Little Diomede http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diomede_Islands is on the United States side of the International Date Line, in the Bering Strait. It is on the route of a suggested Bering
Strait Rail Tunnel, which would connect North America to Siberia. Provide an image of these islands along with information on climate, population, terrain, etc., for the region that encompasses said islands. Specific details are required with a paragraph, or more, for each subject.
The Diomede Islands are located in the Bering Strait Sea. The two islands are roughly 2.4 miles apart with the international dateline running between the two islands.
Big Diomede Island known as Tomorrow Island makes up the Eastern most part of Russia, Little Diomede Island known as Yesterday Island.
Climate-During the warmer months of the spring and summer seasons, the islands are shrouded in a deep, thick fog that keep them isolated from sight. During the colder months in the winter, the temperatures are freezing. This frigid temperature causes frozen ice bridges to form between the islands and subsequently form a connection that could theoretically be used to bridge the gap between the North Western Shore of the United States and the North Eastern shore of Russia.
Population- After WWII, any inhabitants of Big Diomede Island were driven off of it to keep down the risk of contact across the border, as the border lies between Big and Little Diomede. However there is a weather station and small base for the Russian Border Guard team. Across the International Dateline, on the Little Diomede Island, there is however a community of people, consisting of roughly 150 individuals, all Eskimos that live a simple lifestyle of hunting and fishing for food and income.
Little Diomede
Terrain- The terrain of the islands are very rocky and steep. The community on Little Diomede exists only on the shore where the land is relatively flat, or at least flatter than the majority of the island. This prevents any sort of car travel, and most land travel is done on foot.
Research the history of the Bering Strait Crossing, and give a detailed overview, several paragraphs, here of what you find. Use multiple sources and insert pertinent images. Here is a starting point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait_crossing
Early history of humans crossing the Bering Sea via the Bering Strait goes back as far as 13,000 years ago when people crossed from Asia into North America. The bridge at once consisted of entirely land rather than frozen water that came and went with the seasons. This was during the most recent Ice age when water levels were low enough and is believed by many to be the first point of entry of the human race into the Americas.
The Bering Strait Crossing is a proposed revitalization of this land bridge. With the Diomede Islands mentioned in the previous question, it would be possible to establish this connection through the construction of three over water bridges. There has also been proposal consisting of underground tunnels that serve the same purpose, utilizing the elevation of the covered Bering Strait. The introduction of this concept dates back to the late 1800’s when William Gilpin proposed the “Cosmopolitan Railway”. The concept caught the ears of other engineers and two years later Joseph Strauss, the engineer who would go on to design of the Golden Gate Bridge, creating designs for this intercontinental railway and even sent them to be reviewed by Russia, but they were rejected. In 1905, Czar Nicholas II approved the construction of a tunnel, but the outbreak of WWI ended any and all progress of those plans.
After several later attempts and proposals during the 1900’s, interest and reality was reignited when the Alaskan highway was constructed in the early 1940’s. This connected Alaskan remote areas with Canada and the mainland United States. This opened the possibility to continue this highway to cross the Bering Strait. Money issues had prevented the construction of this pricy project, but in 2014, interest from across the sea surfaced as Chinese transportation experts proposed an underwater, high-speed rail that would connect Alaska and Siberia via the Bering Strait. “InterBering, LLC” is an organization that has been organized to raise money for such a venture as well as provide plans and reasons for such a project. There are such justifications as improving transportation efficiency and job production.
Is there a historic precedence for such a venture? Use multiple sources. Discuss in several paragraph detail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Land_Bridge
There have been a few projects that are close to the proportion of the Bering Strait Crossing. One of which being the previously mentioned Alaskan Highway that connected Alaskan areas to Canada and the United States mainland. A similar highway was constructed to connect the domestic regions of Russia and Europe. Known as the Eurasian Land Bridge, this rail system connects the far east of Russia and Siberia to the western-more regions of Russia and Europe. This is nearly identical to the purpose that is served by the Alaskan Highway which beckons the final piece of the puzzle which would be a Bering Strait crossing of some sort. The Railway was completed in 1916 and earned the name “The New Silk Road” as it connected many of the regions that the ancient Silk Road connected, and for similar purposes. The Railway stretches 9,200 Km and is the longest rail line in the world.
