Simple and printable summary of this case study for new AQA 1 to 9 GCSE geography

1. North Slope of Alaska -
challenges & opportunities
AQA spec:
a cold environment to illustrate:
● development opportunities in cold environments: mineral
extraction, energy, fishing and tourism
● challenges of developing cold environments: extreme
temperature, inaccessibility, provision of buildings and
infrastructure.

2. North Slope of Alaska - challenges & opportunities
Location
Cold environments
● Wilderness areas= extremely fragile [ small disturbances within the ecosystem = catastrophic effects.]
● Great potential economic opportunities - tourism, energy exploitation and fishing.
● Hence under threat from EXPLOITATION and DEVELOPMENT.
● Regional Multiplier effect = employment + ↑ local taxes → local government spending = improvement of infrastructure and public services
→ improving the socio economic conditions of the area and allowing for even more development.
1. Alaska = huge state (nearly 2 million km2) located to the very
North West of the USA.
2. North = Arctic Ocean,West =Bering Strait and Russia, South =
Pacific Ocean.
3. Isolated from mainland USA states by Canada, and the USA
bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2million
4. Alaska = industries and natural resources that can offer both
opportunities and challenges.

3. North Slope of Alaska - challenges
● Extreme cold -250C, limited sunlight in winter - reduces the working day
and increases hazards for people (think bears)
● Permafrost → buildings, roads, pipelines etc can slump into the ground,
disrupting road, rail and oil transport + potentially leading to oil spills or lost
time for work
● Adaptations needed
1. Many houses are raised up above ground to prevent subsidence
2. Roads are built on gravel to prevent them cracking with frost heave.
3. Oil pipelines are raised on stilts to prevent melting of the permafrost as the
oil has to be warmed to move in the pipeline
To adapt to the extreme cold
1. Houses =Triple glazing + insulation
2. People wear multiple layers
3. Geothermal power = underground pumps pump water underground where
it is warmer → bring that warmed water back up to heat buildings.
4. Buildings have steep pitched roofs to get rid of the snow that falls.
● Inaccessibility - large areas that have limited population - difficult for
industries to get raw materials and people to get to markets/place of work -
winter creates ice roads which reduce this inaccessibility.
● Fragile ecosystem - low energy (think photosynthesis) = vulnerable to
disturbance e.g. small oil spills will not be easily decomposed by bacterial
action therefore can have a lasting effect
KEY WORDS
● tundra - a vast, flat, treeless Arctic
region of Europe, Asia, and North
America in which the subsoil is
permanently frozen [permafrost] but
the top layer thaws seasonally -
creating problems [active layer]

4. North Slope of Alaska - opportunities
● FISHING
○ Alaska Natives = catch salmon and many other types of fish since the
early 17th century. This type of fishing exists today as SUBSISTENCE
fishing, and the fish provide food, oils and the bones are even used in
tools and clothing.
○ Commercial fishermen = Pollock fisheries in the Bering Sea, provide
over 60,000 jobs → $6 billion for the economy = $250million tax for
Alaskan government
● ENERGY = renewable and nonrenewable.
○ Geothermal → is being used as it si on the Pacific Ring of Fire. e.g
power plant at Chena Hot Springs near Fairbanks which produces power
for local people [400 homes]
○ Hydroelectric → steep relief and plentiful rivers. Alaska’s largest
source of renewable energy, supplying about 21% of state electricity e.g.
120MW Bradley Lake near Homer [cost > $300million]
● TOURISM
○ Northern lights, fishing, Yukon Quest dog sled race = $4 Billion a year.
● MINERAL EXTRACTION:
○ Variety of businesses, trading,
○ Prudhoe Bay Oilfield.
○ Oil and Gas employment = ⅓ jobs. Mines shut down = tourism
○ Prudhoe Bay = biggest in NA.
○ Petroleum contributes $14 billion to economy and jobs - regional &
national Multiplier Effect
KEY WORDS
● Infrastructure - The basic
equipment and structures (such as
roads, utilities, water supply and
sewage) that are needed for a
country or region to function
properly.
● Mineral extraction - The removal
of solid mineral resources from the
earth. These resources include
ores, which contain commercially
valuable amounts of metals, such
as iron and aluminium; precious
stones, such as diamonds;
building stones, such as granite;
and solid fuels, such as coal and
oil shale.

5. EXAM QUESTIONS
For a hot desert environment or cold environment you have studied, to what
extent does that environment provide both opportunities and challenges for
development? [9 marks]

6. Where next?
Search for this “FCASE STUDY” on