Beaufort Sea
The Beaufort Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean located in north of Canada and Alaska. An estimated area is about 476,000 sq km and an average depth is 3,239 feet. The sea is frozen almost all of the year except in Summer when the ice breaks near the coast and opens. Due to climate change in the Arctic, the ice-free area has greatly enlarged in late Summer. The reductions in Arctic sea ice causes polar bear population to decrease due to lack of hunting place.
The continental shelf of Beaufort sea is narrow, especially near and east of Point Barrow and contains numerous submarine valleys. This region of the midnight sun and stunning Aurora Borealis is a very nice place for photographer and wildlife watcher to visit.
Credit from www.alaska-in-pictures.com
The Beaufort sea contains significant resources of petroleum and natural gas under its shelf such as in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil and gas field in North America. A Permo-Triassic deltaic sandstone is the main reservoir in this area. To transport that oil, the 800 mile-long Trans-Alaska pipeline was completed in 1977. It carries that oil south to the port of Valdez.
Credit from Ned Rozell
