This book is the second in a series on arctic and alpine environments produced by Dr. Michael Vigdorchik at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado, Boulder. The first carried the title Arctic Pleistocene History and the Development of Submarine Permafrost. The complicated Arctic Basin development during the Pleistocene has been described in that book, including the paleoenvironmental problems posed by the isolation of the Arctic Basin during the Ice Ages. This sequel concerns the identification and estimation of the potential hazards posed by the arctic environment to petroleum exploration and development on the Alaskan continental shelf.