RESOLUTION ISLAND: INCEPTION THROUGH ABANDONMENT

Clients: Various Members of the Petroleum Industry

Resolution Island, located in the Sagavanirktok River Delta, was one of the first armored exploration islands to be constructed in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Although the design life was three years, the service life was extended to more than two decades through annual inspections and periodic maintenance. Coastal Frontiers personnel developed the design of the slope protection system, performed all of the inspection activities, provided construction advisory for the initial construction and all subsequent maintenance work, developed the plan of abandonment, and served as the owner's representative during implementation of the plan of abandonment.

Design and Construction (1980)

  • Prototype testing of candidate Arctic armor systems

    • 2-cy gravel bags constructed of different geotextile fabrics

    • Concrete-filled geotextile bags

    • Gravel-filled tubes

    • Precast, linked concrete mat (subsequently adopted for use on the Endicott Project)

Annual Long-Term Monitoring (1980-1995)

  • Monitoring tools included aerial photography, bathymetric surveys, and dive inspections

  • Results were used to identify and characterize agents of damage for gravel bag armor

Abandonment (Summer 2003)

  • Removed all anthropogenic materials

  • Reshaped gravel core to create avian nesting habitat