Abstract
Expanding Alaska-Canada Rail: Visualizing Mining Revenue and CO2 Impacts
Track: Transportation
Author
Recent discussions in Alaska on transportation networks and mineral resources have included expanding the regional rail network to connect Alaska to the Lower 48 for the first time via a new Alaska-Canada Rail Link. Our team has built a Desktop ArcGIS tool that visualizes the potential revenue from new mining efforts for areas within approximately 100km of proposed new rail routes. A web-based version of the tool is planned for 2010. Users, including Alaska and Canada stakeholders, can pick locations of known mineral and coal occurrences near rail routes and based on geologic deposit models, gain an estimate of resource amount and their extractable value over time. The tool translates the revenue scenario into likely greenhouse gas emissions based on transport of minerals and supply of the site. Users can select and visualize multi-modal transportation networks to understand and minimize greenhouse gas emissions as part of their scenarios.
Colin Brooks
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
United States
Phone: 734-913-6858
Fax: 734-913-6880
E-mail: colin.brooks@mtu.edu
Paul Metz
University of Alaska - Fairbanks
P.O. Box 755800
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-5800
United States
Phone: 907-474-6749
E-mail: ffpam@uaf.edu
Michael Billmire
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
United States
Phone: 734-913-6853
E-mail: mgbillmi@mtu.edu
David Keefauver
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
United States
Phone: 734-913-6862
E-mail: eric.keefauver@mtu.edu
Richard Dobson
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
United States
Phone: 734-913-6872
Fax: 734-913-6880
E-mail: rjdobson@mtu.edu
Robert Shuchman
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
United States
Phone: 734-913-6860
E-mail: shuchman@mtu.edu
Helen Kourous-Harrigan
Michigan Tech Research Institute
3600 Green Court
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
United States
Phone: 734-913-6851
E-mail: hekourou@mtu.edu