
B
io
at
c
ar
em
D
0 25 50 100
Kilometers
Figure III.F-10 Estimated zone of avoidance by bowhead whales if four deep seismic surveys operated simultaneously, assuming
20 km avoidance by bowhead whales, and 15 miles (24 km) between vessels. This box is placed near Barrow for illustrative
purposes. In analysis we moved the box along the coast.
S ea Barrow
c hi Icy Cape
Wainwright
h uk
Point Lay
C
Cape Lisburne
Point Hope
Cape Krusenstern
Cape Lowenstern
0 25 50 100
Cape Prince of Wales
Kilometers
Figure III.F-11 Estimated zone of avoidance by bowhead whales if four deep seismic surveys operated simultaneously, assuming
20 km avoidance by bowhead whales, and 15 miles (24 km) between vessels. This box is placed near Barrow for illustrative
purposes. In analysis we moved the box along the coast.