To: COL Gary K. “Doc” Rogers, PE, PhD

From: Seth Hinton / Ovidijus Kuzminas

Course: CE 208 – Introduction to GIS

Subject: Trans-Siberian Tunnel via Delorme XMap GIS EditorT:\Civil Engineering\CE 208X\3 Non-Text Assignments\8 My Siberian Empire\Bering Strait Tunnel (03 24 15).doc

Text: Delorme “Topo” Software

Goals: Introduction to a 50-state database of USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM) topographic map information for the purpose of map resource utilization, analysis, modeling in both two and three dimensions.

Key Words: Modeling, analysis, design, demographics, map resources, topographic maps, writing skills, instruction following ability, analysis, 2-D versus 3-D conceptualization, JPEG versus BITMAP files, file size considerations, critical thinking, resolution, map symbols, bench mark, contour, latitude, longitude, elevation, coordinates, contour interval, degrees, minutes, seconds, meta data, digital raster graphics, pixel, digital elevation model, area, distance measuring, profiles, vertical exaggeration, view angle, and sources of error.

Assigned: 03/24/15 TuesdayDue: 4.5 weeks, 04/23/15 ThursdayHR: Specify “Help Received”.HG: Specify “Help Given”.

Assignment: Little Diomede http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diomede_Islands is on the United States side

of the International Date Line, in the Bering Strait. It is on the route of a suggested Bering Strait Rail Tunnel, which would connect North America to Siberia. Provide an image of these islands along with information on climate, population, terrain, etc., for the region that encompasses said islands. Specific details are required with a paragraph, or more, for each subject.

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Figure 1. Bering Strait (NASA)In the middle between two peninsulas there are two islands: Big Diomede (Russian Federation) and Little Diomede (U.S.). Bering Strait is 80 km width so islands are approximately 40 km from every shore. Both islands are very rocky because they are tuya-like which means that they formed up from volcano and have flat top.

The population in the Big Diomede is 0, while in the Little Diomede it is 135 people (according to 2011 data). However, I found some information that in the big island there should be a Russian army base. Between those two islands there is International Date Line so the difference of time between two islands is 20 hours.The regional climate is subarctic. Moreover, the wind blows from north in this region (could be up to 60-80 mph), blizzards are often. Top temperature in the summer could be up to 60 degrees and the lowest in the winter could be as low as -40.

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The transportation to the islands is possible only by the sea or air. There is a local airport. However, because of difficult weather conditions, it is really expensive to get from the continent to the islands and back (approximately $50 for one direction trip per person).

Research the history of the Bering Strait Crossing, and give a detailed overview, several paragraphs, here of what you find. Use multiple sources and insert pertinent images. Here is a starting point. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait_crossing

It is thought that Bering Strait could be called as Strait of Anian in about 1560. Strait of Anian was a semi-mythological place where Asia ends. So there is no specific information who was the first person discovered that there is a strait which separates Asia and America because even in the maps which were made in the beginning of 16th century the Asia and America are showed separated by not big gap (Wikipedia).There is a common misconception that it is possible to cross Bering Strait in winter because it is covered by ice. However, there are water currents which do not give opportunity to form up passage (angusadventures.com). However, during the Ice Age the sea level was dropped by several hundred feet and it made the strait into the land bridge. Bering name came from the Danish captain, Vitus Bering, who sailed through the strait in 1728 (Britannica).

Till 19th century all the projects to build a bridge which could connect Asia and America were rejected. In the beginning of 20th century, there were lots of ambitions to build a tunnel but it was not done because of WW1 and Russian revolution. After the WW2 the idea was renewed but it is still in projects up to now (Wikipedia).

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Figure 2. Latest Bering Strait project for railroad from U.S. to China (schillerinstitute.org)

Is there a historic precedence for such a venture? Use multiple sources. Discuss in several paragraph detail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Land_Bridge

Eurasia is connected with Africa with railroads while other 4 continents (Australia, Antarctica, North and South America) are not separated. There is a railroad from North to South America. Moreover, it is possible to add those two continents to the Eurasian railroad line. The only way to do that is a passage through Bering Strait from Alaska to Siberia (schillerinstitute.org).

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Figure 3. Example of world’s railroad system after building Bering Strait passage (schillerinstitute.org)It is said that joining Asia’s pacific coast to the Europe’s cities was a New Silk Road. The same significance could be reached by joining North America to the Eurasian Land Bridge. In this case most of the places of the Earth would be reachable by trains. Having in mind that railroads are the most efficient transportation system, this project could change the market across the world (Wikipedia).

How does this proposed undersea tunnels compare with other similar undersea tunnels in the world (e.g. Chunnel, Seikan, Chesapeake, etc.) as to size, length, age, usage, etc? Discuss in several paragraph detail. Use multiple sources. http://www.gr8st8.com/main_pages/bering_tunnel.htm

Bering Strait tunnel have to be at least 82 km long and it is thought that by this tunnel about 100 millions of cargo could be transported per year by two railroad lines and a pipeline (Wikipedia / inhabitat.com). Channel Tunnel which is between United Kingdom and France is 50 km long. It was built in 1994 and is capable to transport cargos by three tunnels on different rail gauges. Moreover, transporting speed could reach up to 100 miles (eurotunnel.com). I believe that this tunnel is quite technological old and the new Bering Strait tunnel could provide much larger transportation amounts and speed. On the other hand, according to

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Wikipedia, Bering tunnel could cost 5 times more than Channel.Seikan tunnel is a railroad tunnel in Japan that has length of 54 km. It was built in 1988 and there are two different rails with mixed gauge width. The transportation speed in tunnel is 85 mph (Wikipedia). This tunnel is almost equal to Channel but the velocity is much higher in Channel while used technology differs only by 6 years. I believe that 20 years of technology development could give enormous technological advantage to the Bering tunnel (for example speed of 150 mph).

Discuss the feasibility of such a tunnel, with carefully thought-out pro and con detailed arguments (e.g. technical, environmental, ethical, etc.). Use multiple sources, several paragraphs plus.

I believe that technical issues for the length are not the most important factor because if we use Diomede Islands as a platform for connecting two different tunnels, they will not be longer than those which are in France or Japan. Moreover, depth in this area is not higher than 180 ft. However, there are some cons as well: because of the weather conditions it is more likely that tunnel could operate only 5 months per year and it has to be built using specific steel (Wikipedia).Nowadays, political relationships with Russia are not on the top. Russia’s market is unreliable and fluctuating so it could be very risky to collaborate with them. Personally, I think that Russians are not the best partners while their leader is lying more than the Pinocchio.

Environmental problems could not occur because the landscape will not be damaged, animals will not be able to migrate through the tunnel and that means that there will be less regulation papers for building it (interbering.com).

Plan a route from Fairbanks to the edge of Siberia. Wonder what software you could use for this endeavor? Show the overall general route via a map view. Provide a cross

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section as well. Also, for a small section of your choosing, zoom in and show an area in more detail (e.g. where individual bridges and/tunnels may be necessary). Provide an approximate distance in miles for the overall route. Think about how railroads are routed around the world (e.g. along river valleys, through tunnels, across rivers, etc.). Mainline railroads are designed for grades less than 3% (e.g. 3 feet of rise or fall in 100 feet of horizontal travel). Assume that the tunnel alignment can surface at both Big and Little Diomede if necessary. A bridge or tunnel could connect the tunnel between these islands … your choice. Describe, discuss, and illustrate.

For answering this question, I will use Google Earth because I will need to explore the relief. However, I won’t plan the route because there have to be tons of mathematical calculations and I would like to trust engineers who have made this job already. They think this route is the most efficient:

Figure 4. Rail route from Fairbanks, AK to Siberia (interbering.com)

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Figure 5. Bering Strait cross section (interbering.com)

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Figure 6. Fairbanks, AK to Siberia route length (Google Earth)According to engineers’ plan, the railroad goes from Fairbanks to Tanana by the Tanana River (next to the Tanana the bridge is required). Then from Tanana railroad goes by Yukon River, Melatrizna River and then by the valley to the north east till it reaches Huslia. Railroad part which joins Huslia – Buckland – Wales goes by the valleys. In Wales railroad reaches the tunnel where it goes to the Small Diomede. From Small Diomede it would be cheaper to build a bridge to the Big Diomede. From there we also have underwater tunnel to Siberia. Total distance of this route is around 800 miles. What railroad transportable natural resources from Siberia would be most beneficial to

the USA economy today? Think in terms of both demand and profit. Specify and discuss in multiple paragraph detail.

According to the worldsrichestcountries.com United States imports from Russia those things: oil, iron, steel, inorganic chemicals and fertilizers. I believe that this tendency will not change in the near future.However, I believe that wood which is imported from Canada (8.8 billion dollars per year) could be changed to Russian. Moreover, Spain and Brazil oil, iron and steel importation could be reduced because I believe that Russia’s market could give lower price (especially having in mind today’s dollar to ruble course).

How long would it take for a train to make the trip, from the edge of Siberia to say Fairbanks? You will need a distance and a representative speed. Show your calculations and basis for same.

Wikipedia says that cargo trains could move up to 80 mph. When the distance is around 800 miles, it means that trip will be not less than 10 hours.800 miles / 80 mph = 10 hours

How much can a train carry? Give some relative comparisons to trucks (e.g. eighteen wheelers, barges, ships, etc.). How do trains compare cost wise to these other means of transporting our new found wealth home? Why are we today considering adding “train corridors” alongside interstates like I81 through the Great (a.k.a. Shenandoah) Valley of Virginia? How does the world transport cargo now and what trends can you see for the

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future? Discuss with separate paragraphs for each of the abovenoted questions. Insert pertinent images.

