Beaufort Sea - Human Activities

Human Activities

The Beaufort Sea coasts were populated about 30,000 years ago by migrating aboriginal peoples from Siberia. Later, around 9,000 years ago, they were replaced by Indians, 4,000 years ago by Paleo-Eskimos such as the Dorset culture, around 1,000 years ago by the Thule and finally by the modern Inuit. From early ages, they practised fishing – bones of Arctic char were found at the 4,000 years old settlements. While originally they lived nomadic life, later, they started to form permanent settlements. Modern Inuit are mostly concentrated near the Mackenzie River delta. Their population is increasing, but the unemployment rate is relatively high.

Bowhead whales were hunted in the sea between 1888 and 1914. This practice stopped, first because of the decline in whale population and then because of government regulations, but resumed in the 1990s.

The major settlements along the Beaufort Sea are Tuktoyaktuk (population 930 in 2009) in Canada and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Although Prudhoe Bay is permanently populated by only a few people, there are thousands of contract workers in the area employed on petroleum production at the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, which is on the coastal lowland known as the North Slope. Artificial islands, such as Endicott and Northstar, have been raised near the shores in 1987 and 2001, respectively. The crude oil is transported through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to the southern port of Valdez.

The Beaufort Sea contains major gas and petroleum reserves beneath the seabed, a continuation of proven reserves in the nearby Mackenzie River and North Slope. The Beaufort Sea was first explored for sub-shelf hydrocarbons in the 1950s and estimated to contain about 250 km3 (60 cu mi) of oil and 300,000 km3 (72,000 cu mi) of natural gas under its coastal shelf. Offshore drilling began in 1972; about 70 wells were set up by 1980s and 200 wells by 2000. These activities resulted in displacement of about 46.5 km3 (11.2 cu mi) of the sea bottom soil which contained barite, clay, caustic soda, as well as heavy metals zinc, copper, lead, chromium, cobalt, nickel, cadmium and mercury. About 50,400 km3 (12,100 cu mi) of oil was produced in 1986.

A major gas field, named Taglu field, was discovered in the Mackenzie River delta in 1971, followed by the Parson Lake field and Niglintgak field. The estimated gas reserves of these fields are 58,600 km3 (14,100 cu mi), 35,400 km3 (8,500 cu mi) and 13,600 km3 (3,300 cu mi), respectively. Moreover, further into the sea from the Mackenzie delta lies the Amauligak field. This, the largest known oil deposit of the Beaufort Sea, was discovered in 1984, and is estimated to contain 37.3 km3 (8.9 cu mi) of oil and 38,500 km3 (9,200 cu mi) of gas. The development of these fields is hindered by their remote location. This problem was alleviated for Prudhoe Bay by constructing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, but is limiting regular commercial production at Mackenzie River deposits. For example, the Amauligak Project was started soon after the discovery of the field. In September 1985, the tanker Gulf Beaufort has transported 50,300,000 l (316,377 bbl) of crude oil to Japan, which was the first shipment of oil from the Arctic deposits. However, the project has stalled after that.

Fishing and sea hunting are practised by the local inhabitants and have no commercial value, especially after a US moratorium on commercial fishing of the Beaufort Sea, adopted in 2009. Trapping of muskrat at the Mackenzie River delta was the main source of income for the Indians and Eskimos during 1920–1960, but has since declined.