The 22nd of September is the Atumnal Equinox in the northern hemisphere.
That date plus or minus a week is when the Artic temperatures start their rapid plunge towards their winter lows.
Umiat maximums currently are around 6 Degrees C.
Once the air is continuously below freezing (Late September) any snow that falls doesnt melt and this sets up a negative temperature feedback - the white cover on the ground reflects incoming sunlight and substantially changes the albedo, which means more of the incoming solar energy is reflected back out to space as light without being absorbed by ground to warm the air in longer wavelengths. Sunlight itself is not in the spectrum to significantly warm the atmosphere - the ground absorbs light and re-radiates it in longer infra red wavelengths. Snow changes that energy conversion equation substantially.
I dont know if they need the ground frozen to erect the Kuukpik #5 rig on the Seabee pad for the disposal well. But they definitely need frozen ground to build ice roads to the other wells to transport the rig there. Linc previously installed in-ground sensors to monitor ground temp. Once the ground freeze reaches a certain depth Linc Energy contractors will begin their ice road construction to Umiat Well #23H.
I hope this new well flows successfully (sometime around December?), there is significant upside for us holders if Umiat plays out, and even though much of the exploration cost is subsidised there is still a big up-front cost to Linc and substantial cost if the exploration does not finalise a path to commercialization.
Umiat Average temps and snow depth http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?akumia
LNC Price at posting:
$1.64 Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
