Transportation in the Arctic.
Abstract
There is no year-round transportation in the Arctic. Year-round roads and railroads and high-bearing-load air fields to accommodate today's heavy-lift cargo aircraft could be built to the edge of the broad Arctic Ocean, if military necessity or potential resource development warranted it. Shallow-draft barges and boats will continue to be used to transport bulk cargo during the brief season around the perimeter of the Arctic Ocean. Large, very powerful icebreaker cargo ships for transport through the Arctic Ocean ice mantle are feasible and have been demonstrated; however, docking, loading, and general operational problems must be solved. Travel across the Arctic Ocean ice mantle with a truly amphibious craft, the Surface Effect Vehicle (SEV) currently under development will eventually provide long range year-round transportation over the Arctic Ocean's permanent ice cover. The SEV with low footprint pressures can travel not only over the pressure ridged rubble fields of the pack ice, but also over the tender summer tundra without subsequent effect. The report discusses all the above points and, in addition, briefly reviews the history of exploration of the Arctic. The extent of Arctic ground and air transportation facilities in the USSR, USA, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia is shown. The Arctic Ocean icebreaker cargo ship is discussed, as is the search and rescue problem. Arctic air, ground, and marine techniques are summarized, and the Arctic SEV is discussed and the plans for its development outlined. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- AD0754381
Entities
People
- A. M. Stone
- F. C. Paddison
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory