Arctic Ocean Ice Crashes on Alaska Shores (20'high x100'wide ice tsunami)

ap ^ | Jan 27, 2006 | ap

[RedBloodedAmerican]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska Jan 27, 2006 — Ridges of Arctic Ocean sea ice were shoved onto a Barrow road in quantities not seen in nearly three decades.

Two ice surges, known to Alaska Natives as ivus, stunned residents who had never seen large blocks of ice rammed ashore.

"It just looked like a big old mountain of ice," said L.A. Leavitt, 19, who left his nightshift job at the city early Tuesday to check out the ridges.

Ivus are like frozen tsunamis and crash ashore violently. They have killed hunters and are among the Arctic's most feared natural phenomena.

Residents said the northernmost ivu, about 20 feet high and 100 feet long, contained car-size blocks and left coastal Stevenson Road with only one lane.

The ice stopped about 30 feet short of a borough pump station that provides access to Barrow's underground water and sewer system, said North Slope Borough disaster coordinator Rob Elkins.

Strong winds from Russia and eastward currents began pushing pack ice toward Barrow on Saturday, Elkins said.

By late Monday night, thick, old sea ice, called multiyear ice, had shoved younger, thinner ice onto shore.

Elkins, who got a 5 a.m. Tuesday wake-up call from police, said a second ivu on the south side of town came to rest near a smaller coastal road and an empty playground. That ridge stretched about 200 feet.

"It was just an amazing sight," said Elkins, a five-year Barrow resident. "It looks like huge stacks of huge ice cubes."

The ivus, about two miles apart, had stopped moving when Elkins arrived. Bulldozers cleared the ice.

Winds from the west slowed Tuesday afternoon. Whalers also noted that a protective pressure ridge had formed more than a mile offshore.

Whaling captain Charlie Hopson, who coordinates oil spill responses in the area, said he could see blocks of ice churning slowly in the frozen ocean.

Whalers were happy to see the approach of multiyear ice. A solid platform of nearshore ice means safer travel and butchering.

"We always want this thing to happen before the whaling season to help get the ice solid and safe to travel on and then we can pick our way out to the lead," Hopson said.

Whaling co-captain Lloyd Leavitt said he had not seen such a big ivu since 1978, when winds peaked at 80 mph and blocks of multiyear ice about 12 feet thick slid ashore like pancakes from a frying pan.

"It knocked down all the power poles on the beach front, every last one from the Barrow mechanical building to Browerville," he said.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

In this photo provided by Arctic Photo Safari, heavy equipment removes massive ice ridges being pushed from the frozen Beaufort Sea into Barrow, Alaska, Tuesday Jan. 24, 2006. Two ice surges, known to Alaska Natives as ivus, stunned residents who had never seen such large blocks of ice rammed ashore in nearly three decades. Ivus are like frozen tsunamis and crash ashore violently. They have killed hunters and are among the Arctic's most feared natural phenomena. (AP Photo/Arctic Photo Safari, John Tidwell)

[RedBloodedAmerican]

More evidence of global cooling.

[Neets]

Hot in here.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Streak!

[cmsgop]

Thats Cool

[VOA]

Bulldozers cleared the ice.

Boy are these folks going to have to answer to the environmentalists.
First they are running bulldozers, burning fossil fuels and
generating greenhouse gases.
Then they destroy natural ice formations.

[blam]

Anything to do with the earthquake around Indonesia?

[nmh]

Nah, it's warming, right?

;)

[TaMoDee]

Might be! Shaken and not stirred don't ya'know! (Or was it the other way around?)

[RightWhale]

Has to do with high winds, which is a fact of life on the north slope. If you look at a satellite image or even a USGS topo map of the region you will see it is covered with lakes in summer, and the lakes, which are sinkholes in the permafrost and would otherwise be round or at least of random shapes, are elongated in a direction. Wind does that.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Icy Stuntaz!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Makes you wonder what the cost of gas is in Barrow; right next to the wells...

[thackney]

Anything to do with the earthquake around Indonesia?

No, just the effect of the right combinations of winds and currents. A few journalist are using the term tsunami just to catch the eye, not a real comparison.

Frozen tsunami, Mountains of ice coming ashore called threat to property, lives

[RightWhale]

When the huge building and plant modules were barged in to Prudhoe, a couple of the barges were left at the shoreline because winter closed the route. The ice piled up around the barges, grabbed them, and broke them like they were graham crackers.

[cmsgop]

[43north]

There are no wells in Barrow. The nearest oilfield is about 200 miles to the SE. There is no refinery north of Fairbanks. There are no roads to Barrow. Fuel must be flown in (emergencies only) or barged in during the summer and stored.

Ergo, fuel is EXPEN$IVE in Barrow$$$ Same with food, building materials, etc., etc.

I've been to Barrow. If the universe has an anus, its in Barrow...

[Domestic Church]

Tsunamis seems to be a popular word these days....


http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Yale_Group_To_Study_Atmospheric_Tsunamis.html

[Eska]

You should see ice out on the upper Yukon. Down the village, the indians have a tripod set about 50 yards out on the river. They have fishin line from tripod stretched to a battery clock on post along shore. Everyone picks date and time, buck a shot. When river lets loose, fishin line jerks battery out of clock and everyone knows who won the pot.

Chunks of ice size of trucks & cabins tumblin over and over in a huge mass of water, ice, and whatever is in its way. Usually, it all backs up downriver a few miles then river & ice come up about 50 feet, sometimes ice gets pushed over the road and floods the village cabins. The natives pretty much take it in stride and party atmosphere for a few days. Usually by then, everyone can't wait for spring to arrive anyway. Been minus 50 something for lows last week or so, wish iceout was tomorrow.

[EastIdaho]

Isn't Barrow the end of the road? I heard Tom Bodett left there and moved to New England somewhere.

[Vince Ferrer]

Then they destroy natural ice formations.

And probably pristine old growth ice too.