Eurasian Land Bridge:
Alaskan Highway:
How does this proposed undersea tunnels compare with other similar undersea tunnels in the world (e.g. Chunnel, Seikan, Chesapeake, etc.) as to size, length, age, usage, etc? Discuss in several paragraph detail. Use multiple sources. http://www.gr8st8.com/main_pages/bering_tunnel.htm
There are many underwater tunnels that connect different regions throughout the world, particularly in more developed urban regions. The Channel Tunnel connecting France and the United Kingdom has the second longest underwater portion stretching 37.9 Km. Though the ideas for such a link surfaced as early as 1802, the project did not begin until 1988 and finish in 1992, and carries passenger trains as well as freight.
Similarly in Japan, the largest stretch of underwater tunnel in the world, the Seikan tunnel, extends 53.9 km from the Hokkaido Islands to the Aomori Prefecture. The tunnel was completed in 1998 as a response to the sinking of ferry ships that used to serve the same purpose. The tunnel was constructed because engineers saw building a bridge as too risky due to the harsh weather.
The proposed Bering Strait Tunnel would stretch over ten km longer than the longest tunnel in existence currently and roughly double the distance of the second longest underwater tunnel in the world. Similar to these two tunnels, the Bering Strait Crossing would connect two different communities and nationalities and could be paramount not only to commerce and trade but also peace and unity.
Discuss the feasibility of such a tunnel, with carefully thought-out pro and con detailed arguments (e.g. technical, environmental, ethical, etc.). Use multiple sources, several paragraphs plus.
Constructability will extremely difficult. The average temperature is -4F with extreme lows of -50F. There are consistently high winds which with a wind chill drop the temperature even lower. The Bering Strait lies just north of the earthquake prone Pacific Ring of Fire. There are frequently large magnitude earthquakes in this region.
The two methods of building a tunnel would be to construct prefabricated sections of tunnel on the ice and when the strait thaws in the summer time they could be submerged. Once they are submerged they can be welded together underwater and pumped out. In order to build a tunnel using this method the seabed needs to be soft and level. The seabed of the Bering Strait is extremely uneven and rocky which would cause many issues and leave very little support to the tunnel.
The other method would be to use tunnel boring machines and bore a more traditional tunnel through bed rock under the seabed. The major issue with this method is it would take much longer to build and it would be extremely difficult to build an earthquake proof tunnel in this area.
Economically I do not think it is feasible. The price for the tunnel alone would cost roughly $35 billion. Considering this would be the longest most complex tunnel ever built this is a reasonable figure. I think the biggest issue is the lack of infrastructure in Alaska but especially Siberia. In order to build a railroad from the tunnel to Fairbanks Alaska would cost $27 billion, and roughly $72 billion to build the railroad in Siberia. This would bring the cost of the project to $134 billion. If the United States were to pay for the tunnel and railroad in Alaska it would still be cheaper than the cost of building the railroad across Siberia. Since the US is currently in debt and Russia’s economy is even worse off I don’t think this project is feasible.
In addition to the cost, matching up the railroad gauges would create issues as well since the US uses standard gauge, and Russia uses broad gauge. This could possibly create tensions between the two countries because both will potentially want to continue using what they already have in place. I do not see any ethical issues with building this tunnel. I personally think it would help the US reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and allow an easier trade of goods throughout the world.
Plan a route from Fairbanks to the edge of Siberia. Wonder what software you could use for this endeavor? Show the overall general route via a map view. Provide a cross section as well. Also, for a small section of your choosing, zoom in and show an area in more detail (e.g. where individual bridges and/tunnels may be necessary). Provide an approximate distance in miles for the overall route. Think about how railroads are routed around the world (e.g. along river valleys, through tunnels, across rivers, etc.). Mainline railroads are designed for grades less than 3% (e.g. 3 feet of rise or fall in 100 feet of horizontal travel). Assume that the tunnel alignment can surface at both Big and Little Diomede if necessary. A bridge or tunnel could connect the tunnel between these islands … your choice. Describe, discuss, and illustrate.
741.95 miles total
683.94 miles Fairbanks to Bering Strait
58.01 miles tunnel/bridge
A total of 34 small bridges will be used on the Alaskan mainland in order to avoid significant elevation changes. Since there is already a rail line operating out of Standard the proposed railway will link up here and use existing rail line in order to reach Fairbanks. A bridge will be used to link the two islands together which will allow for two shorter tunnels versus one large tunnel.
What railroad transportable natural resources from Siberia would be most beneficial to the USA economy today? Think in terms of both demand and profit. Specify and discuss in multiple paragraph detail.
