An area of thawing permafrost is threatening a stretch of a major Alaskan pipeline as the structure experiences damages from the changing weather. An 810-foot section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is under threat as the braces of the structure have begun to tilt and bend as the slope above it is slowly thawing. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is responding to the hazard by installing 100 thermosyphon tubes over 120 days to pull heat out of permafrost and reenforce the slope to hopefully avoid major damage. This is the first instance of ‘slope creep’ threatening the huge pipeline since its construction in 1977, according to local records. The permafrost found beneath around 85 percent of Alaska has begun to melt in recent years because of rising temperatures in the region due to climate change. This will keep happening as temperatures are expected to continue to rise, meaning this […]