Everybody else is guessing. Rarely has such a fundamental political battle been waged with so little information. In January, the National Academy of Sciences appointed a panel to investigate the impact of Alaskan oil and gas development. Its report isn't due for 18 months, which may be after Congress takes up oil exploration. Working in six-mile squares, they fired explosive charges into the permafrost and measured the return of the seismic waves.
Different rocks produce unique acoustic signatures.
Recorded in squiggly lines and graphs, the results were intriguing, but not conclusive. It showed the coastal plain is split diagonally by a steep underground ridge known as the Marsh Creek anticline. It runs from the foothills of the Brooks Range to the sea near Kaktovik. The KIC-1 well is said to have been drilled into one of these. Ehm believes the refuge is an oily place.