Siberia is extremely rich in natural resources. It contains roughly 80 percent of Russia’s oil, coal, precious metals and diamonds. Approximately 85 percent of Russia’s natural gas and 40 percent of Russia’s timber is contained within Siberia. The demand for these resources has been high throughout history and all are extremely profitable. Currently the oil and gas market has an oversupply which has led to massive cutbacks in development and drilling. Due to the cyclic nature of the oil and gas industry within a few years the demand will once again exceed the supply and prices will skyrocket making oil and gas boom once again. I personally think that if Russia and the US were to set aside differences and join teams then the oil and gas market could be toppled as we know it. If our two countries were to connect Alaska and Siberia and allow these resources to be passed between Russia and the US then it would essentially cause a huge headache to OPEC and the Middle East. For obvious political reasons this probably won’t ever happen but the potential for the oil and gas industry to move from the Middle East to Siberia and North America is there.
How long would it take for a train to make the trip, from the edge of Siberia to say Fairbanks? You will need a distance and a representative speed. Show your calculations and basis for same.
Since the maximum allowable speed for a freight train is 60 miles per hour and the minimum speed is 30 miles per hour, an average speed of 45 miles per hour will be used for calculations
Total time=((741.95 miles))/((45 miles/hour))=16.48 hours
Tunnel time=((58.01 miles))/((45 miles/hour))=1.29 hours
How much can a train carry? Give some relative comparisons to trucks (e.g. eighteen wheelers, barges, ships, etc.). How do trains compare cost wise to these other means of transporting our new found wealth home? Why are we today considering adding “train corridors” alongside interstates like I81 through the Great (a.k.a. Shenandoah) Valley of Virginia? How does the world transport cargo now and what trends can you see for the future? Discuss with separate paragraphs for each of the above noted questions. Insert pertinent images.
Trains are one of the more efficient ways to transport goods. The figures below illustrate how much cargo a train can transport, and how efficient it is. Even though transporting goods by train is not as efficient as by barge it is not as limited as a barge is.
Mode of Transportation Tons of Cargo Bushels of Cargo Gallons of Cargo
One Barge 1,500 tons 52,500 bushels 453,600 gallons
One Rail Car 100 tons 3,500 bushels 30,240 gallons
100-car Train Unit 10,000 tons 350,000 bushels 3,024,000 gallons
Large Semi 26 tons 910 bushels 7,865 gallons
Mode of Transportation Number of Miles/Gallon Carrying One Ton of Cargo
514 miles/gallon
202 miles/gallon
59 miles/gallon
Norfolk Southern is proposing to build a new set of lines known as the Crescent Corridor alongside Interstate 81.
This proposed set of lines would reduce the number of trucks by 1.3 million annually and save 170 million gallons of fuel. The proposed cost of this project is $2.5 billion. BNSF is proposing a similar project called the Transcon Corridor. The Transcon Corridor would link ports in California to Texas, the Midwest, and Southeast.
This proposed project would reduce the number of trucks by nine million annually, save one billion gallons of fuel, and 11 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. There are several other new sets of rail lines that are being proposed as well. Due to the safer more efficient nature of railroads these new lines could have an enormous impact on the future infrastructure of the US.
Describe Siberia in detail, and the pertinent demographics thereof?
The following are some minimum suggestions: Who are the people(s)? What are the languages? What government? Who controls what? What are the natural resources and reserves? What exists in terms of transportation routes (e.g. road, river, rail, air, etc.). What is the size of Siberia? For example, you could insert a map here that compares Siberia to the United States, as a size and distance reference. What are the environmental conditions (e.g. temps, rainfalls, climates)? Is there any ocean front land available? See if you can dig a few more interesting facts and figures up. Use multiple sources. The following link may be helpful:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Siberia occupies a large region, approximately 5.2 square miles of eastern Russia on the central Asian continent. This area takes up approximately 9% of the Earth’s total dry land mass. Siberia is known for the intense cold climate and long winters, and contrary to common belief, the summer months are fairly warm.
Much of Siberian Ancient history is occupied by the Mongolians, just like most of the continent was. Current day Siberia has a population that consists of a majority of emigrants and aboriginal people of various backgrounds. The recent history of Siberia has been compared to the colonization of the Americas as the colonization of Siberia started in the late 1500’s and ended in the late 1800’s leaving behind a very diverse community of different ethnicities. A large leap in Siberian population occurred during the construction of the Trans-Siberian highway in 1914 when the Siberian population grew to nearly 10 million. A large part of the population of Siberia can trace its history back to those who were exiled from different areas of Europe such as Sweden and Germany.
