In February 2012, a large, grounded ice feature was discovered off the Chukchi Sea coast in the vicinity of Point Belcher. Based on the likelihood that a substantial ice gouge had been incised in the sea bottom, a joint industry project was commissioned to perform a bathymetric survey at the site immediately after break-up of the sea ice. The work was sponsored by Shell International Exploration and Production, Inc., Statoil Petroleum AG, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
The primary objective of the project was to document the gouge created by the grounded ice feature. Secondary objectives were to investigate the nature of the feature itself, and to investigate the characteristics of the sea bottom sediment.
Final Report completed and accepted. Confidential until after January 1, 2019 as project was joint funded with industry (Statoil and Shell).