The average train car carries 120 tons train would be 15,000 tons; while the legal weight for an eighteen wheeler is 40 tons. 18 wheelers burn a common 5-6 mpg.

vs. Train corridors are being thought of because of the “straight” way to your

destination. It also is good for HOV, you can fit a lot more people in a train car then you can a mini coupe. Cargo today is shipped freight by train or boat; and its worked for us this whole time, I could see the future to keep on the same path.

Describe Siberia in detail, and the pertinent demographics thereof? The following are some minimum suggestions: Who are the people(s)? What are the languages? What government? Who controls what? What are the natural resources and reserves? What exists in terms of transportation routes (e.g. road, river, rail, air, etc.). What is the size of Siberia? For example, you could insert a map here that compares Siberia to the United States, as a size and distance reference. What are the environmental conditions (e.g. temps, rainfalls, climates)? Is there any ocean front land available? See if you can dig a few more interesting facts and figures up. Use multiple sources. The following link may be helpful:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

I am basing most answers off of Russia as a whole from the site given above. The people are Russians; the government type is a federation. Transportation is railways, roadways, waterways, and heliports.

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Climate is very cold, geography differs in certain areas of the country. They are Russians.

Describe Alaska in detail and the demographics thereof? Use multiple sources. Can you find any imagery that compares the size of Alaska to the “lower 48”? Insert here.Alaska has multiple variations of the geography, parts can be low and flat, while others are mountainous and beautiful.

Out of curiosity, what is the “big deal” about drilling for oil in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) in this time of escalating fuel prices? What is ANWR? Where is ANWR? Just exactly how large is ANWR, described or shown in a fashion that “John Q Public” would understand. Provide pro and con detailed discussion, several paragraphs plus, on this subject, as tied to the supposed record profits of oil companies in the last decade.

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Many animals and there habitats live on the refuge, it would be a shame to watch them all die from bring oil out of the ground. ANWR is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The ANWR is in Alaska, 19,286,722 acres.

What about the oft’ forgotten Inuit’s of this northern region of the world? Where can they be found, what are their languages, and do we know anything about current populations? Who are their neighbors? Are there friendly neighbor relations, historically speaking? What is the life expectancy, male, female, average? Discuss in detail these demographic concepts and others. Use multiple sources, multiple paragraphs.

They can be found in Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Languages are classified within the families. 118426 is the current population

Out of curiosity, show the route of the Iditarod and give a detailed multiple paragraph overview of this most famous event, background, facts/figures, etc.

“A race covering 1000 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A race extraordinaire, a race only possible in Alaska.From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast.It has been called the “Last Great Race on Earth®” and it has won worldwide acclaim and interest. American film crews as well as film crews from around the world have covered the event. Journalists from outdoor magazines, adventure magazines, newspapers and wire services flock to Anchorage and Nome to record the excitement. It’s not just a sled dog race, it’s a race in which unique men and woman compete. Mushers enter from all walks of life. Fishermen, lawyers, doctors, miners, artists, natives, Canadians, Swiss, French and others. Men and women each with their own story, each with their own reasons for going the distance. Hundreds of volunteers, men and women, students and village residents all help to organize and stage the event. They man headquarters at Wasilla, Anchorage, and Nome. They fly volunteers, veterinarians, dog food and supplies. They act as checkers, coordinators, and family supporters of each musher.”

Are we past the time of “empires”? Do any exist today? What are some of the famous empires (pick 3) and when they existed in history? List, describe, discuss in detail.

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Not in the ancient aspect of things, empires do not exist but the remains of them still stand, as well as culture and customs

Aztec Empire - 12th century CE (AD) and the 15th centuryRoman Empire – 27 BC – 476 ADBritish Empire – 700 BC – 1976 AD

How has GIS-based imagery and/or tools aided your discussions within this assignment? Discuss with detail and in an organized manner.

Firstly, I used several images found on Google to represent the specific area, plans, and routes. When I had to improvise with the route of train, it was necessary to use any GIS platform that represents elevations, so I used Google Earth. It gave me basic knowledge about how engineers had to plan the routes because you can not climb up the hill with an enormous weight cargo. So in most cases, engineers try to avoid any hills in their path (going through the valley or by the rivers). On the other hand, if there is no possibility to go around the hill, there should be a tunnel through it.

Upload as an artifact to your e-Portfolio.

Designed by: COL Gary K. Rogers, PE, PhD 01/29/04 Last Modified: COL Gary K. Rogers, PE, PhD 03/24/15

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