There is a language known as Sibirskoj which consists of a standardized form of Russian dialects. However this was formed as recently as 2005 and there is no true official language in Siberia. The Russian Federation is the form of government in Siberia just as it is the rest of Russia. This government is headed by the Russian Prime Minister and from there the Deputy Prime Ministers and Federal Ministers. Siberia takes up roughly three fourths of Russia and contains nearly all natural resources and is vital to the Russian economy. These resources consist of the many animal pelts and furs that can be hunted throughout the vast woodland areas in the region. More so than this, there is a lot of salt and minerals available. Siberia is also calculated to hold 80% of Russia’s oil resources, 80% of its coal, 85% of its natural gas and 40% of its timber. It is safe to say that this region holds resources vital to the economy of Russia.
As seen in this comparison, Siberia dominates the United States in comparison of size, and with that size and the known percentage of available resources plus that which is yet to be discovered in this rather unexplored region, imagine the possible resources.
Describe Alaska in detail and the demographics thereof? Use multiple sources. Can you find any imagery that compares the size of Alaska to the “lower 48”? Insert here.
Alaska has a total population of 626,932, consisting of fairly even split of males and females, with there being slightly more males. The age split is heavily skewed to a younger demographic as all but 13% of the population is under the age of 55. The primary race of the Alaskan people is heavily skewed towards white with approximately 434,534 Alaskans, nearly two thirds of the population being white. An interesting demographic statistic was that only 221,600 are owned out of this 626,932 people. The predominant modern housing option for Alaskan people is housing units, of which 260,978 are owned.
Out of curiosity, what is the “big deal” about drilling for oil in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) in this time of escalating fuel prices? What is ANWR? Where is ANWR? Just exactly how large is ANWR, described or shown in a fashion that “John Q Public” would understand. Provide pro and con detailed discussion, several paragraphs plus, on this subject, as tied to the supposed record profits of oil companies in the last decade.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Northeast most portion of Alaska. It is composed of 19,000,000 acres and is the largest protected wilderness in the United States.
The part of the ANWR containing the oil reserves is known as 1002 area. The 1002 area is comprised of 1,500,000 acres. The controversy for the ANWR has been ongoing since 1977. Many people are concerned that it will harm the wildlife. In 1998 the USGS projected that there is between 5.7 billion and 16 billion barrels of technically recoverable crude oil and natural gas lying beneath the surface in the coastal plain region of the ANWR. The big push to develop these oil reserves is partly due to the abundance, but also partly due to the low price of development. Current crude oil is priced at $50 per barrel, which is extremely low and putting a lot of pressure on the market. The Department of Energy believes that crude oil produced from the ANWR can be priced at $12-$24 per barrel. This is significant due to the fact that low oil prices have caused many oil and gas wells to be shut down and drilling is virtually nonexistent right now.
Many Democrats and conservationists are extremely opposed to drilling because they say it will damage wildlife. Petroleum companies advocate that drilling could be accomplished on a small 2,000 acre plot. This is very plausible due to modern drilling technology. If all drill pads were constructed in a 2,000 acre area, directional wells could be drilled branching out in many directions. This was the idea behind directional drilling when it was originally developed. Instead of drilling multiple wells from separate pads over a wide area, several wells can be drilled from one centralized drill pad if the wells are drilled in different directions. This reduces the overall footprint and increases drilling efficiency. If petroleum companies were limited to 2,000 acres they very well could drill all of the wells that would be needed to extract the immense oil reserves.
What about the oft’ forgotten Inuit’s of this northern region of the world? Where can they be found, what are their languages, and do we know anything about current populations? Who are their neighbors? Are there friendly neighbor relations, historically speaking? What is the life expectancy, male, female, average? Discuss in detail these demographic concepts and others. Use multiple sources, multiple paragraphs.
The Inuit are the native group of people that inhabit the Arctic portions of Alaska and Canada and parts of Greenland. Numbering around 60,000 total, they are often referred to as Eskimo’s even though this is considered a derogatory term. Much as the “Eskimo” stereotype suggests, the life these people live is harsh and extreme do to the climates that they live in. Due to the inability to successfully grow crops in these harsh temperatures, the Inuit are excellent hunters and trappers. Inikutut is the native language of all Inuit communities and has been for as long as the Inuit have had spoken language. Much of the history of the Inuit has been passed down through oral methods of story-telling and traditional dance and song.
Since the arrival of Europeans, and far more recently than that, the purchase of Alaska to the United states, outsiders have affected the life and culture of the Inuit. There have been attempts to coercively assimilate the Inuit people through education and religion, and it had worked for a while until a revitalization of Inuit culture and values started in the 1970’s. The life expectancy of the Inuit in many of these areas is lower than the non-Inuit communities. In 2013, male life expectancy for the Inuit was 67.7 years and 72.8 for women while for the rest of Canada life expectancy was 77.5 and 81.3. This attributed to injury for males and cancer or respiratory illness.
Out of curiosity, show the route of the Iditarod and give a detailed multiple paragraph overview of this most famous event, background, facts/figures, etc.
The Iditarod is multi-day dog sled race through Alaska which was started in 1973 The course covers 1049 miles and typically takes teams 9-15 days to complete. Teams are comprised of one musher and 16 dogs. The conditions are brutal with blizzard conditions causing full whiteouts and wind chill temperatures reaching -100 F. The course starts in Anchorage and has an official restart Willow. From there the course runs to Ophir where it splits into a northern and southern route. The northern route is run in even numbered years and the southern route is run in odd numbered years. There are 26 checkpoints on the northern route and 27 checkpoints on the southern route at which teams are required to sign in. The northern and southern routes rejoin at the town of Kaltag. From there the route continues on to the finish line in Nome. Each musher prepares preplanned supply drops at checkpoints of their choosing. There are three mandatory stops each team must make: an eight hour stop at White Mountain, an eight hour and 24 hour stop that can be taken anywhere along the course.
Every year more than 50 teams compete in this historic race. The winner is typically less than an hour ahead of the other teams. The closest race was in 1978 where the winner was decided by one second. Most sled dogs are either Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies or a mix of the two breeds. These are traditionally bred to be sled dogs for the toughness and stamina. Over the years many animal rights groups have criticized the race for animal cruelty. More than 40 years since its start the Iditarod remains a key part of Alaskan culture.
Are we past the time of “empires”? Do any exist today? What are some of the famous empires (pick 3) and when they existed in history? List, describe, discuss in detail.
Rome
The Roman Empire began in 6th Century BC, it expanded but remained inside present day Italy until 3rd Century BC. For many years the Roman Empire was loosely ruled by individual governments overseen by the Roman Senate. It wasn’t until 1st Century BC when Julius Caesar became the Emperor that Rome became a Dictatorship. He was assassinated shortly after becoming emperor. The next 200 years Rome was ruled by emperors but became an extremely stable empire. The Roman Empire lasted until 5th Century AD when it began to tear itself apart due to the large number of German immigrants.
At its largest point the Roman Empire covered the whole Mediterranean region.
Roman culture initially was based on a religious system incorporating pagan gods similar to Greece. During 2nd Century AD Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. The Romans are known for their strong military and engineering. The Roman Empire had one of the most impressive infrastructure systems of the world. Many of their buildings, aqueducts, and sewers remain in use today.
Greece
The Greek Empire lasted from 8th Century BC until 146 BC when it was annexed with the Roman Empire. The Greeks were responsible for the start of philosophy and were known to be deep thinkers. While many think of Greek culture as being soft and laid back many young boys were taken from their families and made to live in military barracks when they were 8 years old. This encouraged a Spartan lifestyle. The Greek empire is most known for its conquests under Alexander the Great. As the leader of Greece he took control of Persia Macedonia and led a campaign into Asia. The Greek Army redefined battle tactics of the time by the use of disciplined phalanxes in battle. The Greek Empire was never one of the largest but the science and philosophy from ancient Greece still plays a role in modern society.
Ottoman
The Ottoman Empire was founded in 1299 AD as a Sunni Islamic state under Osman I of Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire was comprised of many independent Turkish states. The Ottomans began to take over the eastern Mediterranean region leading to the fall of the Byzantine Empire. The crusades of the Middle Ages were unable to turn back the Ottoman Empire and it soon began to grow even more. During the 19th Century the Ottoman Empire began to decline. After its defeat in World War I it soon crumbled thereafter due to the Turkish move for Independence.
How has GIS-based imagery and/or tools aided your discussions within this assignment? Discuss with detail and in an organized manner.
GIS imagery and software has played a key role in the completion of this assignment. The majority of the images and data that was found online was developed using GIS software. I was able to make use of GIS software while laying out the route of our proposed railway. This allowed me to take the topography into consideration so that we were able to meet the elevation change criteria. I think the use of GIS imagery and software is underestimated by many people. I for one did not realize how much information found in books or online contains GIS imagery or was developed by GIS software. After taking this class I now notice how big of a role GIS plays in conveying/comparing information
Upload as an artifact to your e-Portfolio.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diomede_Islands
http://archive.freightrailworks.org/partners/transcon-corridor/
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/arctic-engineering/connecting-two-continents-the-ultimate-engineering
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/mega-engineering-building-a-transcontinental-tunnel/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_gauge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait_crossing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Refuge_drilling_controversy
http://www.oil-price.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire