Sample records for bering sea final
-
New Coccolithophore Bloom in Bering Sea
2002-01-01
For the fourth year in a row it appears as if there is a bloom of coccolithophores-marine single-celled plants with calcite scales-in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. Similar blooms were rare before 1997, but they have appeared every year since then. Scientists believe the coccolithophore blooms are the result of changing wind patterns in the region. Weaker than normal winds fail to mix the water of the Bering Sea, resulting in the growth of coccolithophores instead of other types of phytoplankton. Seabird populations have also been changing as a result of this climate change. The Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS), flying aboard the OrbView-2 satellite, saw the coccolith-brightened waters of the Bering Sea in 1997, 1998, and 1999. The waters have looked fairly bright again this winter and spring, as seen in this SeaWiFS image acquired April 29, 2000. But scientists are unsure whether this year's phenomenon is caused by living coccolithophorids, re-suspended coccoliths, or something else. Like all phytoplankton, coccolithophores contain chlorophyll and have the tendency to multiply rapidly near the surface. Yet, in large numbers, coccolithophores periodically shed their tiny scales, called 'coccoliths,' by the bucketful into the surrounding waters. The calcium-rich coccoliths turn the normally dark water a bright, milky aquamarine, making coccolithophore blooms easy to spot in satellite imagery. The edge of the whitish cloud in the water seen in this image is roughly 50 kilometers off the West Coast of Alaska. For more information see: SeaWiFS home page Changing Currents Color the Bering Sea a New Shade of Blue Image courtesy SeaWiFS project
-
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
尹明端; 曾宪章; 曾文义; 吴世炎; 施纯坦
2002-01-01
In this paper, the 18O distribution of surface water from the central sea areas of the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea was studied. The δ18O value of surface water from the Bering Sea is averagely -0.5‰; the δ18O contents of the Chukchi Sea are distributionally lower in northeast and higher in southwest; the δ18O value at the margin of Canadian Basin is -2.8‰, and averagely -0.8‰ in the southern area of the Chukchi Sea. The δ18O vertical distribution in some deep water stations from the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea is also studied. In the southern margin of Canadian Basin, the δ18O value is -2‰ -3‰ for surface layer and rises to 0 at 100 m depth layer. In the Bering Sea, the δ18O is about -0.5‰ for surface layer and increases to 0 at the depth of 300 m. The NO tracer can reflect obviously three water masses vertically distributed in the central Bering Sea: the upper Bering water mass, the middle Bering water mass and the deep Pacific water mass. The distributive ranges of NO and temperature for the various water masses are T780 μmol/dm3 and T≥7℃, NO>650 μmol/dm3 for upper Bering water mass, T<4℃, 550
-
Impact of climate warming on upper layer of the Bering Sea
Lee, Hyun-Chul; Delworth, Thomas L.; Rosati, Anthony; Zhang, Rong; Anderson, Whit G.; Zeng, Fanrong; Stock, Charles A.; Gnanadesikan, Anand; Dixon, Keith W.; Griffies, Stephen M.
2013-01-01
The impact of climate warming on the upper layer of the Bering Sea is investigated by using a high-resolution coupled global climate model. The model is forced by increasing atmospheric CO2 at a rate of 1% per year until CO2 reaches double its initial value (after 70 years), after which it is held constant. In response to this forcing, the upper layer of the Bering Sea warms by about 2°C in the southeastern shelf and by a little more than 1°C in the western basin. The wintertime ventilation to the permanent thermocline weakens in the western Bering Sea. After CO2 doubling, the southeastern shelf of the Bering Sea becomes almost ice-free in March, and the stratification of the upper layer strengthens in May and June. Changes of physical condition due to the climate warming would impact the pre-condition of spring bio-productivity in the southeastern shelf.
-
An Interdecadal Increase in the Spring Bering Sea Ice Cover in 2007
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Renguang eWu
2016-03-01
Full Text Available The sea ice coverage of the Northern Hemisphere as a whole has been declining since 1979. On contrary, the March-April sea ice concentration in the Bering Sea experienced a prominent increase in year 2007. The present study documents the changes in surface air temperature, surface heat fluxes, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation accompanying the above interdecadal change in the Bering Sea ice concentration. It is shown that an obvious decrease in surface air temperature, sea surface temperature, and surface net shortwave radiation occurred in concurrent with the sea ice increase. The surface air temperature decrease is associated with a large-scale circulation change, featuring a decrease in sea level pressure extending from the Pacific coast of Alaska to northwestern Europe and an increase in sea level pressure over the high-latitude Asia and the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean. The enhancement of northwesterly winds over the Bering Sea led to a large decrease in surface air temperature there. The associated increase in upward turbulent heat flux cooled the sea surface temperature in the waters south of the ice covered region, favoring the southward expansion of ice extent. This, together with a positive ice-albedo feedback, amplified the sea ice anomalies after they were initiated, leading to the interdecadal increase in sea ice in the Bering Sea.
-
Microfaunal analysis of late Quaternary deposits of the northern Bering Sea.
McDougall, K.
1982-01-01
Holocene microfaunal associations and distribution patterns define three inner-shelf (1-20m) biofacies in Norton Sound, northern Bering Sea. The Holocene facies relations are the basis for interpreting early Holocene and late Pleistocene environmental conditions in the NE Bering Sea area. Norton Sound cores provide evidence of two marine transgressions and a varying river input.-from Author
-
Lee, Sang Heon; Ryu, Jongseong; Park, Jung-woo; Lee, Dabin; Kwon, Jae-Il; Zhao, Jingping; Son, SeungHyun
2018-03-01
The Bering and Chukchi seas are an important conduit to the Arctic Ocean and are reported to be one of the most productive regions in the world's oceans in terms of high primary productivity that sustains large numbers of fishes, marine mammals, and sea birds as well as benthic animals. Climate-induced changes in primary production and production at higher trophic levels also have been observed in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas. Satellite ocean color observations could enable the monitoring of relatively long term patterns in chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations that would serve as an indicator of phytoplankton biomass. The performance of existing global and regional Chl-a algorithms for satellite ocean color data was investigated in the northeastern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea using in situ optical measurements from the Healy 2007 cruise. The model-derived Chl-a data using the previous Chl-a algorithms present striking uncertainties regarding Chl-a concentrations-for example, overestimation in lower Chl-a concentrations or systematic overestimation in the northeastern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea. Accordingly, a simple two band ratio (R rs(443)/R rs(555)) algorithm of Chl-a for the satellite ocean color data was devised for the northeastern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea. The MODIS-derived Chl-a data from July 2002 to December 2014 were produced using the new Chl-a algorithm to investigate the seasonal and interannual variations of Chl-a in the northern Bering Sea and the southern Chukchi Sea. The seasonal distribution of Chl-a shows that the highest (spring bloom) Chl-a concentrations are in May and the lowest are in July in the overall area. Chl-a concentrations relatively decreased in June, particularly in the open ocean waters of the Bering Sea. The Chl-a concentrations start to increase again in August and become quite high in September. In October, Chl-a concentrations decreased in the western area of the Study area and the Alaskan
-
2011-07-28
...-BA18 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management... management plan amendment; request for comments. SUMMARY: Amendment 93 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) would amend the Bering Sea and...
-
Ager, T.A.; Phillips, R.L.
2008-01-01
After more than half a century of paleoenvironmental investigations, disagreements persist as to the nature of vegetation type and climate of the Bering land bridge (BLB) during the late Wisconsin (Sartan) glacial interval. Few data exist from sites on the former land bridge, now submerged under the Bering and Chukchi Seas. Two hypotheses have emerged during the past decade. The first, based on pollen data from Bering Sea islands and adjacent mainlands of western Alaska and Northeast Siberia, represents the likely predominant vegetation on the Bering land bridge during full-glacial conditions: graminoid-herb-willow tundra vegetation associated with cold, dry winters and cool, dry summer climate. The second hypothesis suggests that dwarf birch-shrub-herb tundra formed a broad belt across the BLB, and that mesic vegetation was associated with cold, snowier winters and moist, cool summers. As a step towards resolving this controversy, a sediment core from Norton Sound, northeastern Bering Sea was radiocarbon dated and analyzed for pollen content. Two pollen zones were identified. The older, bracketed by radiocarbon ages of 29,500 and 11,515 14C yr BP, contains pollen assemblages composed of grass, sedge, wormwood, willow, and a variety of herb (forb) taxa. These assemblages are interpreted to represent graminoid-herb-willow tundra vegetation that developed under an arid, cool climate regime. The younger pollen zone sediments were deposited about 11,515 14C yr BP, when rising sea level had begun to flood the BLB. This younger pollen zone contains pollen of birch, willow, heaths, aquatic plants, and spores of sphagnum moss. This is interpreted to represent a Lateglacial dwarf birch-heath-willow-herb tundra vegetation, likely associated with a wetter climate with deeper winter snows, and moist, cool summers. This record supports the first hypothesis, that graminoid-herb-willow tundra vegetation extended into the lowlands of the BLB during full glacial conditions of the
-
Neogene sedimentation on the outer continental margin, southern Bering Sea
Vallier, T.L.; Underwood, M.B.; Gardner, J.V.; Barron, J.A.
1980-01-01
Neogene sedimentary rocks and sediments from sites on the outer continental margin in the southern Bering Sea and on the Alaska Peninsula are dominated by volcanic components that probably were eroded from an emergent Aleutian Ridge. A mainland continental source is subordinate. Most sediment in the marine environment was transported to the depositional sites by longshore currents, debris flows, and turbidity currents during times when sea level was near the outermost continental shelf. Fluctuations of sea level are ascribed both to worldwide glacio-eustatic effects and to regional vertical tectonics. Large drainage systems, such as the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, had little direct influence on sedimentation along the continental slope and Unmak Plateau in the southern Bering Sea. Sediments from those drainage systems probably were transported to the floor of the Aleutian Basin, to the numerous shelf basins that underlie the outer continental shelf, and to the Arctic Ocean after passing through the Bering Strait. Environments of deposition at the sites along the outer continental margin have not changed significantly since the middle Miocene. The site on the Alaska Peninsula, however, is now emergent following shallow-marine and transitional sedimentation during the Neogene. ?? 1980.
-
2012-10-01
... made by this final rule to the management of the Amendment 80 fleet and an explanation of any... Aleutian Islands Management Area; Amendment 97 ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: NMFS publishes regulations to implement Amendment 97 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands...
-
AFSC/NMML with NPRB: Whale broad-scale distribution in southeastern Bering Sea, 2008 and 2010
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — As part of the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (BSIERP) funded by the North Pacific Research Board (http://www.nprb.org/bering-sea-project),...
-
Biogeochemical Cycling and Sea Ice Dynamics in the Bering Sea across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition
Detlef, H.; Sosdian, S. M.; Belt, S. T.; Smik, L.; Lear, C. H.; Hall, I. R.; Kender, S.; Leng, M. J.; Husum, K.; Cabedo-Sanz, P.
2017-12-01
Today the Bering Sea is characterized by high primary productivity (PP) along the eastern shelf, maintained by CO2 and nutrient rich upwelled deep waters and nutrient release during spring sea ice melting. As such, low oxygen concentrations are pervasive in mid-depth waters. Changes in ventilation and export productivity in the past have been shown to impact this oxygen minimum zone. On glacial/interglacial (G/IG) timescales sea ice formation plays a pivotal role on intermediate water ventilation with evidence pointing to the formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) in the Bering Sea during Pleistocene glacial intervals. In addition, sea ice plays a significant role in both long- and short-term climate change via associated feedback mechanisms. Thus, records of sea ice dynamics and biogeochemical cycling in the Bering Sea are necessary to fully understand the interaction between PP, circulation patterns, and past G/IG climates with potential implications for the North Pacific carbon cycle. Here we use a multi-proxy approach to study sea ice dynamics and bottom water oxygenation, across three intervals prior to, across, and after the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT, 1.2-0.7 Ma) from International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1343. The MPT, most likely driven by internal climate mechanisms, is ideal to study changes in sea ice dynamics and sedimentary redox conditions on orbital timescales and to investigate the implications for associated feedback mechanisms. The sea ice record, based on various biomarkers, including IP25, shows substantial increase in sea ice extent across the MPT and the occurrence of a late-glacial/deglacial sea ice spike, with consequences for glacial NPIW formation and land glacier retreat via the temperature-precipitation feedback. U/Mn of foraminiferal authigenic coatings, a novel proxy for bottom water oxygenation, also shows distinct variability on G/IG timescales across the MPT, most likely a result of PP and water mass
-
2013-02-25
... Aleutian Islands Management Area; Groundfish Retention Standard AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). This final rule removes certain regulatory... monitoring requirements for the Amendment 80 fleet and establishes a new requirement for Amendment 80...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Steve A. MacLean
2017-05-01
Full Text Available When making science matter for conservation, marine conservation practitioners, and managers must be prepared to make the appropriate decision based on the results of the best available science used to inform it. For nearly a decade, many stakeholders encouraged the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to enact protections for deep-sea corals in several canyons in the Eastern Bering Sea slope. In 2014, at the request of the Council, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center conducted a strip-transect survey along the Eastern Bering Sea slope to validate the results of a model predicting the occurrence of deep-sea coral habitat. More than 250,000 photos were analyzed to estimate coral, sponge, and sea whip abundance, distribution, height, and vulnerability to anthropogenic damage. The results of the survey confirmed that coral habitat and occurrence was concentrated around Pribilof Canyon and the adjacent slope. The results also confirmed that the densities of corals in the Eastern Bering Sea were low, even where they occurred. After reviewing the best available scientific information, the Council concluded that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that deep-sea corals in the Eastern Bering Sea slope or canyons are at risk from commercial fisheries under the current management structure, and that special protections for deep-sea corals were not warranted.
-
Wang, Yu; Xiang, Peng; Kang, Jian-hua; Ye, You-yin; Lin, Geng-ming; Yang, Qing-liang; Lin, Mao
2018-01-01
The subarctic Bering Sea, one of the most productive regions of the world's oceans, is undergoing significant ecological shifts possibly linked to global climate change. During the Fourth Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) from July 10 to 20 of 2010, phytoplankton community structure, species diversity, spatial distribution, community types, abundance and biomass variations were investigated in a large scale study extending from the Bering Strait into the open waters down to the subarctic Pacific. These patterns were linked to potential environmental drivers, including effects of water masses and seasonal sea ice retreat. Results showed a marked spatial zonation in the taxonomic composition, abundance and biomass. A total of 149 phytoplankton taxa distributed among 57 genera of 5 phyla were identified, characterized into three ecological groups, namely Arctic, Boreal-temperate and cosmopolitan species. Phytoplankton included 101 species of diatoms, 44 species of dinoflagellates, 2 species of Chrysophyta, 1 species of each Chlorophyta and Euglenophyta. Both abundance and biomass were highest in the Bering Shelf, moderate on the Bering Slope, and lowest on the Bering Basin. Chlorophyll a was found highest in the subsurface chlorophyll maxima (SCM) close to the thermocline and halocline layers but its depth varied regionally. Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) revealed two types of assemblages, one a deep-sea assemblage associated with the Bering Basin and a neritic assemblage found in the Bering Slope and Shelf. Average abundance (10.22 × 103 cells/L), biomass (0.43 mg/m3), species diversity (2.60) and species richness (1.66) were established for deep-sea assemblage with the dominant species ranked as Neodenticula seminae, Chaetoceros atlanticus, Pseudonitzschia delicatissima, and Thalassionema nitzschioides. Neritic assemblage had higher values with 12.73 × 103 cells/L, 2.41 mg/m3, and 2.55 species richness but lower (2.41) species diversity, and
-
Li, Linghan; McClean, Julie L.; Miller, Arthur J.; Eisenman, Ian; Hendershott, Myrl C.; Papadopoulos, Caroline A.
2014-12-01
The seasonal cycle of sea ice variability in the Bering Sea, together with the thermodynamic and dynamic processes that control it, are examined in a fine resolution (1/10°) global coupled ocean/sea-ice model configured in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) framework. The ocean/sea-ice model consists of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Parallel Ocean Program (POP) and the Los Alamos Sea Ice Model (CICE). The model was forced with time-varying reanalysis atmospheric forcing for the time period 1970-1989. This study focuses on the time period 1980-1989. The simulated seasonal-mean fields of sea ice concentration strongly resemble satellite-derived observations, as quantified by root-mean-square errors and pattern correlation coefficients. The sea ice energy budget reveals that the seasonal thermodynamic ice volume changes are dominated by the surface energy flux between the atmosphere and the ice in the northern region and by heat flux from the ocean to the ice along the southern ice edge, especially on the western side. The sea ice force balance analysis shows that sea ice motion is largely associated with wind stress. The force due to divergence of the internal ice stress tensor is large near the land boundaries in the north, and it is small in the central and southern ice-covered region. During winter, which dominates the annual mean, it is found that the simulated sea ice was mainly formed in the northern Bering Sea, with the maximum ice growth rate occurring along the coast due to cold air from northerly winds and ice motion away from the coast. South of St Lawrence Island, winds drive the model sea ice southwestward from the north to the southwestern part of the ice-covered region. Along the ice edge in the western Bering Sea, model sea ice is melted by warm ocean water, which is carried by the simulated Bering Slope Current flowing to the northwest, resulting in the S-shaped asymmetric ice edge. In spring and fall, similar thermodynamic and dynamic
-
Douglas, David C.
2010-01-01
The Arctic region is warming faster than most regions of the world due in part to increasing greenhouse gases and positive feedbacks associated with the loss of snow and ice cover. One consequence has been a rapid decline in Arctic sea ice over the past 3 decades?a decline that is projected to continue by state-of-the-art models. Many stakeholders are therefore interested in how global warming may change the timing and extent of sea ice Arctic-wide, and for specific regions. To inform the public and decision makers of anticipated environmental changes, scientists are striving to better understand how sea ice influences ecosystem structure, local weather, and global climate. Here, projected changes in the Bering and Chukchi Seas are examined because sea ice influences the presence of, or accessibility to, a variety of local resources of commercial and cultural value. In this study, 21st century sea ice conditions in the Bering and Chukchi Seas are based on projections by 18 general circulation models (GCMs) prepared for the fourth reporting period by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. Sea ice projections are analyzed for each of two IPCC greenhouse gas forcing scenarios: the A1B `business as usual? scenario and the A2 scenario that is somewhat more aggressive in its CO2 emissions during the second half of the century. A large spread of uncertainty among projections by all 18 models was constrained by creating model subsets that excluded GCMs that poorly simulated the 1979-2008 satellite record of ice extent and seasonality. At the end of the 21st century (2090-2099), median sea ice projections among all combinations of model ensemble and forcing scenario were qualitatively similar. June is projected to experience the least amount of sea ice loss among all months. For the Chukchi Sea, projections show extensive ice melt during July and ice-free conditions during August, September, and October by the end of the century, with high agreement
-
AFSC/ABL: Eastern Bering Sea (EMA-BASIS) Zooplankton data
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O....
-
Pliocene cooling enhanced by flow of low-salinity Bering Sea water to the Arctic Ocean.
Horikawa, Keiji; Martin, Ellen E; Basak, Chandranath; Onodera, Jonaotaro; Seki, Osamu; Sakamoto, Tatsuhiko; Ikehara, Minoru; Sakai, Saburo; Kawamura, Kimitaka
2015-06-29
Warming of high northern latitudes in the Pliocene (5.33-2.58 Myr ago) has been linked to the closure of the Central American Seaway and intensification of North Atlantic Deep Water. Subsequent cooling in the late Pliocene may be related to the effects of freshwater input from the Arctic Ocean via the Bering Strait, disrupting North Atlantic Deep Water formation and enhancing sea ice formation. However, the timing of Arctic freshening has not been defined. Here we present neodymium and lead isotope records of detrital sediment from the Bering Sea for the past 4.3 million years. Isotopic data suggest the presence of Alaskan glaciers as far back as 4.2 Myr ago, while diatom and C37:4 alkenone records show a long-term trend towards colder and fresher water in the Bering Sea beginning with the M2 glaciation (3.3 Myr ago). We argue that the introduction of low-salinity Bering Sea water to the Arctic Ocean by 3.3 Myr ago preconditioned the climate system for global cooling.
-
Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens resource selection in the Northern Bering Sea.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chadwick V Jay
Full Text Available The Pacific walrus is a large benthivore with an annual range extending across the continental shelves of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. We used a discrete choice model to estimate site selection by adult radio-tagged walruses relative to the availability of the caloric biomass of benthic infauna and sea ice concentration in a prominent walrus wintering area in the northern Bering Sea (St. Lawrence Island polynya in 2006, 2008, and 2009. At least 60% of the total caloric biomass of dominant macroinfauna in the study area was composed of members of the bivalve families Nuculidae, Tellinidae, and Nuculanidae. Model estimates indicated walrus site selection was related most strongly to tellinid bivalve caloric biomass distribution and that walruses selected lower ice concentrations from the mostly high ice concentrations that were available to them (quartiles: 76%, 93%, and 99%. Areas with high average predicted walrus site selection generally coincided with areas of high organic carbon input identified in other studies. Projected decreases in sea ice in the St. Lawrence Island polynya and the potential for a concomitant decline of bivalves in the region could result in a northward shift in the wintering grounds of walruses in the northern Bering Sea.
-
Occurrence and Turnover of Biogenic Sulfur in the Bering Sea During Summer
Li, Cheng-Xuan; Wang, Bao-Dong; Yang, Gui-Peng; Wang, Zi-Cheng; Chen, Jian-Fang; Lyu, Yang
2017-11-01
The horizontal/geographical variations in dissolved dimethylsulfide (DMS), its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPd and DMSPp), and chlorophyll a (Chl a), as well as the oceanographic parameters influencing the concentrations of dimethylated sulfur compounds, were investigated in the Bering Sea from July to August 2012. Similar to Chl a, the surface DMS and DMSPp levels, as well as DMS(P) production and consumption rates, exhibited a declining gradient from the central basin to the continental shelf, with high-value areas appearing in the central basin, the slope regions, and Anadyr Strait but a low-value area occurring on the outer-middle continental shelf. Considerably high values of DMS and DMSP were measured in the saline Bering Sea Basin Deep Water (>2,000 m) located at the southwest of the Bering Basin because of the release of resuspension in 2,000 m depth and the DMSP production from endogenous benthic bacteria and cyanobacteria population. Chl a was positively correlated with DMSPp and DMS in the surface waters and the upper water of the basin, whereas significant negative correlations were found between DMS and nutrients (dissolved inorganic nitrogen [DIN], phosphorus, and silicate) in the inner shelf of the Bering Sea. DMS microbial consumption was approximately 6.26 times faster than the DMS sea-air exchange, demonstrating that the major loss of DMS in the surface water occurred through biological consumption relative to evasion into the atmosphere. Average sea-to-air DMS fluxes were estimated to be 4.66 μmol/(m2·d), and consequently oceanic biogenic DMS emission had a dominant contribution to the sulfur budget over the observational area.
-
Rella, Stephan F.; Tada, Ryuji; Nagashima, Kana; Ikehara, Minoru; Itaki, Takuya; Ohkushi, Ken'ichi; Sakamoto, Tatsuhiko; Harada, Naomi; Uchida, Masao
2012-09-01
Millennial-scale variability in the behavior of North Pacific Intermediate Water during the last glacial and deglacial period, and its association with Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles and Heinrich events, are examined based on benthic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotopes (δ18Obf and δ13Cbf) and %CaCO3 using a sediment core recovered from the northeastern slope of the Bering Sea. A suite of positive δ18Obf excursions at intermediate depths of the Bering Sea, which seem at least in part associated with increases in the δ18Obf gradients between the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, suggest the Bering Sea as a proximate source of intermediate water during several severe stadial episodes in the last glacial and deglacial period. Absence of such δ18Obf gradients during periods of high surface productivity in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, which we correlate to D-O interstadials, suggests a reduction in intermediate water production in the Bering Sea and subsequent introduction of nutrient-rich deep waters from the North Pacific into intermediate depths of the Bering Sea. We argue that a reorganization of atmospheric circulation in the high-latitude North Pacific during severe cold episodes in the last glacial and deglacial period created favorable conditions for brine rejection in the northeastern Bering Sea. The resulting salinity increase in the cold surface waters could have initiated intermediate (and deep) water formation that spread out to the North Pacific.
-
Littell, J. S.; Poe, A.; van Pelt, T.
2015-12-01
Climate change is already affecting the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island region of Alaska. Past and present marine research across a broad spectrum of disciplines is shedding light on what sectors of the ecosystem and the human dimension will be most impacted. In a grassroots approach to extend existing research efforts, leveraging recently completed downscaled climate projections for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands region, we convened a team of 30 researchers-- with expertise ranging from anthropology to zooplankton to marine mammals-- to assess climate projections in the context of their expertise. This Aleutian-Bering Climate Vulnerability Assessment (ABCVA) began with researchers working in five teams to evaluate the vulnerabilities of key species and ecosystem services relative to projected changes in climate. Each team identified initial vulnerabilities for their focal species or services, and made recommendations for further research and information needs that would help managers and communities better understand the implications of the changing climate in this region. Those draft recommendations were shared during two focused, public sessions held within two hub communities for the Bering and Aleutian region: Unalaska and St. Paul. Qualitative insights about local concerns and observations relative to climate change were collected during these sessions, to be compared to the recommendations being made by the ABCVA team of researchers. Finally, we used a Structured Decision Making process to prioritize the recommendations of participating scientists, and integrate the insights shared during our community sessions. This work brought together residents, stakeholders, scientists, and natural resource managers to collaboratively identify priorities for addressing current and expected future impacts of climate change. Recommendations from this project will be incorporated into future research efforts of the Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands Landscape Conservation
-
2011-08-04
... the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program... program for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands crab fisheries managed under the BSAI Crab Rationalization... Center Web site at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/ . For further information on the Crab Rationalization...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2008 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch of the 2008 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery was...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2007 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch of the 2007 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery was...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2012 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch from the 2012 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) trawl fishery was...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2009 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch of the 2009 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery was...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2011 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch from the 2011 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery was...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2006 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch of the 2006 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery was...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2005 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch of the 2005 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery was...
-
2013-08-13
... most recent fisheries data in a timely fashion and would delay the reallocation of Aleutian Islands... industry as to the final Bering Sea subarea pollock allocations. Immediate notification is necessary to allow for the orderly conduct and efficient operation of this fishery; allow the industry to plan for...
-
2011-08-10
.... 100819383-0386-01] RIN 0648-BA18 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Limited Access Privilege Program AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries... Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). This proposed...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2010 Chum Salmon Bycatch Sample Analysis Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analysis of samples from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch of the 2010 Bering Sea groundfish trawl fishery was undertaken to determine the...
-
Gonsior, Michael; Luek, Jenna; Schmitt-Kopplin, Philippe; Grebmeier, Jacqueline M.; Cooper, Lee W.
2017-10-01
Changes in the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its light absorbing chromophoric component (CDOM) are of particular interest in the Arctic region because of climate change effects that lead to warmer sea surface temperatures and longer exposure to sunlight. We used continuous UV-vis (UV-vis) spectroscopy, excitation emission matrix fluorescence and ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry during a transect from the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea to the Chukchi Sea ice edge through Bering Strait to determine the variability of DOM and CDOM. These data were combined with discrete sampling for stable oxygen isotopes of seawater, in order to evaluate the contributions of melted sea ice versus runoff to the DOM and CDOM components. This study demonstrated that high geographical resolution of optical properties in conjunction with stable oxygen ratios and non-targeted ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry was able to distinguish between different DOM sources in the Arctic, including identification of labile DOM sources in Bering Strait associated with high algal blooms and sampling locations influenced by terrestrially-derived DOM, such as the terrestrial DOM signal originating from Arctic rivers and dirty/anchor sea ice. Results of this study also revealed the overall variability and chemodiversity of Arctic DOM present in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Edward V. Farley
2009-01-01
Full Text Available A spatially explicit bioenergetics model was used to predict juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka growth rate potential (GRP on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during years with cooler and warmer spring sea surface temperatures (SSTs. Annual averages of juvenile sockeye salmon GRP were generally lower among years with cooler SSTs and generally higher in offshore than nearshore regions of the eastern Bering Sea shelf during years with warmer SSTs. Juvenile sockeye salmon distribution was significantly (P<.05 related to GRP and their prey densities were positively related to spring SST (P<.05. Juvenile sockeye salmon GRP was more sensitive to changes in prey density and observed SSTs during years when spring SSTs were warmer (2002, 2003, and 2005. Our results suggest that the pelagic productivity on the eastern Bering Sea shelf was higher during years with warmer spring SSTs and highlight the importance of bottom-up control on the eastern Bering Sea ecosystem.
-
Natsuike, Masafumi; Oikawa, Hiroshi; Matsuno, Kohei; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Imai, Ichiro
2017-03-01
Abundant cyst distributions of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense (previous A. tamarense north American clade) were recently observed on the north Chukchi Sea shelf and on the eastern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that A. fundyense is both highly adapted to the local environments in the high latitude areas and might cause toxin contamination of plankton feeders. However, little is known about the physiological characteristics and toxin profiles of A. fundyense in these areas, which are characterized by low water temperatures, weak sunlight, and more or less permanent ice cover during winter. To clarify the physiological characteristics of A. fundyense, the effects of water temperature and light intensity on the vegetative growth and toxin profiles of this species were examined using A. fundyense strains isolated from one sediment sample collected from each area. Using the same sediments samples, seasonal changes of the cyst germination in different water temperatures were investigated. Vegetative cells grew at temperatures as low as 5°C and survived at 1°C under relatively low light intensity. They also grew at moderate water temperatures (10-15°C). Their cysts could germinate at low temperatures (1°C) and have an endogenous dormancy period from late summer to early spring, and warmer water temperatures (5-15°C) increased germination success. These physiological characteristics suggest that A. fundyense in the Chukchi Sea and eastern Bering Sea is adapted to the environments of high latitude areas. In addition, the results suggest that in the study areas A. fundyense has the potential to germinate and grow when water temperatures increase. Cellular toxin amounts of A. fundyense strains from the eastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea were ranged from 7.2 to 38.2 fmol cell -1 . These toxin amounts are comparable with A. fundyense strains isolated from other areas where PSP toxin contamination of bivalves occurs. The dominant toxin of the strains isolated
-
2013-01-24
... a timely fashion and would delay the reallocation of AI pollock. Since the pollock fishery opens January 20, 2013, it is important to immediately inform the industry as to the final Bering Sea subarea... operation of this fishery; allow the industry to plan for the fishing season and avoid potential disruption...
-
50 CFR Figure 20 to Part 679 - Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea
2010-10-01
... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea 20 Figure 20 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT... EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 20 Figure 20 to Part 679—Steller sea lion conservation area...
-
Zhao, Mengwei; Wang, Weiguo; Liu, Yanguang; Dong, Linsen; Jiao, Liping; Hu, Limin; Fan, Dejiang
2016-03-15
To analyze the distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and evaluate their potential ecological risks, the concentrations of 16 PAHs were measured in 43 surface sediment samples from the Bering Sea and western Arctic Ocean. Total PAH (tPAH) concentrations ranged from 36.95 to 150.21 ng/g (dry weight). In descending order, the surface sediment tPAH concentrations were as follows: Canada Basin>northern Chukchi Sea>Chukchi Basin>southern Chukchi Sea>Aleutian Basin>Makarov Basin>Bering Sea shelf. The Bering Sea and western Arctic Ocean mainly received PAHs of pyrogenic origin due to pollution caused by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. The concentrations of PAHs in the sediments of the study areas did not exceed effects range low (ERL) values. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
-
Sea ice dynamics across the Mid-Pleistocene transition in the Bering Sea.
Detlef, H; Belt, S T; Sosdian, S M; Smik, L; Lear, C H; Hall, I R; Cabedo-Sanz, P; Husum, K; Kender, S
2018-03-05
Sea ice and associated feedback mechanisms play an important role for both long- and short-term climate change. Our ability to predict future sea ice extent, however, hinges on a greater understanding of past sea ice dynamics. Here we investigate sea ice changes in the eastern Bering Sea prior to, across, and after the Mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT). The sea ice record, based on the Arctic sea ice biomarker IP 25 and related open water proxies from the International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1343, shows a substantial increase in sea ice extent across the MPT. The occurrence of late-glacial/deglacial sea ice maxima are consistent with sea ice/land ice hysteresis and land-glacier retreat via the temperature-precipitation feedback. We also identify interactions of sea ice with phytoplankton growth and ocean circulation patterns, which have important implications for glacial North Pacific Intermediate Water formation and potentially North Pacific abyssal carbon storage.
-
AFSC/ABL: Eastern Bering Sea (BASIS) Coastal Research on Juvenile Salmon
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O....
-
Obsolete - AFSC/RACE/Eco-FOCI: 2010 Eastern Bering Sea Juvenile Survey
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data collected on this cruise included the following: We conducted a juvenile fish and benthic fish prey survery in the eastern Bering Sea (61 3-meter beam trawls,...
-
AFSC FIT Pacific cod tagging data from the Bering Sea, 2002-2006
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data from opportunistic tagging studies in the southest Bering Sea 2002-2003. Individually numbered loop spaghetti tags released during research cruises; all...
-
Deep-Water Acoustic Anomalies from Methane Hydrate in the Bering Sea
Wood, Warren T.; Barth, Ginger A.; Scholl, David W.; Lebedeva-Ivanova, Nina
2015-01-01
A recent expedition to the central Bering Sea, one of the most remote locations in the world, has yielded observations confirming gas and gas hydrates in this deep ocean basin. Significant sound speed anomalies found using inversion of pre-stack seismic data are observed in association with variable seismic amplitude anomalies in the thick sediment column. The anomalously low sound speeds below the inferred base of methane hydrate stability indicate the presence of potentially large quantities of gas-phase methane associated with each velocity-amplitude anomaly (VAMP). The data acquired are of such high quality that quantitative estimates of the concentrations of gas hydrates in the upper few hundred meters of sediment are also possible, and analyses are under way to make these estimates. Several VAMPs were specifically targeted in this survey; others were crossed incidentally. Indications of many dozens or hundreds of these features exist throughout the portion of the Bering Sea relevant to the U.S. extended continental shelf (ECS) consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
-
AFSC/ABL: Chum salmon bycatch genetic stock identification 1994-1995 Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In some years, the Bering Sea trawl fishery incidentally harvests (bycatch) large numbers of chum salmon. Because chum salmon were declining in some western Alaska...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Masafumi Natsuike
Full Text Available The eastern Bering Sea has a vast continental shelf, which contains various endangered marine mammals and large fishery resources. Recently, high numbers of toxic A. tamarense resting cysts were found in the bottom sediment surface of the eastern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that the blooms have recently occurred. However, little is known about the presence of A. tamarense vegetative cells in the eastern Bering Sea. This study's goals were to detect the occurrence of A. tamarense vegetative cells on the eastern Bering Sea shelf and to find a relationship between environmental factors and their presence. Inter-annual field surveys were conducted to detect A. tamarense cells and environmental factors, such as nutrients, salinity, chlorophyll a, and water temperature, along a transect line on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2013. A. tamarense vegetative cells were detected during every sampling year, and their quantities varied greatly from year to year. The maximum cell densities of A. tamarense observed during the summers of 2004 and 2005 were much higher than the Paralytic shellfish poisoning warning levels, which are greater than 100-1,000 cells L-1, in other subarctic areas. Lower quantities of the species occurred during the summers of 2009, 2012, and 2013. A significant positive correlation between A. tamarense quantity and water temperature and significant negative correlations between A. tamarense quantity and nutrient concentrations (of phosphate, silicate, and nitrite and nitrate were detected in every sampling period. The surface- and bottom-water temperatures varied significantly from year to year, suggesting that water temperatures, which have been known to affect the cell growth and cyst germination of A. tamarense, might have affected the cells' quantities in the eastern Bering Sea each summer. Thus, an increase in the Bering Sea shelf's water temperature during the summer will
-
Natsuike, Masafumi; Saito, Rui; Fujiwara, Amane; Matsuno, Kohei; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Shiga, Naonobu; Hirawake, Toru; Kikuchi, Takashi; Nishino, Shigeto; Imai, Ichiro
2017-01-01
The eastern Bering Sea has a vast continental shelf, which contains various endangered marine mammals and large fishery resources. Recently, high numbers of toxic A. tamarense resting cysts were found in the bottom sediment surface of the eastern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that the blooms have recently occurred. However, little is known about the presence of A. tamarense vegetative cells in the eastern Bering Sea. This study's goals were to detect the occurrence of A. tamarense vegetative cells on the eastern Bering Sea shelf and to find a relationship between environmental factors and their presence. Inter-annual field surveys were conducted to detect A. tamarense cells and environmental factors, such as nutrients, salinity, chlorophyll a, and water temperature, along a transect line on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2013. A. tamarense vegetative cells were detected during every sampling year, and their quantities varied greatly from year to year. The maximum cell densities of A. tamarense observed during the summers of 2004 and 2005 were much higher than the Paralytic shellfish poisoning warning levels, which are greater than 100-1,000 cells L-1, in other subarctic areas. Lower quantities of the species occurred during the summers of 2009, 2012, and 2013. A significant positive correlation between A. tamarense quantity and water temperature and significant negative correlations between A. tamarense quantity and nutrient concentrations (of phosphate, silicate, and nitrite and nitrate) were detected in every sampling period. The surface- and bottom-water temperatures varied significantly from year to year, suggesting that water temperatures, which have been known to affect the cell growth and cyst germination of A. tamarense, might have affected the cells' quantities in the eastern Bering Sea each summer. Thus, an increase in the Bering Sea shelf's water temperature during the summer will increase the
-
Bartoli, G. L.; Studer, A. S.; Martinez Garcia, A.; Haug, G. H.
2011-12-01
The Bering Sea is one of the major sink of atmospheric CO2 today, due to the efficiency of its biological pump, despite a limitation by iron. Here we present records of iron fertilization by aeolian dust deposition (n-alkane concentration) and phytoplankton nutrient consumption (diatom-bound δ15N record) over the last 3.5 Myrs in the southwestern Bering Sea at Site U1341 drilled during IODP Expedition 323. During the Pliocene Epoch, when sea surface temperatures were 3-4°C warmer than today and sea-ice cover was reduced, the biological pump efficiency during glacial and interglacial stages was minimal, similar to Quaternary interglacials. Low iron deposition and weaker surface water stratification resulting in higher nutrient inputs contributed to reduce the biological pump efficiency until 1.5 Ma. After the intensification of glacial conditions in the Bering Sea and the increase in sea-ice cover and iron inputs, the biological pump efficiency progressively increased, reaching values similar to Quaternary glacials after the mid-Pleistocene transition.
-
Nakane, Motohiro; Ajioka, Taku; Yamashita, Youhei
2017-05-01
Pyrogenic carbon, also called black carbon (BC), is an important component in the global carbon cycle. BC produced by biomass burning or fossil fuel combustion is transported to oceans by the atmosphere or rivers. However, environmental dynamics (i.e., major sources and sinks) of BC in marine environments have not been well documented. In this study, dissolved BC (DBC) collected from surface waters of the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, and the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific were analyzed using the benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method. The DBC concentration and the ratio of B5CA and B6CA to all BPCAs (an index of the DBC condensation degree) ranged from 4.8 to 15.5 µg-C L-1 and from 0.20 to 0.43, respectively, in surface waters of the Chukchi/Bering Seas and the North Pacific Ocean. The concentration and condensation degree of DBC in the Chukchi/Bering Seas were higher and more variable than those in the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific, which implies that the major factors controlling DBC distribution were different in these marine provinces. In the Chukchi/Bering Seas, the DBC concentration was negatively correlated to salinity but positively correlated to chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) quantity and total dissolved lignin phenol concentration estimated by CDOM parameters. These correlations indicated that the possible major source of DBC in the Chukchi/Bering Seas was Arctic rivers. However, in the North Pacific, where riverine inputs are negligible for most sampling sites, DBC was possibly derived from the atmosphere. Although spectral slopes of CDOM at 275-295 nm (an index of the photodegradation degree of CDOM) differed widely between the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific, the concentration and condensation degrees of DBC were similar between the subarctic and subtropical North Pacific, which suggests that photodegradation was not the only major factor controlling DBC distribution. Therefore, DBC distributions of the
-
Environmental predictors of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea.
Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L; Madden, Laura E
2014-01-01
Ice seals overwintering in the Bering Sea are challenged with foraging, finding mates, and maintaining breathing holes in a dark and ice covered environment. Due to the difficulty of studying these species in their natural environment, very little is known about how the seals navigate under ice. Here we identify specific environmental parameters, including components of the ambient background sound, that are predictive of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea. Multi-year mooring deployments provided synoptic time series of acoustic and oceanographic parameters from which environmental parameters predictive of species presence were identified through a series of mixed models. Ice cover and 10 kHz sound level were significant predictors of seal presence, with 40 kHz sound and prey presence (combined with ice cover) as potential predictors as well. Ice seal presence showed a strong positive correlation with ice cover and a negative association with 10 kHz environmental sound. On average, there was a 20-30 dB difference between sound levels during solid ice conditions compared to open water or melting conditions, providing a salient acoustic gradient between open water and solid ice conditions by which ice seals could orient. By constantly assessing the acoustic environment associated with the seasonal ice movement in the Bering Sea, it is possible that ice seals could utilize aspects of the soundscape to gauge their safe distance to open water or the ice edge by orienting in the direction of higher sound levels indicative of open water, especially in the frequency range above 1 kHz. In rapidly changing Arctic and sub-Arctic environments, the seasonal ice conditions and soundscapes are likely to change which may impact the ability of animals using ice presence and cues to successfully function during the winter breeding season.
-
Environmental predictors of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jennifer L Miksis-Olds
Full Text Available Ice seals overwintering in the Bering Sea are challenged with foraging, finding mates, and maintaining breathing holes in a dark and ice covered environment. Due to the difficulty of studying these species in their natural environment, very little is known about how the seals navigate under ice. Here we identify specific environmental parameters, including components of the ambient background sound, that are predictive of ice seal presence in the Bering Sea. Multi-year mooring deployments provided synoptic time series of acoustic and oceanographic parameters from which environmental parameters predictive of species presence were identified through a series of mixed models. Ice cover and 10 kHz sound level were significant predictors of seal presence, with 40 kHz sound and prey presence (combined with ice cover as potential predictors as well. Ice seal presence showed a strong positive correlation with ice cover and a negative association with 10 kHz environmental sound. On average, there was a 20-30 dB difference between sound levels during solid ice conditions compared to open water or melting conditions, providing a salient acoustic gradient between open water and solid ice conditions by which ice seals could orient. By constantly assessing the acoustic environment associated with the seasonal ice movement in the Bering Sea, it is possible that ice seals could utilize aspects of the soundscape to gauge their safe distance to open water or the ice edge by orienting in the direction of higher sound levels indicative of open water, especially in the frequency range above 1 kHz. In rapidly changing Arctic and sub-Arctic environments, the seasonal ice conditions and soundscapes are likely to change which may impact the ability of animals using ice presence and cues to successfully function during the winter breeding season.
-
Caissie, B.; Brigham-Grette, J.; Kanamaru-Shinn, K.
2010-12-01
Recent environmental change in the Bering Sea includes a shift from the negative to positive phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in 1976/77, a secondary shift in sea level pressure and sea surface temperatures in 1998, increasing sea surface temperatures, an earlier spring, an increase in the number of days that sea ice is present along the shelf-slope break, and a decrease in the number of days that sea ice is present in the Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean. These physical changes have manifest biological changes such as a northward migration of invertebrates and fish from the southern Bering Sea and shifts in the timing and duration of sea-ice related primary productivity and the spring bloom. We aim to see if diatom sediment assemblages are faithful recorders of these ecological changes in the Bering Sea or if bioturbation has essentially mixed today’s rapid change down core such that the signal is either muted or no longer apparent. Six continental shelf areas were examined in the Bering Sea ranging from northeast of St. Lawrence Island to the shelf-slope break in the south-central Bering Sea. Diatom assemblages from core tops collected as part of the PROBES program in the 1960s were compared to core tops taken nearby (7 m) multi-year ice so their decline may be related to the decrease in multi-year ice over the past 30 years. Additionally, in most cases, species diversity has declined over the past 50 years with Fragilariopsis oceanica and Fragilariopsis cylindrus accounting for a greater percentage of the sediment assemblages today. These two species are collectively considered indicators of seasonal sea ice; their relative abundance peaks when ice is present for 5 months per year. Ongoing down core analyses in these six areas will further reveal the nature of these assemblage changes.
-
Front affecting the distribution of seabirds in the northern Bering Sea
Harrison, Nancy M.; L Hunt Jr., George; Cooney, Robert T.
1990-01-01
We observed seabirds aggregated at a front marking the boundary between two water masses in the Bering Sea. Least Auklets (Aethia pusilla) were most abundant at the front; surface-feeding species including Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Red Phalaropes (Phalaropusfuscus) were also present.
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J.-R. Riethdorf
2013-06-01
Full Text Available We used piston cores recovered in the western Bering Sea to reconstruct millennial-scale changes in marine productivity and terrigenous matter supply over the past ~180 kyr. Based on a geochemical multi-proxy approach, our results indicate closely interacting processes controlling marine productivity and terrigenous matter supply comparable to the situation in the Okhotsk Sea. Overall, terrigenous inputs were high, whereas export production was low. Minor increases in marine productivity occurred during intervals of Marine Isotope Stage 5 and interstadials, but pronounced maxima were recorded during interglacials and Termination I. The terrigenous material is suggested to be derived from continental sources on the eastern Bering Sea shelf and to be subsequently transported via sea ice, which is likely to drive changes in surface productivity, terrigenous inputs, and upper-ocean stratification. From our results we propose glacial, deglacial, and interglacial scenarios for environmental change in the Bering Sea. These changes seem to be primarily controlled by insolation and sea-level forcing which affect the strength of atmospheric pressure systems and sea-ice growth. The opening history of the Bering Strait is considered to have had an additional impact. High-resolution core logging data (color b*, XRF scans strongly correspond to the Dansgaard–Oeschger climate variability registered in the NGRIP ice core and support an atmospheric coupling mechanism of Northern Hemisphere climates.
-
Foraging ecology as related to the distribution of planktivorous auklets in the Bering Sea
Hunt, George L.; Harrison, Nancy M.; Piatt, John F.
1993-01-01
We review recent accounts of the foraging ecologies of five species of small auklets found in the Bering Sea. These birds eat a wide variety of zooplankton and micronekton. Least Auklets Aethia pusilla and Whiskered Auklets A. pygmaea, as far as is known, primarily eat copepods, whereas Created Auklets A. cristatella appear to specialize on euphausiids, at least during the breeding season. The diet of Parakeet Auklets Cyclorrhynchus psittacula is much broader than that of most other Aethia species, and includes many gelatinous species and their commensals. Little is known of the diet of Cassin's Auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus in the Bering Sea, although elsewhere they take large copepods, euphausiids, and larval fish.There are considerable differences in the at-sea distributions and foraging behaviors of these five species of auklet. Least Auklets in the norhtern Bering Sea concentrate their foraging activities over strongly stratified water and near fronts where pycnoclines may approach the surface. In the Aleutian Islands, Least Auklets forage where oceanic and tidal currents strike the shelf between the islands and rise toward the surface carrying plankton. Least Auklets and Crested Auklets are often found in large flocks, whereas Parakeet Auklets are rarely found in groups of more than three birds and are usually widely dispersed. The few at-sea observations of Whiskered Auklets have been of small flocks in turbulent waters of island passes. We relate prey types taken, foraging dispersion, and the use of hydrographic features by these auklet species.
-
AFSC/ABL: Eastern Bering Sea (BASIS) Coastal Research on Juvenile Salmon (Oceanography data)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O....
-
AFSC/RACE/EcoFOCI: 2010 Eastern Bering Sea Juvenile Survey - 1MF10
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data collected on this cruise included the following: We conducted a juvenile fish and benthic fish prey survery in the eastern Bering Sea (61 3-meter beam trawls,...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael F Cameron
Full Text Available The first year of life is typically the most critical to a pinniped's survival, especially for Arctic phocids which are weaned at only a few weeks of age and left to locate and capture prey on their own. Their seasonal movements and habitat selection are therefore important factors in their survival. During a cooperative effort between scientists and subsistence hunters in October 2004, 2005, and 2006, 13 female and 13 male young (i.e., age <2 bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus were tagged with satellite-linked dive recorders (SDRs in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. Shortly after being released, most seals moved south with the advancing sea-ice through the Bering Strait and into the Bering Sea where they spent the winter and early spring. The SDRs of 17 (8 female and 9 male seals provided frequent high-quality positions in the Bering Sea; their data were used in our analysis. To investigate habitat selection, we simulated 20 tracks per seal by randomly selecting from the pooled distributions of the absolute bearings and swim speeds of the tagged seals. For each point in the observed and simulated tracks, we obtained the depth, sea-ice concentration, and the distances to sea-ice, open water, the shelf break and coastline. Using logistic regression with a stepwise model selection procedure, we compared the simulated tracks to those of the tagged seals and obtained a model for describing habitat selection. The regression coefficients indicated that the bearded seals in our study selected locations near the ice edge. In contrast, aerial surveys of the bearded seal population, predominantly composed of adults, indicated higher abundances in areas farther north and in heavier pack ice. We hypothesize that this discrepancy is the result of behavioral differences related to age. Ice concentration was also shown to be a statistically significant variable in our model. All else being equal, areas of higher ice concentration are selected for up to about 80%. The
-
AFSC/RACE/MACE: Results of 2014 Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey Bering Sea- DY1407
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Eastern Bering Sea shelf walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) midwater abundance and distribution were assessed from Bristol Bay in the United States, to Cape...
-
AFSC/RACE/MACE: Results of 2009 Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey Bering Sea- DY0909
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Eastern Bering Sea shelf walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) abundance and distribution in midwater were assessed between 9 June and 7 August 2009 using...
-
AFSC/RACE/MACE: Results of 2012 Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey Bering Sea- DY1207
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Eastern Bering Sea shelf walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) midwater abundance and distribution were assessed from Bristol Bay in the United States, to Cape...
-
AFSC/RACE/MACE: Results of 2010 Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey Bering Sea- DY1006
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Eastern Bering Sea shelf walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) abundance and distribution in midwater were assessed between 5 June and 7 August 2010 using...
-
Did the Bering Sea Form as a Cenozoic Backarc Basin?
Stern, R. J.; Barth, G. A.; Scheirer, D. S.; Scholl, D. W.
2012-12-01
Understanding the origins of Bering Sea marginal basins (Aleutian, Bowers, and Komandorsky basins; AB, BB, KB) is key for reconstructing N. Pacific tectonic and magmatic evolution. New acquisitions and recompilations of MCS, OBS, and potential field data (Barth et al. poster. this session) for USGS Extended Continental Shelf project and selection of Aleutians as GeoPrisms Subduction Cycles and Deformation focus site stimulate reconsideration of BB, KB, and especially AB origins. AB has long been regarded as N. Pacific crust trapped when the Aleutian subduction began ~45-50 Ma. BB and KB probably formed together as Miocene backarc basins. Presence of Oligo-Miocene arc volcanics on Bowers and Shirshov ridges suggests that these are remnant arcs, orphaned by AB and KB opening. Seven lines of evidence suggest that AB formed as a Paleogene backarc basin: 1) AB heatflow suggests an age of about 44 Ma (Langseth et al 1980 JGR). 2) Formation of NNW-trending rift basins on Bering shelf (Navarin, Pribilof, and St. George basins) in Paleogene time indicate extension at this time. 3) The early Paleogene "red unconformity" of the Beringian margin could indicate uplift, erosion, and subsidence associated with AB opening. 4) ~N-S magnetic anomalies in AB contrasts with E-W Kula anomalies on N. Pacific, indicating that the two tracts of oceanic crust formed at different spreading ridges. 5) Thicker sediment in AB (2-4 km) vs. BB and KB (oceanic crust.ectonic scenario for formation of Aleutian Arc and Bering Sea basins. Green = present land; yellow = shelf; AB = Aleutian Basin; KB = Komandorsky Basin; BB = Bowers Basin; SR = Shirshov Ridge, BR = Bowers Ridge; Red = active volcanism and spreading ; Blue = extinct volcanism and spreading
-
AFSC/RACE/MACE: Results of 2007 Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey Bering Sea- DY0707
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Eastern Bering Sea shelf walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) abundance and distribution in midwater were assessed between 2 June and 30 July 2007 using echo...
-
2011-09-28
.... 101126521-0640-2] RIN 0648-XA733 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Sharks in the Bering... prohibiting retention of sharks in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2011 total allowable catch (TAC) of sharks in the BSAI has been reached. DATES...
-
2013-09-17
.... 121018563-3418-02] RIN 0648-XC872 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Sharks in the Bering... prohibiting retention of sharks in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2013 total allowable catch (TAC) of sharks in the BSAI has been reached. DATES...
-
2016-07-27
impacts on sea-ice and water properties in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and western Arctic Ocean for 2013-2014 Rebecca Woodgate Polar Science...and G. R. Bigg (2002), Impact of flow through the Canadian Archipelago and Bering Strait on the North Atlantic and Arctic circulation: an ocean ...Technical 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) Feb 2013 - April 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Quantifying the Bering Strait oceanic fluxes and their impacts
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O....
-
2011-03-29
.... 101126521-0640-02] RIN 0648-XA322 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Octopus in the Bering... allowable catch of octopus in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow... subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. The 2011 initial total allowable catch (ITAC) of octopus...
-
Sand waves on an epicontinental shelf: Northern Bering Sea
Field, M.E.; Nelson, C.H.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.
1981-01-01
Sand waves and current ripples occupy the crests and flanks of a series of large linear sand ridges (20 km ?? 5 km ?? 10 m high) lying in an open-marine setting in the northern Bering Sea. The sand wave area, which lies west of Seward Peninsula and southeast of Bering Strait, is exposed to the strong continuous flow of coastal water northward toward Bering Strait. A hierarchy of three sizes of superimposed bedforms, all facing northward, was observed in successive cruises in 1976 and 1977. Large sand waves (height 2 m; spacing 200 m) have smaller sand waves (height 1 m; spacing 20 m) lying at a small oblique angle on their stoss slopes. The smaller sand waves in turn have linguoid ripples on their stoss slopes. Repeated studies of the sand wave fields were made both years with high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, side-scan sonographs, underwater photographs, current-meter stations, vibracores, and suspended-sediment samplers. Comparison of seismic and side-scan data collected along profile lines run both years showed changes in sand wave shape that indicate significant bedload transport within the year. Gouge marks made in sediment by keels of floating ice also showed significantly different patterns each year, further documenting modification to the bottom by sediment transport. During calm sea conditions in 1977, underwater video and camera observations showed formation and active migration of linguoid and straight-crested current ripples. Current speeds 1 m above the bottom were between 20 and 30 cm/s. Maximum current velocities and sand wave migration apparently occur when strong southwesterly winds enhance the steady northerly flow of coastal water. Many cross-stratified sand bodies in the geologic record are interpreted as having formed in a tidal- or storm-dominated setting. This study provides an example of formation and migration of large bedforms by the interaction of storms with strong uniform coastal currents in an open-marine setting. ?? 1981.
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kholujskij, S.N.; Anikiev, V.V.; Popov, N.I.
1995-01-01
Determination of velocity coefficient for gas flow transfer across the natural sea surface into the atmosphere (K v ) was attempted by means of radon method on board the SRS Academician Alexander Nesmeyanov (July-August 1992). The measurements were conducted in the Bering Sea, the Okhotsk Sea and in the North Pacific Ocean. It is shown that the total range of the K v observed values equaled from 1.8 up to 5.4 m.day, which is within the known limits for other regions of the world ocean. 9 refs., 1 fig
-
2011-09-07
.... 101126521-0640-02] RIN 0648-XA683 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Octopus in the Bering... retention of octopus in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2011 total allowable catch of octopus in the BSAI has been reached. DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska...
-
2010-09-28
... among harvesters, processors, and coastal communities and monitors the ``economic stability for... Collection; Comment Request; Alaska Region Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Crab Economic Data Reports... CR Program's mandatory economic data collection report (EDR) used to assess the efficacy of the CR...
-
The Paleoceanography of the Bering Sea During the Last Glacial Cycle
2006-02-01
pachyderma (s.). This suggests that the P180 reflects transient warmings, but sustained freshening of surface water. 3.1 Introduction The heat...centennial and millenial time scales during the deglaciation, even though the climate system was undergoing a major transition. 60 Chapter 4 Marine Isotope...and transient warming, and a sudden and sustained freshening of surface water in the Bering Sea. I made one simple test of whether the faunal record
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) has conducted passive acoustic monitoring in the Bering, Chukchi, and Western Beaufort Seas to determine spatio-temporal...
-
Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Walleye Pollock on the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf (DY1407, EK60)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) conducted an acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment survey on the eastern Bering Sea...
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tsygankov, Vasiliy Yu.; Lukyanova, Olga N.; Khristoforova, Nadezhda K.
2016-01-01
Kuril Islands of the Sea of Okhotsk and the western part of the Bering Sea are an area of natural feeding of Pacific salmon, and the catch area of ones for food market. Food safety of products is an important task of aquaculture. Сoncentrations of HCHs (α-, β-, γ-) and DDT and its metabolites (DDD and DDE) were determined in organs of the pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), chinook (O. tshawytscha), and sockeye (O. nerka), which caught from the natural aquaculture region of Russia (near the Kuril Islands (the northern-western part of the Pacific Ocean), the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea). The average total concentration of OCPs in organs of salmon from Western Pacific is lower than that in salmon from the North Pacific American coast and the Atlantic Ocean. The region can be used to grow smolts, which will be later released into the ocean. - Highlights: • The study area is area of natural feeding of Pacific salmon, and the catch area of ones for food market. • ΣOCPs in salmon muscle increases in the following: chum ≤ pink < chinook < sockeye. • ΣOCPs in salmon from study area is lower than that in ones from the Atlantic Ocean. • The salmon, which feeding in the study area, did not accumulate higher OCPs content.
-
D'Sa, E. J.; Goes, J. I.; Mouw, C. B.
2016-02-01
Flow through the Aleutian Passes connects the North Pacific to the Bering Sea with the Unimak Pass forming an important conduit for the flow of Gulf of Alaska water to the southeastern Bering shelf. While the biophysical properties have been studied for this region, little is known about the dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its optically active chromophoric component (CDOM) which play key roles in ocean color and several biogeochemical and photochemical processes. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and CDOM absorption and fluorescence properties were measured at locations in the western Gulf of Alaska, Unimak Pass and the southeastern Bering Sea in spring 2012, a relatively cold year as indicated by hydrographic field and satellite sea surface temperature data. DOC concentrations were on average higher in the western Gulf of Alaska (112.21 ± 20.05 µM) and Unimak Pass (106.14 ± 16.10 µM), than the southeastern Bering Sea shelf (73.28 ± 11.71 µM) suggesting Gulf of Alaska shelf water to be an important source of DOM to the eastern Bering Sea. Overall, CDOM absorption was relatively low while parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis of DOM fluorescence identified two humic-like (terrestrial and marine) and one protein-like (tryptophan-like) component in the DOM pool. Relationships between the DOM optical properties and the physical regime will be further examined in this study.
-
Cavalieri, D. J.; Parkinson, C. L.
1987-01-01
The influence of the hemispheric atmospheric circulation on the sea ice covers of the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk is examined using data obtained with the Nimbus 5 electrically scanning microwave radiometer for the four winters of the 1973-1976 period. The 3-day averaged sea ice extent data were used to establish periods for which there is an out-of-phase relationship between fluctuations of the two ice covers. A comparison of the sea-level atmospheric pressure field with the seasonal, interannual, and short-term sea ice fluctuations reveal an association between changes in the phase and the amplitude of the long waves in the atmosphere and advance and retreat of Arctic ice covers.
-
Particle sizes of Pliocene and Pleistocene core sediments from IODP Expedition 323 in the Bering Sea
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data compilation includes the results of grain size analyses of core sediment collected by IODP during Expedition 323 in the Bering Sea. One dataset is included...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains the results of a tagging study being conducted on the Alaska skate (Bathyraja parmifera) in the eastern Bering Sea. The purpose of the study is...
-
Fall, James A.; Braem, Nicole S.; Brown, Caroline L.; Hutchinson-Scarbrough, Lisa B.; Koster, David S.; Krieg, Theodore M.
2013-10-01
To document and quantify subsistence harvests of fish and wildlife resources, and provide topics for subsequent key respondent interviews to collect local and traditional knowledge (LTK) about the Bering Sea ecosystem, comprehensive household harvest surveys were conducted in four Bering Sea Alaska Native communities: Akutan, Emmonak, Savoonga, and Togiak. In a fifth community, St. Paul, annual programs to document two key subsistence resources, fur seals and sea lions, continued. Surveys documented relatively high and diverse subsistence harvests, consistent with earlier research that demonstrated the continuing economic, social, and cultural importance of subsistence uses of wild resources. The research also found differences in subsistence use patterns compared to previous years' studies, such as harvest levels, harvest composition, and diversity of resources used, although differences between study years were not uniform across communities. Survey respondents, as well as key respondents in subsequent interviews, identified a complex range of personal, economic, and environmental factors when comparing subsistence uses in the study year with other years, such as increasing costs of fuel and purchased food, commercial fisheries harvests and bycatch, more persistent storms and less predictable winds, and reduced sea ice. Such conditions affect resource abundance and locations as well as access to fish and wildlife populations, and may shape long-term trends. So far, as in the past, families and communities have adapted to changing economic, social, and environmental conditions, but the future is less clear if such changes intensify or accelerate. Local community residents should be essential partners in future efforts to understand these complex processes that affect the natural resources of the Bering Sea.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea. Data was collected from Ship ALPHA HELIX. The data was...
-
AFSC/NMML: Cetacean line-transect survey in the eastern Bering Sea shelf; 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2004
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Visual surveys for cetaceans were conducted on the eastern Bering Sea shelf along transect lines, in association with the AFSC.s echo integration trawl surveys for...
-
Tephrochronology as a tool to constrain radiocarbon reservoir age in the deglacial Bering Sea
Chapman, A. U.; White-Nockleby, C.; de Konkoly Thege, P. A.; Rubel, J. N.; Cook, M. S.; Mix, A. C.; Addison, J. A.
2015-12-01
In order to accurately calendar date marine carbon, it is necessary to constrain surface reservoir age, the apparent 14C age difference between the atmosphere and surface ocean that results from incomplete equilibration of 14C across the air-sea interface. Surface reservoir age is generally assumed to be constant at the preindustrial value, but evidence suggests it has varied through time by up to 1000 years. In this study we use tephrochronology, a method of correlating tephras across different environments, to identify equivalent strata, as a tool to quantify reservoir age in the Bering Sea during the transition between the Oldest Dryas and Bolling-Allerod (14.7 kcal BP). With frequent volcanic eruptions that allow for possibility of high-resolution reservoir age reconstructions, the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands region is uniquely positioned to provide insight into the hypothesis that dense water formed in the North Pacific during the last deglaciation. We compare a massive tephra found in three deep-sea sediment cores from Umnak Plateau in the southeast Bering Sea (HLY02-02-55JPC, HLY-02-02-51JPC, and IODP Site U1339) to a tephra dated to 14.8 kcal BP from Deep Lake, Sanak Island in the Eastern Aleutians. For both the Umnak and Sanak tephras, volcanic glass shards are geochemically matched using major and trace elements from electron microprobe and laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometry. We compare 14C ages of foraminiferal species Uvigerina peregrina and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) from just above the tephra in HLY-02-02-51JPC (1467 m) to 14C age of the corresponding tephra at Sanak Island from terrestrial plant macrofossils. The surface reservoir age found (930 ± 160 14C y) is similar to the average preindustrial value in the region (790 ± 130 14C y). Benthic-atmosphere age difference (1860 ± 200 14C y) is also comparable to the preindustrial value (2030 ± 60 14C y). These results and future work on additional tephras from
-
Shiozaki, Takuhei; Bombar, Deniz; Riemann, Lasse; Hashihama, Fuminori; Takeda, Shigenobu; Yamaguchi, Tamaha; Ehama, Makoto; Hamasaki, Koji; Furuya, Ken
2017-06-01
Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) provide biologically available nitrogen to plankton communities and thereby greatly influence the productivity in many marine regions. Various cyanobacterial groups have traditionally been considered the major oceanic diazotrophs, but later noncyanobacterial and presumably heterotrophic diazotrophs were also found to be widespread and potentially important in nitrogen fixation. However, the distribution and activity of different diazotroph groups is still poorly constrained for most oceanic ecosystems. Here we examined diazotroph community structure and activity along a 7500 km south-north transect between the central equatorial Pacific and the Bering Sea. Nitrogen fixation contributed up to 84% of new production in the upper waters of the subtropical gyre, where the diazotroph community included the gammaproteobacterium γ-24774A11 and highly active cyanobacterial phylotypes (>50% of total nifH transcript abundance). Nitrogen fixation was sometimes detectable down to 150 m depth and extended horizontally to the edge of the gyre at around 35°N. Nitrogen fixation was even detected far north on the Bering Sea shelf. In the Alaskan Coastal Waters on the Bering Sea shelf, low nitrate together with high dissolved iron concentrations seemed to foster diazotroph growth, including a prominent role of UCYN-A2, which was abundant near the surface (1.2×105 nifH gene copies L-1). Our study provides evidence for nitrogen fixation in the Bering Sea and suggests a clear contrast in the composition of diazotrophs between the tropical/subtropical gyre and the separate waters in the cold northern regions of the North Pacific.
-
2013-05-15
...; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... Rationalization Program (CR Program) by establishing a process whereby holders of regionally designated individual... scope of this action. Comment 9: One comment generally supported the Crab Rationalization Program...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Bering Sea as part of Inner SHelf Transfer and recycling (ISHTAR) and "St. Lawrence...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. T. Mathis
2010-05-01
Full Text Available In order to assess the current state of net community production (NCP in the southeastern Bering Sea, we measured the spatio-temporal distribution and controls on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC concentrations in spring and summer of 2008 across six shelf domains defined by differing biogeochemical characteristics. DIC concentrations were tightly coupled to salinity in spring and ranged from ~1900 μmoles kg−1 over the inner shelf to ~2400 μmoles kg−1 in the deeper waters of the Bering Sea. In summer, DIC concentrations were lower due to dilution from sea ice melt, terrestrial inputs, and primary production. Concentrations were found to be as low ~1800 μmoles kg−1 over the inner shelf. We found that DIC concentrations were drawn down 30–150 μmoles kg−1 in the upper 30 m of the water column due to primary production and calcium carbonate formation between the spring and summer occupations. Using the seasonal drawdown of DIC, estimated rates of NCP on the inner, middle, and outer shelf averaged 28 ± 9 mmoles C m−2 d−1. However, higher rates of NCP (40–47 mmoles C m−2 d−1 were observed in the "Green Belt" where the greatest confluence of nutrient-rich basin water and iron-rich shelf water occurs. We estimated that in 2008, total NCP across the shelf was on the order of ~96 Tg C yr−1. Due to the paucity of consistent, comparable productivity data, it is impossible at this time to quantify whether the system is becoming more or less productive. However, as changing climate continues to modify the character of the Bering Sea, we have shown that NCP can be an important indicator of how the ecosystem is functioning.
-
Wilderbuer, T. K.; Hollowed, A. B.; Ingraham, W. J.; Spencer, P. D.; Conners, M. E.; Bond, N. A.; Walters, G. E.
2002-10-01
This paper provides a retrospective analysis of the relationship of physical oceanography and biology and recruitment of three Eastern Bering Sea flatfish stocks: flathead sole ( Hippoglossoides elassodon), northern rock sole ( Lepidopsetta polyxystra), and arrowtooth flounder ( Atheresthes stomias) for the period 1978-1996. Temporal trends in flatfish production in the Eastern Bering Sea are consistent with the hypothesis that decadal scale climate variability influences marine survival during the early life history period. Density-dependence (spawning stock size) is statistically significant in a Ricker model of flatfish recruitment, which includes environmental terms. Wind-driven advection of flatfish larvae to favorable nursery grounds was also found to coincide with years of above-average recruitment through the use of an ocean surface current simulation model (OSCURS). Ocean forcing of Bristol Bay surface waters during springtime was mostly shoreward (eastward) during the 1980s and seaward (westerly) during the 1990s, corresponding with periods of good and poor recruitment. Distance from shore and water depth at the endpoint of 90-day drift periods (estimated time of settlement) were also found to correspond with flatfish productivity.
-
2011-06-20
... Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... Tanner Crabs. Amendment 34 amends the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program to... for the Crab Rationalization Program are available from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http...
-
Stabeno, Phyllis J.; Farley, Edward V., Jr.; Kachel, Nancy B.; Moore, Sue; Mordy, Calvin W.; Napp, Jeffrey M.; Overland, James E.; Pinchuk, Alexei I.; Sigler, Michael F.
2012-06-01
Sufficient oceanographic measurements have been made in recent years to describe the latitudinal variation in the physics of the eastern Bering Sea shelf and the potential impact of climate change on the species assemblages in the two ecosystems (north and south). Many of the predicted ecosystem changes will result from alterations in the timing and extent of sea ice. It is predicted that the sea ice in the northern Bering Sea will be less common in May, but will continue to be extensive through April. In contrast, the southern shelf will have, on average, much less sea ice than currently observed, but with large interannual and multiyear variability until at least 2050. Thus, even under current climate warming scenarios, bottom temperatures on the northern shelf will remain cold. Based on biophysical measurements, the southern and northern ecosystems were divided by a North-South Transition at ˜60°N. The northern middle shelf was characterized by a freshwater lens at the surface, cold bottom temperatures, and a thicker pycnocline than found on the southern shelf. Subsurface phytoplankton blooms were common. In contrast, the southern shelf stratification was largely determined by temperature alone; the pycnocline was thin (oftenstomias, respectively) are unlikely to become common in the north. The projected warming of the southern shelf will limit the distribution of arctic species (e.g., snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio) to the northern shelf and will likely permit expansion of subarctic species into the southern Bering Sea. The distribution and abundance of baleen whales will respond to shifts in prey availability; for instance, if prey are advected northward from the southeastern Bering Sea, an extension of range and an increase in seasonally migratory baleen whale numbers is anticipated. Thus, alteration of this ecosystem in response to climate change is expected to result in something other than a simple northward shift in the distribution of all species.
-
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Bering Sea Sub-Network (BSSN) is comprised of a set of coastal communities representing six indigenous cultures: three in the Russian Federation and three in the...
-
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Bering Sea Sub-Network (BSSN) is comprised of a set of coastal communities representing six indigenous cultures: three in the Russian Federation and three in the...
-
2011-06-20
... Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program; Amendment 37 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... Tanner Crabs (FMP). This action amends the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program by... Assessment prepared for the Crab Rationalization Program are available from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site...
-
2013-11-14
.... 130306200-3200-01] RIN 0648-BD03 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Amendment 102 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) National.... SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 102 to the Fishery Management Plan for...
-
2013-11-01
...-BD03 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management... Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment; request for comments. SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted...
-
2011-11-04
.... 100819383-1652-02] RIN 0648-BA18 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Limited Access Privilege Program AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries.... SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations implementing Amendment 93 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish...
-
2012-10-15
... Aleutian Islands Management Area; Groundfish Retention Standard AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... standard (GRS) program in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area by removing certain... the Amendment 80 fleet. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson...
-
2013-06-17
... the harvesting and processing sectors'' and to monitor the ``economic stability for harvesters.... 120806311-3530-02] RIN 0648-BC25 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and... Tanner Crabs (FMP). These regulations revise the annual economic data reports (EDRs) currently required...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Individual Animal and other data were collected using visual observation and other instruments from AIRCRAFT in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Arctic Ocean. Data...
-
Bioindicators of Organochlorine Pesticides in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Western Bering Sea.
Tsygankov, Vasiliy Yu; Boyarova, Margarita D; Lukyanova, Olga N; Khristoforova, Nadezhda K
2017-08-01
Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), such as HCHs and DDTs, are still used as pesticides in the Southern Hemisphere and can reach the North Pacific due to long range atmospheric transfer. Marine mammals (Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens, gray whale Eschrichtius robustus), the seabirds (Pacific gull Larus schistisagus, crested auklet Aethia cristatella, auklet crumb Aethia pusilla, northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, and grey petrel Oceanodroma furcata) and Pacific salmon (pink Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, chum O. keta, chinook O. tshawytscha, and sockeye O. nerka) were collected near the Kuril Islands (the northern-western part of the Pacific Ocean), in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. The total OCPs concentration (HCHs + DDTs) was found in each organism, including the Pacific walrus (70-90,263 ng/g lipid), the seabirds (29-16,095 ng/g lipid), and the Pacific salmon (41-7103 ng/g lipid). The concentrations and possible sources of OCPs in marine organisms as biological indicators are discussed.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset is from a study examining the use of demersal and pelagic habitats in the southeast Bering Sea by age-0 Pacific cod, based on 4 years of demersal trawl...
-
2011-12-27
... Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the Supplemental IRFA prepared for this action may be... OFLs, ABCs and TACs for the Bering Sea subarea and the Aleutian Island districts. This split is... levels (OFL), acceptable biological catches (ABC), and total allowable catches (TAC) for Pacific cod on...
-
White, V C; Morado, J F; Friedman, C S
2014-07-01
In 2003, the Alaska walleye pollock industry reported product quality issues attributed to an unspecified parasite in fish muscle. Using molecular and histological methods, we identified the parasite in Bering Sea pollock as Ichthyophonus. Infected pollock were identified throughout the study area, and prevalence was greater in adults than in juveniles. This study not only provides the first documented report of Ichthyophonus in any fish species captured in the Bering Sea, but also reveals that the parasite has been present in this region for nearly 20 years and is not a recent introduction. Sequence analysis of 18S rDNA from Ichthyophonus in pollock revealed that consensus sequences were identical to published parasite sequences from Pacific herring and Yukon River Chinook salmon. Results from this study suggest potential for Ichthyophonus exposures from infected pollock via two trophic pathways; feeding on whole fish as prey and scavenging on industry-discharged offal. Considering the notable Ichthyophonus levels in pollock, the low host specificity of the parasite and the role of this host as a central prey item in the Bering Sea, pollock likely serve as a key Ichthyophonus reservoir for other susceptible hosts in the North Pacific. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
-
2012-07-27
... of a zero (0) percent fee for cost recovery under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab... Program includes a cost recovery provision to collect fees to recover the actual costs directly related to... processing sectors to each pay half the cost recovery fees. Catcher/processor quota share holders are...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains detailed crab data collected from the annual NOAA/NMFS/AFSC/RACE crab-groundfish bottom trawl survey of the eastern Bering Sea continental...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The potential for unobserved mortality of crabs encountering bottom trawls, but not captured, has long been a concern in the management of Bering Sea fisheries. We...
-
Skate Bathyraja spp. egg predation in the eastern Bering Sea.
Hoff, G R
2009-01-01
Predation on skate eggs by snails was examined for three skate species at seven nursery sites in three regions (north, middle and south) of the eastern Bering Sea. Mean predation levels were 6.46% for the Alaska skate Bathyraja parmifera, 2.65% for the Aleutian skate Bathyraja aleutica and 22.25% for the Bering skate Bathyraja interrupta. Predation levels were significantly higher at the middle and north sites than the south sites for all species combined. Predation levels decreased with increasing egg-case densities at all nursery sites, and the highest predation levels occurred where egg-case densities were very low. Predated egg-case density increased with increasing snail densities across all nursery sites examined. The Oregon triton Fusitriton oregonensis was the most abundant snail species at all nursery sites and displayed ability to drill holes in the egg case of B. parmifera. Holes left by predatory snails in egg cases of B. parmifera were significantly larger, and of different shape at the middle site compared to the south site. Holes in B. parmifera were also significantly larger than those in egg cases of B. interrupta across all sites examined. Egg cases of B. aleutica possess surface spines that cover the egg case and may inhibit predation by snails at a greater rate than that of the B. parmifera and B. interrupta, which have a smoother egg-case surface.
-
2010-07-23
... of a 2.67-percent fee for cost recovery under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab... for the 2010/2011 crab fishing year so they can calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees...-Stevens Act). The Program includes a cost recovery provision to collect fees to recover the actual costs...
-
2013-08-01
... of a 0.69-percent fee for cost recovery under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab... for the 2013/2014 crab fishing year so they can calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees... Program includes a cost recovery provision to collect fees to recover the actual costs directly related to...
-
2011-07-21
... of a 1.23-percent fee for cost recovery under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab... for the 2011/2012 crab fishing year so they can calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees...-Stevens Act). The Program includes a cost recovery provision to collect fees to recover the actual costs...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset is a compilation of line-transect data collected on surveys in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and western and central Gulf of Alaska, 2001 - 2010....
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Li Shihong; Mao Xueying; Chai Zhifang
2004-01-01
Anion exchange method is investigated to separate and enrich iridium in seawater by radiotracer 192 Ir. The adsorption of Ir in the resin increases with the decreasing acidity in the 0.05-1.2 mol/L HCl media, The recovery of iridium in pH=1.5 seawater reaches 89% by a single anion-exchange column. The polyethylene container of acidity of pH=1.5 are suitable for storing trace Ir in seawater. An anion exchange preconcentration-neutron activation analysis procedure is developed to determine iridium in seawaters sampled from the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean at different depth. The reagent blank value of the whole procedures is (0.18-0.20) x 10 -12 g Ir. The iridium concentrations in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean seawater samples are (0.85-3.58) x 10 -12 g/L (0-3504 m) and (1.26-1.97) x 10 -12 g/L (25-1900 m), respectively
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The accession contains Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD); Chlorophyll; and Nutrient data collected in Bering Sea as part of Inner Shelf Transfer and...
-
Davis, A.S.; Gunn, S.H.; Gray, L.-B.; Marlow, M. S.; Wong, F.L.
1993-01-01
Quaternary basanites were recovered from the continental margin of the Bering Sea near Navarin Basin. The basanites are highly vesicular flow rock and hyaloclastites similar to other alkalic volcanic rocks erupted repeatedly during the last Cenozoic on islands in the Bering Sea region and in mainland Alaska. K-Ar ages for the basanites indicate at least two episodes of volcanism at about 1.1 and 0.4 Ma. Trace-element data indicate these alkalic lavas have been generated by small, but variable, amounts of partial melting of a metasomatized lherzolite source. The relativley primitive compositions (MgO >9%), presence of mantle-derived xenoliths in some alkalic lavas, and presence of forsteritic olivine with low CaO and high NiO suggest that magma rose rapidly from great depth without spending time in large, long-lived magma chambers. Alkalic volcanism apparently resulted from upwelling and decompressional melting of small isolated mantle diapirs in response to local lithospheric attenuation associated with jostling of blocks during adjustment to regional stresses. -from Authors
-
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wehrmann, Laura M.; Risgaard-Petersen, Nils; Schrum, Heather
2011-01-01
We studied microbially mediated diagenetic processes driven by carbon mineralization in subseafloor sediment of the northeastern Bering Sea Slope to a depth of 745 meters below seafloor (mbsf). Sites U1343, U1344 and U1345 were drilled during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 323......) and between 300 and 400 mbsf. The SMTZ at the three sites is located between 6 and 9 mbsf. The upward methane fluxes into the SMTZ are similar to fluxes in SMTZs underlying high-productivity surface waters off Chile and Namibia. Our Bering Sea results show that intense organic carbon mineralization drives...... microbially mediated carbon mineralization leaves DIC isotope composition unaffected. Ongoing carbonate formation between 300 and 400 mbsf strongly influences pore-water DIC and magnesium concentration profiles. The linked succession of organic carbon mineralization and carbonate dissolution and precipitation...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The aerial surveys of Whales data in this accession were collected from aircraft by Steve Tracey over the Bering Sea between September 1987 and October 1988 by Sea...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile data were collected using XBT and BT casts from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and other platforms in the Bering Sea and other Sea areas from 25 February...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains crab data from a field survey of Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio collected at six designated index sites in the Bering Sea during the 2015...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains crab data from a field survey of Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio collected at six designated index sites in the Bering Sea during the 2016...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains crab data from a field survey of Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio collected at six designated index sites in the Bering Sea during the 2014...
-
Sacco, Alexander Edward
The goal of this thesis is to define specific parameters of mesoscale sea-ice seascapes for which walruses show preference during important periods of their natural history. This research thesis incorporates sea-ice geophysics, marine-mammal ecology, remote sensing, computer vision techniques, and traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous subsistence hunters in order to quantitatively study walrus preference of sea ice during the spring migration in the Bering Sea. Using an approach that applies seascape ecology, or landscape ecology to the marine environment, our goal is to define specific parameters of ice patch descriptors, or mesoscale seascapes in order to evaluate and describe potential walrus preference for such ice and the ecological services it provides during an important period of their life-cycle. The importance of specific sea-ice properties to walrus occupation motivates an investigation into how walruses use sea ice at multiple spatial scales when previous research suggests that walruses do not show preference for particular floes. Analysis of aerial imagery, using image processing techniques and digital geomorphometric measurements (floe size, shape, and arrangement), demonstrated that while a particular floe may not be preferred, at larger scales a collection of floes, specifically an ice patch (cross-cultural sea-ice observations, knowledge and science to determine sea ice importance to marine mammals in a changing Arctic.
-
2011-10-27
... Octopus in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... catch of octopus by vessels using pot gear to fish for Pacific cod the BSAI. DATES: Effective 1200 hrs... and management measures prevent overfishing. The 2011 octopus overfishing level in the BSAI is 528...
-
Submarine canyons as coral and sponge habitat on the eastern Bering Sea slope
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Robert J. Miller
2015-07-01
Full Text Available Submarine canyons have been shown to positively influence pelagic and benthic biodiversity and ecosystem function. In the eastern Bering Sea, several immense canyons lie under the highly productive “green belt” along the continental slope. Two of these, Pribilof and Zhemchug canyons, are the focus of current conservation interest. We used a maximum entropy modeling approach to evaluate the importance of these two canyons, as well as canyons in general, as habitat for gorgonian (alcyonacean corals, pennatulacean corals, and sponges, in an area comprising most of the eastern Bering Sea slope and outer shelf. These invertebrates create physical structure that is a preferred habitat for many mobile species, including commercially important fish and invertebrates. We show that Pribilof canyon is a hotspot of structure-forming invertebrate habitat, containing over 50% of estimated high-quality gorgonian habitat and 45% of sponge habitat, despite making up only 1.7% of the total study area. The amount of quality habitat for gorgonians and sponges varied in other canyons, but canyons overall contained more high-quality habitat for structure-forming invertebrates compared to other slope areas. Bottom trawling effort was not well correlated with habitat quality for structure-forming invertebrates, and bottom-contact fishing effort in general, including longlining and trawling, was not particularly concentrated in the canyons examined. These results suggest that if conserving gorgonian coral habitat is a management goal, canyons, particularly Pribilof Canyon, may be a prime location to do this without excessive impact on fisheries.
-
Legal regime of the Bering Strait and security of navigation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aleksandr S. Skaridov
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Objective to establish the legal regime and security of navigation in the Bering Strait. Methods formal logical method systemic method comparative legal method statistical method. Results in the recent years specialized publications contain numerous publications on the problems of development of Arctic shipping and the future intensification of the use of the Northern Sea Route. Whatever Arctic routes may be chosen by the skippers the vessels will have to overcome the narrowness of the Bering Strait. If the existing estimates are reasonable and the navigation of the NorthWest Sea Passage will increase it is appropriate to ask whether the legal regime and security means are adapted to the possible increase of commercial shipping and military navigation. In this respect the author formulates the legal measures aimed at ensuring security in the Bering Strait area with the account of growing cargo traffic. Scientific novelty for the first time the article proves the necessity to include into the Bering Strait area the territories bounded from the north by the east and west passages formed by the Diomede Islands and continental coasts of the Russian Federation and the United States and from the south ndash by the passages between the Cape of Chukotka and Cape Sevuokuk of St. Lawrence Island Cape Sivuka and the mainland of Alaska in order to protect the sea natural landscape and to ensure the maritime safety. The opinion is substantiated about the necessity to equip the marine passages forming the waters of the Bering Strait with a security system. The proposed legal regime of ensuring the safety of navigation in the Bering Strait which includes the common navigation rules establishing the areas of the vessel traffic separation designation of areas of marine reserves and organizationallegal means for damping the dangerous situations. Practical significance the findings and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific educational and law
-
Cooper, L.W.; Sexson, M.G.; Grebmeier, J.M.; Gradinger, R.; Mordy, C.W.; Lovvorn, J.R.
2013-01-01
Icebreaker-based sampling in the northern Bering Sea south of St. Lawrence Island in March of 2008, 2009, and 2010 has provided new data on overall ecosystem function early in the annual productive cycle. While water-column chlorophyll concentrations (−2 integrated over the whole water column) are two orders of magnitude lower than observed during the spring bloom in May, sea-ice algal inventories of chlorophyll are high (up to 1 g m−3 in the bottom 2-cm of sea-ice). Vertical fluxes of chlorophyll as measured in sediment traps were between 0.3 to 3.7 mg m−2 d−1 and were consistent with the recent deposition (days to weeks time scale) of chlorophyll to the surface sediments (0–25 mg m−2 present at 0–1 cm). Sediment oxygen respiration rates were lower than previous measurements that followed the spring bloom, but were highest in areas of known high benthic biomass. Early spring release of sedimentary ammonium occurs, particularly southeast of St. Lawrence Island, leading to bottom-water ammonium concentrations of >5 µM. These data, together with other physical, biological, and nutrient data are presented here in conjunction with observed sea-ice dynamics and the distribution of an apex predator, the Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri). Sea-ice dynamics in addition to benthic food availability, as determined by sedimentation processes, play a role in the distribution of spectacled eiders, which cannot always access the greatest biomass of their preferred bivalve prey. Overall, the data and observations indicate that the northern Bering Sea is biologically active in late winter, but with strong atmospheric and hydrographic controls. These controls pre-determine nutrient and chlorophyll distributions, water-column mixing, as well as pelagic-benthic coupling.
-
2010-08-19
... 600 and 50 CFR part 679. The 2010 rock sole TAC specified for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands ICA... Amendment 80 Allocations of The Aleutian Islands Pacific Ocean Perch, And BSAI Flathead Sole, Rock Sole, And.... 0910131363-0087-02] RIN 0648-XY29 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Rock...
-
Brucella Infection in Asian Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris lutris) on Bering Island, Russia.
Burgess, Tristan L; Johnson, Christine Kreuder; Burdin, Alexander; Gill, Verena A; Doroff, Angela M; Tuomi, Pamela; Smith, Woutrina A; Goldstein, Tracey
2017-10-01
Infection with Brucella spp., long known as a cause of abortion, infertility, and reproductive loss in domestic livestock, has increasingly been documented in marine mammals over the past two decades. We report molecular evidence of Brucella infection in Asian sea otters (Enhydra lutris lutris). Brucella DNA was detected in 3 of 78 (4%) rectal swab samples collected between 2004 and 2006 on Bering Island, Russia. These 78 animals had previously been documented to have a Brucella seroprevalence of 28%, markedly higher than the prevalence documented in sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in North America. All of the DNA sequences amplified were identical to one or more previously isolated Brucella spp. including strains from both terrestrial and marine hosts. Phylogenetic analysis of this sequence suggested that one animal was shedding Brucella spp. DNA with a sequence matching a Brucella abortus strain, whereas two animals yielded a sequence matching a group of strains including isolates classified as Brucella pinnipedialis and Brucella melitensis. Our results highlight the diversity of Brucella spp. within a single sea otter population.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157456 includes Surface underway, chemical and physical data collected from unknown platforms in the Arabian Sea, Bering Sea, Caribbean Sea, Coastal...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea as part of Inner SHelf Transfer and recycling (ISHTAR)...
-
Mcclain, C. R.; Sambrotto, R. N.; Ray, G. C.; Muller-Karger, F. E.
1990-01-01
Twenty-one Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) images of the southeastern Bering Sea are examined in order to map the near-surface distribution of phytoplankton during 1979 and 1980. The information is compared with the mesoscale (100-1000 km) distribution of phytoplankton inferred from pooled ship sampling obtained during the Processes and Resources of the Bering Shelf (PROBES) intensive field study during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The imagery indicates that open-water phytoplankton blooms occur first in late April in coastal waters, peak in early May over the middle shelf, and decay rapidly afterwards, reaching concentration minima in June in both regions. These patterns show that the earlier ship observations are valid for most of the eastern Bering shelf. A very tight correlation is found between the PROBES surface chlorophyll a concentrations and mean mixed-layer chlorophyll concentrations. The significant discrepancies between CZCS and ship-based chlorophyll estimates may be due to aliasing in time by the CZCS. It is concluded that neither satellite nor ship alone can do an adequate job of characterizing the physics or biological dynamics of the ocean.
-
Wang, Shiway W; Springer, Alan M; Budge, Suzanne M; Horstmann, Lara; Quakenbush, Lori T; Wooller, Matthew J
2016-04-01
Dramatic multiyear fluctuations in water temperature and seasonal sea ice extent and duration across the Bering-Chukchi continental shelf have occurred in this century, raising a pressing ecological question: Do such environmental changes alter marine production processes linking primary producers to upper trophic-level predators? We examined this question by comparing the blubber fatty acid (FA) composition and stable carbon isotope ratios of individual FA (δ¹³CFA) of adult ringed seals (Pusa hispida), bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus), spotted seals (Phoca largha), and ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata), collectively known as "ice seals," sampled during an anomalously warm, low sea ice period in 2002-2005 in the Bering Sea and a subsequent cold, high sea ice period in 2007-2010. δ¹³C(FA) values, used to estimate the contribution to seals of carbon derived from sea ice algae (sympagic production) relative to that derived from water column phytoplankton (pelagic production), indicated that during the cold period, sympagic production accounted for 62-80% of the FA in the blubber of bearded seals, 51-62% in spotted seals, and 21-60% in ringed seals. Moreover, the δ¹³CFA values of bearded seals indicated a greater incorporation of sympagic FAs during the cold period than the warm period. This result provides the first empirical evidence of an ecosystem-scale effect of a putative change in sympagic production in the Western Arctic. The FA composition of ice seals showed clear evidence of resource partitioning among ringed, bearded, and spotted seals, and little niche separation between spotted and ribbon seals, which is consistent with previous studies. Despite interannual variability, the FA composition of ringed and bearded seals showed little evidence of differences in diet between the warm and cold periods. The findings that sympagic production contributes significantly to food webs supporting ice seals, and that the contribution apparently is less in
-
Sedimentology and geochemistry of surface sediments, outer continental shelf, southern Bering Sea
Gardner, J.V.; Dean, W.E.; Vallier, T.L.
1980-01-01
Present-day sediment dynamics, combined with lowerings of sea level during the Pleistocene, have created a mixture of sediments on the outer continental shelf of the southern Bering Sea that was derived from the Alaskan Mainland, the Aleutian Islands, and the Pribilof ridge. Concentrations of finer-grained, higher-organic sediments in the region of the St. George basin have further modified regional distribution patterns of sediment composition. Q-mode factor analysis of 58 variables related to sediment size and composition - including content of major, minor, and trace elements, heavy and light minerals, and clay minerals - reveals three dominant associations of sediment: 1. (1) The most significant contribution, forming a coarse-grained sediment scattered over most of the shelf consists of felsic sediment derived from the generally quartz-rich rocks of the Alaskan mainland. This sediment contains relatively high concentrations of Si, Ba, Rb, quartz, garnet, epidote, metamorphic rock fragments, potassium feldspar, and illite. 2. (2) The next most important group, superimposed on the felsic group consists of andesitic sediment derived from the Aleutian Islands. This more mafic sediment contains relatively high concentrations of Na, Ca, Ti, Sr, V, Mn, Cu, Fe, Al, Co, Zn, Y, Yb, Ga, volcanic rock fragments, glass, clinopyroxene, smectite, and vermiculite. 3. (3) A local group of basaltic sediment, derived from rocks of the Pribilof Islands, is a subgroup of the Aleutian andesite group. Accumulation of fine-grained sediment in St. George basin has created a sediment group containing relatively high concentrations of C, S, U, Li, B, Zr, Ga, Hg, silt, and clay. Sediment of the Aleutian andesite group exhibits a strong gradient, or "plume", with concentrations decreasing away from Unimak Pass and toward St. George basin. The absence of present-day currents sufficient to move even clay-size material as well as the presence of Bering submarine canyon between the Aleutian
-
Hindcast storm events in the Bering Sea for the St. Lawrence Island and Unalakleet Regions, Alaska
Erikson, Li H.; McCall, Robert T.; van Rooijen, Arnold; Norris, Benjamin
2015-01-01
This study provides viable estimates of historical storm-induced water levels in the coastal communities of Gambell and Savoonga situated on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, as well as Unalakleet located at the head of Norton Sound on the western coast of Alaska. Gambell, Savoonga, and Unalakleet are small Native Villages that are regularly impacted by coastal storms but where little quantitative information about these storms exists. The closest continuous water-level gauge is at Nome, located more than 200 kilometers from both St. Lawrence Island and Unalakleet. In this study, storms are identified and quantified using historical atmospheric and sea-ice data and then used as boundary conditions for a suite of numerical models. The work includes storm-surge (temporary rise in water levels due to persistent strong winds and low atmospheric pressures) modeling in the Bering Strait region, as well as modeling of wave runup along specified sections of the coast in Gambell and Unalakleet. Modeled historical water levels are used to develop return periods of storm surge and storm surge plus wave runup at key locations in each community. It is anticipated that the results will fill some of the data void regarding coastal flood data in western Alaska and be used for production of coastal vulnerability maps and community planning efforts.
-
Effects of lead structure in Bering Sea pack ice on the flight costs of wintering spectacled eiders
Bump, Joseph K.; Lovvorn, James R.
2004-10-01
In polar regions, sea ice is critical habitat for many marine birds and mammals. The quality of pack ice habitat depends on the duration and spacing of leads (openings in the ice), which determine access to water and air for diving endotherms, and how often and how far they must move as leads open and close. Recent warming trends have caused major changes in the extent and nature of sea ice at large scales used in climate models. However, no studies have analyzed lead structure in terms of habitat for ice-dependent endotherms, or effects of climate on ice habitat at scales relevant to their daily movements. Based on observations from an icebreaker and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, we developed methods to describe the dynamics and thermodynamics of lead structure relative to use by spectacled eiders ( Somateria fischeri) wintering in pack ice of the Bering Sea. By correlating lead structure with weather variables, we then used these methods to estimate changes in lead dynamics from 1945 to 2002, and effects of such changes on flight costs of the eiders. For 1991-1992, when images were available about every 3 days throughout winter, SAR images were divided among five weather regimes defined by wind speed, wind direction, and air temperature. Based on 12.5-m pixels, lead shape, compass orientation, and fetch across leads did not differ among the weather regimes. However, the five regimes differed in total area of open water, leads per unit area, and distance between leads. Lead duration was modeled based on air temperature, wind, and fetch. Estimates of mean daily flight time for eiders, based on lead duration and distance between neighboring leads, differed among regimes by 0 to 15 min. Resulting flight costs varied from 0 to 158 kJ day -1, or from 0% to 11% of estimated field metabolic rate. Over 57 winters (1945-2002), variation among years in mean daily flight time was most influenced by the north-south wind component, which determined pack divergence
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset is from a study that analyzed the late summer distribution of juvenile Pacific cod in the eastern Bering Sea for 6 cohorts (2004-2009), based on catches...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Bering Sea. Data was collected from Ship ALPHA HELIX cruise HX 171. The data was...
-
Climate change and control of the southeastern Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem
Hunt, George L., Jr.; Stabeno, Phyllis; Walters, Gary; Sinclair, Elizabeth; Brodeur, Richard D.; Napp, Jeffery M.; Bond, Nicholas A.
2002-12-01
We propose a new hypothesis, the Oscillating Control Hypothesis (OCH), which predicts that pelagic ecosystem function in the southeastern Bering Sea will alternate between primarily bottom-up control in cold regimes and primarily top-down control in warm regimes. The timing of spring primary production is determined predominately by the timing of ice retreat. Late ice retreat (late March or later) leads to an early, ice-associated bloom in cold water (e.g., 1995, 1997, 1999), whereas no ice, or early ice retreat before mid-March, leads to an open-water bloom in May or June in warm water (e.g., 1996, 1998, 2000). Zooplankton populations are not closely coupled to the spring bloom, but are sensitive to water temperature. In years when the spring bloom occurs in cold water, low temperatures limit the production of zooplankton, the survival of larval/juvenile fish, and their recruitment into the populations of species of large piscivorous fish, such as walleye pollock ( Theragra chalcogramma), Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) and arrowtooth flounder ( Atheresthes stomias). When continued over decadal scales, this will lead to bottom-up limitation and a decreased biomass of piscivorous fish. Alternatively, in periods when the bloom occurs in warm water, zooplankton populations should grow rapidly, providing plentiful prey for larval and juvenile fish. Abundant zooplankton will support strong recruitment of fish and will lead to abundant predatory fish that control forage fish, including, in the case of pollock, their own juveniles. Piscivorous marine birds and pinnipeds may achieve higher production of young and survival in cold regimes, when there is less competition from large piscivorous fish for cold-water forage fish such as capelin ( Mallotus villosus). Piscivorous seabirds and pinnipeds also may be expected to have high productivity in periods of transition from cold regimes to warm regimes, when young of large predatory species of fish are numerous enough to
-
Krause, J. W.; Lomas, M. W.
2017-12-01
In high-latitude environments like the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, microzooplankton and phytoplankton biomass can be tightly coupled. Microzooplankton consumption of primary production decreases the efficiency of transfer to higher trophic levels by increasing the number of food web steps and compounding losses from respiration. Thus, the balance of phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing directly affects the availability of primary production to support higher-trophic processes (e.g. fisheries productivity). Despite compelling qualitative observations, there are no quantitative data demonstrating that larger phytoplankton (e.g. diatoms) growth is balanced by microzooplankton grazing in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. We report the first size-fractionated data for phytoplankton growth and grazing loss rates from microzooplankton in these regions during late spring 2017. Within the small size fraction (5 µm), which was presumably dominated by diatoms, less than 33% of experiments showed a potential control of growth by grazing and among these even fewer showed grazing rates statistically different from zero. In the few cases where there was a significant grazing rate, a negative correlation was observed between the microzooplankton grazing rate on large phytoplankton and chlorophyll in that size fraction; a similar negative trend was observed for these same grazing rates on large cells versus biogenic silica concentration (an independent metric of diatom biomass). These data show that the growth of large phytoplankton (e.g. diatoms) was typically decoupled from microzooplankton grazing losses, suggesting that at most stations a high proportion of this phytoplankton productivity escapes microzooplankton grazing and is available for consumption by higher trophic organisms.
-
Danielson, Seth L.; Eisner, Lisa; Ladd, Carol; Mordy, Calvin; Sousa, Leandra; Weingartner, Thomas J.
2017-01-01
Survey data from the northern Bering and Chukchi sea continental shelves in August-September 2012 and 2013 reveal inter-annual differences in the spatial structure of water masses along with statistically significant differences in thermohaline properties, chemical properties, and phytoplankton communities. We provide a set of water mass definitions applicable to the northern Bering and Chukchi continental shelves, and we find that the near-bottom Bering-Chukchi Summer Water (BCSW) was more saline in 2012 and Alaskan Coastal Water (ACW) was warmer in 2013. Both of these water masses carried higher nutrient concentrations in 2012, supporting a larger chlorophyll a biomass that was comprised primarily of small (<10 μm) size class phytoplankton, so the classical relation between higher nutrient loads and larger phytoplankton does not hold for this region in late summer. The distributions of phytoplankton biomass and size structure reveal linkages between the wind fields, seafloor topography, water mass distributions and the pelagic production. The water mass structure, including the strength and location of stratification and fronts, respectively, differed primarily because of the August regional wind field, which was more energetic in 2012 but was more persistent in direction in 2013. High concentrations of ice in winter and early spring in 2012 and 2013 resembled conditions of the 1980s and early 1990s but the regional ice retreat rate has accelerated in the late 1990s and 2000s so the summer and fall ice concentrations more closely resembled those of the last two decades. Our data show that wind forcing can shut down the Alaskan Coastal Current in the NE Chukchi Sea for periods of weeks to months during the ice-covered winter and during the summer when buoyancy forcing is at its annual maximum. We hypothesize that a decrease in salinity and nutrients from 2012 to 2013 was a consequence of a decreased net Bering Strait transport from 2011 to 2012. Biological
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Zooplankton and other data were collected using CalVet net in Bering sea from ALPHA HELIX. Data were collected from 01 June 1997 to 01 September 1998 by University...
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Jun; Huelck, Kathrin; Hong, Su-Myeong; Atkinson, Shannon; Li, Qing X.
2011-01-01
The western stock of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) in the northern Pacific Ocean has declined by approximately 80% over the past 30 years. This led to the listing of this sea lion population as an endangered species in 1997. Chemical pollution is a one of several contributing causes. In the present study, 145 individual PCBs were determined in tissues of male sea lions from Tatitlek (Prince William Sound) and St. Paul Island (Bering Sea), and placentae from the Aleutian Islands. PCBs 90/101, 118, and 153 were abundant in all the samples. The mean toxic equivalents (TEQ) were 2.6, 4.7 and 7.4 pg/g lw in the kidney, liver, and blubber samples, respectively. The mean TEQ in placentae was 8 pg/g lw. Total PCBs concentrations (2.6-7.9 μg/g lw) in livers of some males were within a range known to cause physiological effects. Further suggesting the possibility of adverse effects on this stock. - PCBs at median concentrations of 1.2-3.7 μg/g lipid weight in different tissues of the western stock of Steller sea lions have physiological effects.
-
Tritium and plutonium in waters from the Bering and Chukchi Seas
Landa, E.R.; Beals, D.M.; Halverson, J.E.; Michel, R.L.; Cefus, G.R.
1999-01-01
During the summer of 1993, seawater in the Bering and Chukchi Seas was sampled on a joint Russian-American cruise [BERPAC] of the RV Okean to determine concentrations of tritium, 239Pu and 240Pu. Concentrations of tritium were determined by electrolytic enrichment and liquid scintilation counting. Tritium levels ranged up to 420 mBq L-1 showed no evidence of inputs other than those attribute atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Plutonium was recovered from water samples by ferric hydroxide precipitation, and concentrations were determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. 239+240Pu concentrations ranged from nuclear facilities in the United States. This study and others sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Office of Naval Research's Arctic Nuclear Waste Assessment Program are providing data for the assessment of potential radiological impacts in the Arctic regions associated with nuclear waste disposal by the former Soviet Union.
-
Kirpes, R.; Rodriguez, B.; Kim, S.; Park, K.; China, S.; Laskin, A.; Pratt, K.
2017-12-01
The Arctic region is rapidly changing due to sea ice loss and increasing oil/gas development and shipping activity. These changes influence aerosol sources and composition, resulting in complex aerosol-cloud-climate feedbacks. Atmospheric particles were collected aboard the R/V Araon in July-August 2016 in the Alaskan Arctic along the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea. Offline analysis of individual particles by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques provided information on particle size, morphology, and chemical composition. Sea spray aerosol (SSA) and organic aerosol (OA) particles were the most commonly observed particle types, and sulfate was internally mixed with both SSA and OA. Evidence of multiphase sea spray aerosol reactions was observed, with varying degrees of chlorine depletion observed along the cruise. Notably, atmospherically processed SSA, completely depleted in chlorine, and internally mixed organic and sulfate particles, were observed in samples influenced by the central Arctic Ocean. Changes in particle composition due to fog processing were also investigated. Due to the changing aerosol sources and atmospheric processes in the Arctic region, it is crucial to understand aerosol composition in order to predict climate impacts.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in NW Pacific (limit-180), NE Pacific (limit-180), Greenland Sea and Bering Sea as part...
-
Black, A. E.; Baranow, N.; Amdur, S.; Cook, M. S.
2017-12-01
Ocean circulation and biological productivity play an important role in the climate system through their contribution to global heat transport and air-sea exchange of CO2. Oceanic oxygen concentration provides insight to ocean circulation and biological productivity. Sediment laminations provide a valuable proxy for local oceanic oxygen concentration. Many sediment cores from the Pacific Ocean are laminated from the last deglaciation, but previous studies have not provided an in-depth examination of laminations over many glacial and interglacial (G/IG) cycles. Typically, studies to date that consider bioturbation as a proxy for oxygen concentration have only considered one sediment core from a site, leaving ambiguity as to whether laminations faithfully record local oxygen levels. With sediment cores from three different holes (A, C, D) on the northern Bering Slope from IODP site U1345 (1008m), we investigate how faithfully laminations record oxygen concentration. We assign a bioturbation index from 1 to 4 for 1-cm intervals for the cores from each of the three holes and align the holes based on physical properties data. We find that the bioturbation is relatively consistent (within one bioturbation unit) between holes, suggesting that laminations may be a faithful, if not perfect, proxy for local oxygen concentration. After examining laminations from a complete hole, representing over 500,000 years, there seems to be no consistent pattern of laminations during the past five glacial cycles, suggesting there is no consistent pattern to oxygen concentration during glacial periods in the northern Bering Slope. Thus, hypotheses on ocean circulation and productivity in the northern Bering Sea from the last deglaciation may not apply to previous G/IG cycles.
-
Springer, Alan M; van Vliet, Gus B
2014-05-06
Climate change in the last century was associated with spectacular growth of many wild Pacific salmon stocks in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, apparently through bottom-up forcing linking meteorology to ocean physics, water temperature, and plankton production. One species in particular, pink salmon, became so numerous by the 1990s that they began to dominate other species of salmon for prey resources and to exert top-down control in the open ocean ecosystem. Information from long-term monitoring of seabirds in the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea reveals that the sphere of influence of pink salmon is much larger than previously known. Seabirds, pink salmon, other species of salmon, and by extension other higher-order predators, are tightly linked ecologically and must be included in international management and conservation policies for sustaining all species that compete for common, finite resource pools. These data further emphasize that the unique 2-y cycle in abundance of pink salmon drives interannual shifts between two alternate states of a complex marine ecosystem.
-
The First Saildrone Scientific Mission: The Bering Sea
Cokelet, E. D.; Meinig, C.; Jenkins, R.; Lawrence-Slavas, N.; Mordy, C. W.; Tabisola, H. M.; Stabeno, P. J.; Cross, J. N.
2016-02-01
Unmanned surface vehicles (USV) are a rapidly advancing technology that has the potential to meet the requirement for long duration and economical scientific data collection with the ability for real-time data and adaptive sampling. In 2015, NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the University of Washington and Saildrone Inc. explored the use of a novel USV technology in the Bering Sea. Two Saildrones, wind- and solar-powered autonomous surface vehicles that can be used for extended research missions in challenging environments, were equipped with a suite of meteorological and oceanographic sensors. Each Saildrone measured position, vehicle attitude, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, PAR, air temperature, relative humidity, magnetic field strength, ocean skin temperature, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen concentration, chlorophyll and CDOM fluorescence. Diagnostic data were transmitted ashore every 10 minutes via Iridium satellite and updated on a web site. Command and control information was sent to the Saildrones for setting waypoints, etc. One-minute data were transmitted ashore four times per day allowing measurements to be analyzed and plotted for scientific insight and mission guidance. During this first-ever scientific mission, lasting 97 days and covering over 7600 km each, the Saildrones successfully completed several scientific survey assignments. They encountered below-freezing temperatures and winds in excess of 20 kn several times with gusts of over 46 kn. Measurements were validated against shipboard and mooring observations. Saildrone sampling strategies were modified on the fly, first to measure the effects of sea-ice melt on surface cooling and freshening, and then to study the Yukon River plume. This mission demonstrated the capability of the Saildrone vehicle to be launched from a dock to conduct autonomous and adaptive oceanographic research in a harsh, high-latitude environment.
-
Bering-Okhotsk Seal Survey (BOSS) Color Imagery (2012-13)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — US surveys were conducted of the Bering Sea pack ice for bearded, spotted, ribbon, and ringed seals using digital cameras and thermal imagers mounted in the belly...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0112268 includes chemical, discrete sample, optical, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Beaufort Sea and Bering Sea from 2006-08-21...
-
Yamamoto, Takashi; Kokubun, Nobuo; Kikuchi, Dale M.; Sato, Nobuhiko; Takahashi, Akinori; Will, Alexis P.; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Watanuki, Yutaka
2016-04-01
Seasonal sea-ice cover has been decreasing in the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, which might affect ecosystem dynamics and availability of food resources to marine top predators breeding in the region. In this study, we investigated the foraging responses of two seabird species, surface-foraging red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris (hereafter, RLKI) and pursuit-diving foraging thick-billed murres Uria lomvia (TBMU) to different marine environmental conditions over 2 years. At-sea distributions of RLKI and TBMU breeding on St. George Island, the largest seabird colony in the region, were recorded using GPS loggers, and blood samples were taken to examine their physiological condition and isotopic foraging niche in a given year. Between the study years, winter ice retreated earlier and summer water temperatures were relatively warmer in 2014 compared to those in 2013. RLKI foraging occurred mostly over the oceanic basin in both years. TBMU, however, foraged mostly over the shelf but showed a relatively higher use of the shelf break and oceanic basin in 2013. The foraging distances from the colony peaked at 250-300 km in 2013 and bimodally at 150-250 and 300-350 km in 2014 for RLKI and tended to be farther in 2013 compared to those in 2014 for TBMU. Plasma levels of corticosterone did not differ between the years in RLKI but differed in TBMU, showing higher levels of physiological stress incurred by murres in 2013, the year of relatively cooler sea surface temperatures with later sea-ice retreat. δ13N (a proxy of trophic level of prey) did not differ between the years in either RLKI or TBMU. These results suggest that the response of ecosystem dynamics to climate variability in the southeastern Bering Sea may differ between the ocean basin and continental shelf regions, which, in turn, may generate differential responses in seabirds relying on those habitats for foraging.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD), Primary production and underway data were collected as part of Processes and Resources of the Bering Sea Shelf...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157261 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from Sikuliaq in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea and Bering Sea...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157356 includes Surface underway, chemical and physical data collected from New Century 2 in the Bering Sea, Caribbean Sea, Coastal Waters of...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112352 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea and Bering Sea from...
-
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nagai, H., E-mail: hnagai@chs.nihon-u.ac.jp [Department of Chemistry, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo 156-8550 (Japan); Hasegawa, A. [Graduate School of Integrated Basic Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo 156-8550 (Japan); Yamagata, T. [Department of Chemistry, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo 156-8550 (Japan); Kumamoto, Y.; Nishino, S. [Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa 237-0061 (Japan); Matsuzaki, H. [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032 (Japan)
2015-10-15
Most of anthropogenic {sup 129}I in marine environment are due to discharge from the nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (U.K.) and La Hague (France) for past few decades. The discharge raised {sup 129}I concentration in seawaters in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans to more than 10{sup 9} atoms L{sup −1}, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that in other region. Recently, in March 2011, a large quantity of {sup 129}I was released into the western North Pacific due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP) accident. To evaluate the influence of these events, we have measured {sup 129}I concentration in seawaters in the northern North Pacific Ocean, Bering and Chukchi Seas, and Arctic Ocean in 2012–2013. The {sup 129}I concentrations were 1.0–1.8 × 10{sup 7} atoms L{sup −1} in the surface waters in the vicinity of 47°N 150°E–130°W North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea (<74°N), which are equal to or lower than the {sup 129}I concentration level in surface water in the North Pacific Ocean before the F1NPP accident. The vertical profiles in the North Pacific were almost same as that observed in the western North Pacific before the F1NPP accident. The {sup 129}I distribution in seawater in the North Pacific to the Chukchi Sea revealed no significant increase of {sup 129}I concentration caused by the F1NPP accident. The {sup 129}I concentrations were 13–14 × 10{sup 7} atoms L{sup −1} in surface waters and 80 × 10{sup 7} atoms L{sup −1} at depths of 300 and 800 m in the Arctic Ocean.
-
High incorporation of carbon into proteins by the phytoplankton of the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea
Lee, Sang H.; Kim, Hak-Jun; Whitledge, Terry E.
2009-07-01
High incorporation of carbon into proteins and low incorporation into lipids were a characteristic pattern of the photosynthetic allocations of phytoplankton throughout the euphotic zone in the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea in 2004. According to earlier studies, this indicates that phytoplankton had no nitrogen limitation and a physiologically healthy condition, at least during the cruise period from mid-August to early September in 2004. This is an interesting result, especially for the phytoplankton in the Alaskan coastal water mass-dominated region in the Chukchi Sea which has been thought to be potentially nitrogen limited. The relatively high ammonium concentration is believed to have supported the nitrogen demand of the phytoplankton in the region where small cells (stress than large phytoplankton. If the high carbon incorporation into proteins by the phytoplankton in 2004 is a general pattern of the photosynthetic allocations in the Chukchi Sea, they could provide nitrogen-sufficient food for the highest benthic faunal biomass in the Arctic Ocean, sustaining large populations of benthic-feeding marine mammals and seabirds.
-
Bering-Okhotsk Seal Survey (BOSS) Identified Hot Spots (2012-13)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — US surveys were conducted of the Bering Sea pack ice for bearded, spotted, ribbon, and ringed seals using digital cameras and thermal imagers mounted in the belly...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Measurements of the equilibrium concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and surface waters of the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea are presented....
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0108129 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from ODEN in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea and Bering Sea from...
-
Pelagic tar and plastic in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea: 1975
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Shaw, D G
1977-07-01
Seventy-one tows of 740 m/sup 2/ each were made in search of pelagic tar and plastics in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea during the period October 1974 to October 1975. Tar was observed on nine occasions while plastics were found six times. The arithmetic mean value of tar abundance, 3.3 x 10/sup -3/ mg/m/sup 2/, is considerably lower than most other oceanic areas for which values have been reported. Gas chromatographic analysis of this tar indicates that it is more extensively weathered than tar from the north Atlantic. An estimate of the abundance of tar lumps too small to be sampled by net tows is made based on the assumption that there are equal weights of particles in logarithmetically equal size intervals. The abundance of pelagic plastics is also low.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and Benthic data were collected from Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea using NOAA Ship Alpha Helix. The data was collected...
-
De Forest, Lisa; Duffy-Anderson, J. T.; Heintz, R. A.; Matarese, A. C.; Siddon, E. C.; Smart, T. I.; Spies, I. B.
2014-11-01
Arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) and Kamchatka flounder (A. evermanni) are closely related flatfish species that co-occur in the eastern Bering Sea. As adults, arrowtooth flounder can be distinguished from Kamchatka flounder; however, larvae and early juveniles can only be indentified to the genus level due to morphological similarities. This has precluded studies of ecology for the early life stages of both species in the eastern Bering Sea. In this study, we developed a genetic technique to identify the larvae and early juveniles of the two species using mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). Genetically identified specimens were then examined to determine a visual identification method based on pigment patterns and morphology. Specimens 6.0-12.0 mm SL and≥18.0 mm SL can be identified to the species level, but species identification of individuals 12.1-17.9 mm SL by visual means alone remains elusive. The distribution of larvae (<25.0 mm SL) of both arrowtooth flounder and Kamchatka flounder is similar in the eastern Bering Sea; however, juvenile (≥25.0 mm SL) Kamchatka flounder occur closer to the shelf break and in deeper water than juvenile arrowtooth flounder. Condition was determined for larvae and juveniles of each species by analyzing lipid content (%) and energy density (kJ/g dry mass). Kamchatka flounder larvae on average had higher lipid content than arrowtooth flounder larvae, but were also larger on average than arrowtooth flounder larvae in the summer. When corrected for length, both species had similar lipid content in the larval and juvenile stages.
-
März, C; Poulton, SW; Wagner, T; Schnetger, B; Brumsack, H-J
2014-01-01
To reconstruct the cycling of reactive phosphorus (P) in the Bering Sea, a P speciation record covering the last ~4Ma was generated from sediments recovered during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 323 at Site U1341 (Bowers Ridge). A chemical extraction procedure distinguishing between different operationally defined P fractions provides new insight into reactive P input, burial and diagenetic transformations. Reactive P mass accumulation rates (MARs) are ~20-110μmol/cm/ka, ...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Walleye pollock are an important component of the eastern Bering Sea ecosystem due to their vast numbers and biomass and are of great commercial importance. Their...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Jakobsson
2017-08-01
Full Text Available The Bering Strait connects the Arctic and Pacific oceans and separates the North American and Asian landmasses. The presently shallow ( ∼ 53 m strait was exposed during the sea level lowstand of the last glacial period, which permitted human migration across a land bridge today referred to as the Bering Land Bridge. Proxy studies (stable isotope composition of foraminifera, whale migration into the Arctic Ocean, mollusc and insect fossils and paleobotanical data have suggested a range of ages for the Bering Strait reopening, mainly falling within the Younger Dryas stadial (12.9–11.7 cal ka BP. Here we provide new information on the deglacial and post-glacial evolution of the Arctic–Pacific connection through the Bering Strait based on analyses of geological and geophysical data from Herald Canyon, located north of the Bering Strait on the Chukchi Sea shelf region in the western Arctic Ocean. Our results suggest an initial opening at about 11 cal ka BP in the earliest Holocene, which is later than in several previous studies. Our key evidence is based on a well-dated core from Herald Canyon, in which a shift from a near-shore environment to a Pacific-influenced open marine setting at around 11 cal ka BP is observed. The shift corresponds to meltwater pulse 1b (MWP1b and is interpreted to signify relatively rapid breaching of the Bering Strait and the submergence of the large Bering Land Bridge. Although the precise rates of sea level rise cannot be quantified, our new results suggest that the late deglacial sea level rise was rapid and occurred after the end of the Younger Dryas stadial.
-
Jakobsson, Martin; Pearce, Christof; Cronin, Thomas M.; Backman, Jan; Anderson, Leif G.; Barrientos, Natalia; Bjork, Goran; Coxhall, Helen; de Boer, Agatha; Mayer, Larry; Morth, Carl-Magnus; Nilsson, Johan; Rattray, Jayne; Sranne, Christian; Semiletov, Igor; O'Regan, Matt
2017-01-01
The Bering Strait connects the Arctic and Pacific oceans and separates the North American and Asian landmasses. The presently shallow ( ∼ 53 m) strait was exposed during the sea level lowstand of the last glacial period, which permitted human migration across a land bridge today referred to as the Bering Land Bridge. Proxy studies (stable isotope composition of foraminifera, whale migration into the Arctic Ocean, mollusc and insect fossils and paleobotanical data) have suggested a range of ages for the Bering Strait reopening, mainly falling within the Younger Dryas stadial (12.9–11.7 cal ka BP). Here we provide new information on the deglacial and post-glacial evolution of the Arctic–Pacific connection through the Bering Strait based on analyses of geological and geophysical data from Herald Canyon, located north of the Bering Strait on the Chukchi Sea shelf region in the western Arctic Ocean. Our results suggest an initial opening at about 11 cal ka BP in the earliest Holocene, which is later than in several previous studies. Our key evidence is based on a well-dated core from Herald Canyon, in which a shift from a near-shore environment to a Pacific-influenced open marine setting at around 11 cal ka BP is observed. The shift corresponds to meltwater pulse 1b (MWP1b) and is interpreted to signify relatively rapid breaching of the Bering Strait and the submergence of the large Bering Land Bridge. Although the precise rates of sea level rise cannot be quantified, our new results suggest that the late deglacial sea level rise was rapid and occurred after the end of the Younger Dryas stadial.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data set focuses on the diets of young of the year Gadus chalcogrammus from the Eastern Gulf of Alaska and the South Eastern Bering Sea. Diet data is available...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Zooplankton, physical, and other data were collected using CTD, bottle, net, and tide gauge casts from CHELAN in the Bering Sea. Data were collected from 18 July...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0113953 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea and Bering...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0081041 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from Pyxis in the Bering Sea, Caribbean Sea, Coastal Waters of...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Alaska’s Bering Sea is home to some of the world’s most productive groundfish and crab stocks and the fisheries that depend on them. Their spatial overlap creates...
-
Adlerstein, Sara A.; Trumble, Robert J.
1998-03-01
Mortality of discarded Pacific halibut bycatch from Pacific cod fisheries in the Bering Sea leads to significant losses in the halibut setline and in the Pacific cod fisheries. The commercial halibut fishery loses yield because of catch limit reductions to compensate the resource for lost spawning potential and because halibut killed as bycatch will not be available for subsequent harvest, and the cod fisheries may lose harvest if they reach a bycatch mortality limit before reaching allowed catch. In this study, significant differences in Pacific halibut bycatch rates and associated yield losses were found among months and areas of the Bering Sea in the longline and trawl fisheries for Pacific cod in 1990-1992. Bycatch rates were usually highest in late spring and early summer and in areas close to the Unimak Pass. With the exception of 1992, yield loss in the longline fishery was around 1 kg per kg of bycatch mortality, irrespective of where or when bycatch occurred. In the trawl fishery, loss of halibut yield varied from 1 to 4 kg per kg of bycatch mortality. Highest halibut net yield losses per tonne of groundfish harvest usually coincided with highest bycatch rates. When both fisheries operated in one area, trawl bycatch often imposed higher yield losses than longline bycatch, despite lower bycatch rates. Bycatch was affected by the strong 1987 halibut year class. Highest bycatch and yield loss rates occurred in the trawl fishery in 1990 and 1991 when the population was dominated by halibut age-3 and -4, and in the longline fishery in 1992 as fish reached age-5.
-
McPhee, M. V.
2016-02-01
As the Arctic and Subarctic regions warm, Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are expected to expand their range northward during ice-free periods in the Bering and Chukchi seas. The oscillating control hypothesis, which describes energetic differences of primary consumers between ice-associated and pelagic production phases, provides a framework for understanding how juvenile salmon might respond to changing conditions at the northern edge of their marine range. Additionally, relationships between growth/condition and temperature, salinity and bottom depth will help identify marine habitats supporting growth at the Arctic-Subarctic interface. In this study, we used survey data from NOAA and Arctic Ecosystem Integrated Survey project to 1) compare growth and condition of juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha) and chum (O. keta) salmon in the NE Bering Sea between warm and cool spring phases, and 2) describe relationships between summer environmental conditions and juvenile salmon growth and condition from 2006 - 2010. Chum and pink salmon were shorter, and chum salmon exhibited greater energy density, in years with cool springs; however, no other aspects of size and condition differed significantly between phases. Over all years, longer and more energy dense individuals of both species were caught at stations with greater bottom depths and in cooler sea-surface temperatures. We found little evidence that chlorophyll-a explained much of the variation in size or condition. We used insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentration as an indicator of relative growth rate for fishes sampled in 2009-2012 and that found juvenile salmon exhibited higher IGF-1 concentrations in 2010-2012 than in 2009. IGF-1 concentrations tended to increase with SST in chum salmon and with bottom depth (a proxy for distance from shore) in pink salmon, but more years of data are needed to adequately describe the relationship of IGF with environmental conditions. This study, although descriptive in
-
Itaki, Takuya; Kim, Sunghan; Rella, Stephan F.; Uchida, Masao; Tada, Ryuji; Khim, Boo-Keun
2012-02-01
A high-resolution record of the radiolarian assemblage from 60 to 10 ka was investigated using a piston core (PC-23A) obtained from the northern slope of the Bering Sea. Faunal changes based on the 29 major radiolarian taxa demonstrated that the surface and deep water conditions in the Bering Sea were related to the orbital and millennial-scale climatic variations known as glacial-interglacial and Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles, respectively. During interstadial periods of the D-O cycles, the assemblage was characterized by increases in the high-latitude coastal species Rhizoplegma boreale and the upper-intermediate water species Cycladophora davisiana, while the sea-ice related species Actinomma boreale and A. leptodermum and many deep-water species such as Dictyophimus crisiae and D. hirundo tended to be reduced. This trend was more apparent in two laminated intervals at 15-13.5 and 11.5-11 ka, which were correlated with well-known ice-sheet collapse events that occurred during the last deglaciation: melt-water pulse (MWP)-1A and MWP-1B, respectively. The radiolarian faunal composition in these periods suggests that oceanic conditions were different from today: (1) surface water was affected by increased melt-water discharge from continental ice-sheet, occurring at the same time as an abrupt increase in atmospheric temperature, (2) upper-intermediate water (ca. 200-500 m) was well-ventilated and organic-rich, and (3) lower-intermediate water (ca. 500-1000 m) was oxygen-poor. Conversely, the sea-ice season might have been longer during stadial periods of the D-O cycles and the last glacial maximum (LGM) compared to the interstadial periods and the earliest Holocene. In these colder periods, deep-water species were very abundant, and this corresponded to increases in the oxygen isotope value of benthic foraminifera. Our findings suggest that the oxygen-rich water was present in the lower-intermediate layer resulting from intensified ventilation.
-
Yamamoto, T.; Kokubun, N.; Kikuchi, D. M.; Sato, N.; Takahashi, A.; Will, A.; Kitaysky, A. S.; Watanuki, Y.
2015-11-01
Seasonal sea-ice cover has been decreasing in the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, which might affect ecosystem dynamics and availability of food resources to marine top predators breeding in the region. In this study, we investigated the foraging responses of two seabird species, surface-foraging red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris (hereafter, RLKI) and pursuit-diving foraging thick-billed murres Uria lomvia (TBMU) to the inter-annual change in environmental conditions. Between the study years, winter ice retreated earlier and summer water temperatures were warmer in 2014 compared to those in 2013. At-sea distributions of RLKI and TBMU breeding on St. George Island, the largest seabird colony in the region, were recorded using GPS loggers, and blood samples were taken to examine their physiological condition and isotopic foraging niche in a given year. RLKI foraging occurred mostly over the oceanic basin in both years. TBMU, however, foraged mostly over the shelf, but showed a relatively higher use of the shelf break and oceanic basin in the colder year, 2013. The foraging distances from the colony peaked at 250-300 km in 2013 and, bimodally, at 150-250 and 300-350 km in 2014 for RLKI, and tended to be farther in 2013 compared to those in 2014 for TBMU. Plasma levels of corticosterone did not differ between years in RLKI, but differed in TBMU, showing higher levels of physiological stress incurred by murres during the colder year, 2013. δ13N (a proxy of trophic level of prey) did not differ between the years in either RLKI or TBMU, while δ13C (a proxy of prey origin) were lower in 2014 than in 2013 in both species, suggesting possible differences in influx of oceanic prey items into foraging areas. These results suggest that the response of ecosystem dynamics to climate variability in the southeast Bering Sea may differ between the ocean basin and continental shelf regions, which, in turn, may generate differential responses in seabirds relying on those
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — CTD and other data were collected from the Bering Sea from the ALPHA HELIX from 15 September 1985 to 22 September 1985. Data were collected by the University of...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Plankton and other data were collected using net casts in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea from NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN from 26 April 1976 to 31 May 1976. Data...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Plankton and nutrients data were collected using net and CTD casts in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean from the OSHORO MARU. Data were collected from 07 June...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) has conducted passive acoustic monitoring in the Bering, Chukchi, and Western Beaufort Seas to determine spatio-temporal...
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Miller, G.W.; Davis, R.A.; Richardson, W.J.
1991-07-01
The objectives were to determine (1) whether there are differences in behavior between the Bering/Chukchi/Beaufort and the Davis Strait/Baffin Bay populations and (2), if so, whether the differences might be attributable to the long-term cumulative effects of exposure to the presumed greater amount of human activity in the former area. Phase 1 showed that there are some differences in behavior. The Phase 2 report documents the relative amounts of human activity in the two areas in 1974-86, and evaluates whether regional differences in whale behavior and in human activities may be related. Activities considered include bowhead hunting and other subsistence activities, commercial fishing and shipping, marine seismic exploration, offshore oil exploration, and low-level aircraft flights. Bering/Beaufort bowheads were subjected to at least 3-5 times as much human activity in 1974-86. Most differences in behavior between the two stocks were better explained by environmental or biological factors than by disturbance. However, for bowheads migrating in autumn, regional differences in behavior may be related to the whaling that occurs in the Beaufort Sea in autumn
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Visual surveys for cetaceans were conducted on the eastern Bering Sea shelf along transect lines, in association with the AFSCâs echo integration trawl surveys for...
-
Grebmeier, J. M.; Cooper, L. W.; Moore, S. E.
2016-02-01
A key ecological organizing principle for the northern Bering Sea and the adjoining southern Chukchi Sea just north of Bering Strait is that the shallow, seasonally productive waters lead to strong pelagic-benthic coupling to the sea floor, with deposition of fresh chlorophyll coinciding with the spring bloom as sea ice retreats. Both in situ production and advection of upstream phytodetritus to these regions support persistent biological hotspots that connect benthic prey to upper trophic benthivores. This northern marine ecosystem is dominated by marine macroinvertebrates (e.g. clams, polychaetes, sipunculids, and amphipods) that feed on the high production deposited rapidly to the seafloor, which in turn serve as food resources for diving mammals and seabirds, such as gray whales, bearded seals, eiders, and walruses. Between St. Lawrence Island and Bering Strait and northwards into the Chukchi Sea, the persistence of seasonal sea ice has significantly declined over the past two decades, and along with warming seawater temperatures, these changes have potential ramifications to ecosystem structure. Times-series data over the last 25 years indicate that these regions have experienced a northward shift in macrofaunal composition and a decline in core benthic biomass that matches patterns of reduced sea ice, warming seawater, and changing sediment grain size that relates to varying current patterns. This presentation will discuss these data in the context of both process studies from the region and results from the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO), an international network of time series transects that is providing a framework to evaluate status and trends on a latitudinal bases in the Pacific Arctic region.
-
Nutrient regeneration and oxygen demand in Bering Sea continental shelf sediments
Rowe, Gilbert T.; Phoel, William C.
1992-04-01
Measurements of seabed oxygen demand and nutrient regeneration were made on continental shelf sediments in the southeast Bering Sea from 1 to 15 June 1981. The mean seabed oxygen demand was relatively modest (267 μM O 2 m -2 h -1), equivalent to a utilization of 60 mg organic carbon m -2 day -1. The seasonal build up of ammonium over the mid-shelf domain was generated at least in part by the bottom biota, as previously suggested ( WHITLEDGEet al., 1986 , Continental Shelf Research, 5, 109-132), but on the outer shelf nitrate replaced ammonium as the dominant inorganic nitrogen compound that was regenerated from the sediments. Comparison of oxygen consumption with the organic matter in sedimenting particulate matter (sampled with sediment traps) could imply that benthic processes were not accounting for the fate of considerable quantities of organic matter. Benthic oxygen demand rates, however, probably lag behind the input of the spring bloom to the bottom, thus extending the remineralization process out over time. Consumption by small microheterotrophs in the water column was also a likely sink, although shelf export and advective transport north were possible as well. Estimated nitrification rates in surface sediments could account for only a small fraction of the abrupt increase in nitrate observed in the water column over the shelf just prior to the spring bloom.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset is a compilation of line-transect data collected on surveys in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, and western and central Gulf of Alaska, 2001 - 2010....
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Physical, current, and other data were collected from CTD and current meters attached to FIXED PLATFORMS in the southeast Bering Sea from 05 May 1995 to 24 February...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Moored current meter data were collected from the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and North Pacific Ocean from February 16, 1994 to May 25, 2002. Data were collected by...
-
D'Sa, E. J.; Goes, J. I.; Gomes, H.; Mouw, C.
2014-06-01
The absorption and fluorescence properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) are reported for the inner shelf, slope waters and outer shelf regions of the eastern Bering Sea during the summer of 2008, when a warm, thermally stratified surface mixed layer lay over a cold pool (CDOM absorption at 355 nm (ag355) and its spectral slope (S) in conjunction with excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) revealed large variability in the characteristics of CDOM in different regions of the Bering Sea. PARAFAC analysis aided in the identification of three humic-like (components one, two and five) and two protein-like (a tyrosine-like component three, and a tryptophan-like component four) components. In the extensive shelf region, average absorption coefficients at 355 nm (ag355, m-1) and DOC concentrations (μM) were highest in the inner shelf (0.342 ± 0.11 m-1, 92.67 ± 14.60 μM) and lower in the middle (0.226 ± 0.05 m-1, 78.38 ± 10.64 μM) and outer (0.185 ± 0.05 m-1, 79.24 ± 18.01 μM) shelves, respectively. DOC concentrations, however were not significantly different, suggesting CDOM sources and sinks to be uncoupled from DOC. Mean spectral slopes S were elevated in the middle shelf (24.38 ± 2.25 μm-1) especially in the surface waters (26.87 ± 2.39 μm-1) indicating high rates of photodegradation in the highly stratified surface mixed layer, which intensified northwards in the northern middle shelf likely contributing to greater light penetration and to phytoplankton blooms at deeper depths. The fluorescent humic-like components one, two, and five were most elevated in the inner shelf most likely from riverine inputs. Along the productive "green belt" in the outer shelf/slope region, absorption and fluorescence properties indicated the presence of fresh and degraded autochthonous DOM. Near the Unimak Pass region of the Aleutian Islands, low DOC and ag355 (mean 66.99 ± 7.94 μM; 0.182 ± 0.05 m-1) and a
-
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Walsh, J.J.; Premuzic, E.T.; Gaffney, J.S.; Rowe, G.T.; Harbottle, G.; Stoenner, R.W.; Balsam, W.L.; Betzer, P.R.; Macko, S.A.
1985-01-01
A comparison is made of organic content, sedimentation rates derived from /sup 14/C and /sup 210/Pb analyses, /sup 13/C and /sup 15/N isotope ratios, amorphous silica, particle size, and calcium carbonate within sediments from slopes off the mid-Atlantic bight, the southeastern Bering Sea, and the Peru coast. These sediments are mainly marine, diatom-rich, and about one-third of the organic carbon is recent, reflecting a possible transient of shelf export in response to man's increased activities since the industrial revolution. Using a combination of sedimentation and mixing rates of carbon, the C:N ratio of sediments within the upper 50 cm, and the amount of nitrogen thought to be released from the coastal zone, independent estimates suggest a carbon loading to world slopes of approx. 0.3 to 0.5 x 10/sup 9/ tons C y/sup -1/. The Bering slope exhibits no anthropogenic transients, however, while increased carbon loading may have occurred off Peru in response to overfishing and off the mid-Atlantic bight in response to eutrophication. The generality of their results depends on which of the three systems is most representative of world slopes.
-
Frey, K. E.; Grebmeier, J. M.; Cooper, L. W.; Wood, C.; Panday, P. K.
2011-12-01
The northern Bering and Chukchi Seas in the Pacific Arctic Region (PAR) are among the most productive marine ecosystems in the world and act as important carbon sinks, particularly during May and June when seasonal sea ice-associated phytoplankton blooms occur throughout the region. Recent dramatic shifts in seasonal sea ice cover across the PAR should have profound consequences for this seasonal phytoplankton production as well as the intimately linked higher trophic levels. In order to investigate ecosystem responses to these observed recent shifts in sea ice cover, the development of a prototype Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) is now underway in the PAR. The DBO is being developed as an internationally-coordinated change detection array that allows for consistent sampling and monitoring at five spatially explicit biologically productive locations across a latitudinal gradient: (1) DBO-SLP (south of St. Lawrence Island (SLI)), (2) DBO-NBS (north of SLI), (3) DBO-SCS (southern Chukchi Sea), (4) DBO-CCS (central Chukchi Sea), and (5) DBO-BCA (Barrow Canyon Arc). Standardized measurements at many of the DBO sites were made by multiple research cruises during the 2010 and 2011 pilot years, and will be expanded with the development of the DBO in coming years. In order to provide longer-term context for the changes occurring across the PAR, we utilize multi-sensor satellite data to investigate recent trends in sea ice cover, chlorophyll biomass, and sea surface temperatures for each of the five DBO sites, as well as a sixth long-term observational site in the Bering Strait. Satellite observations show that over the past three decades, trends in sea ice cover in the PAR have been heterogeneous, with significant declines in the Chukchi Sea, slight declines in the Bering Strait region, but increases in the northern Bering Sea south of SLI. Declines in the persistence of seasonal sea ice cover in the Chukchi Sea and Bering Strait region are due to both earlier sea
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144549 includes discrete sample and profile data collected from HEALY in the Bering Sea from 2008-03-29 to 2008-05-06. These data include AMMONIUM...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144981 includes discrete sample and profile data collected from HEALY in the Bering Sea from 2008-07-03 to 2008-07-31. These data include AMMONIUM...
-
Radon-222 and radium-226 in southeastern Bering Sea shelf waters and sediment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Glover, D.M.; Reeburgh, W.S.
1987-01-01
Radon-222 and 226 Ra activities were measured in the waters and sediment of the southeastern Bering Sea shelf to evaluate the use of radon as a tracer of gas exchange, water column mixing and sediment-water exchange. Cross-shelf distributions of 222 Rn and 226 Ra are presented. Gas transfer coefficients were estimated using near-surface 222 Rn deficiency measurements. A statistically significant linear relationship between averaged wind speed and transfer coefficient was found. Vertical eddy diffusivities were evaluated by applying a one-dimensional model to near-bottom excess 222 Rn distributions; these diffusivities were compared to independently determined values. The one-dimensional model applied to the near-bottom 222 Rn data was found to be inadequate and a two-dimensional model was applied to improve the fit between model and data. Exchange across the sediment-water interface was computed from the deficiency of 222 Rn measured in sediment cores, standing crop estimates of excess 222 Rn in the water column and 222 Rn production rates of sediment surface grab samples. Biological irrigation of the sediments appeared to be the primary exchange mechanism between the sediment and water columns. Distributions in the water column showed finestructure reported previously and suggested biological removal of 226 Ra. (author)
-
Oryong 501 sinking incident in the Bering Sea-International DVI cooperation in the Asia Pacific.
Chung, Nak-Eun; Castilani, Anton; Tierra, Wilfredo E; Beh, Philip; Mahmood, Mohd Shah
2017-09-01
On December 1st, 2014, the sinking of Oryong 501 occurred in the Bering Sea off the east coast of Russia. A total of 60 crew members, including 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and 1 Russian inspector were on board out of which only seven survived. Through an international rescue operation, the dead bodies of 27 were found and the remaining 26 crew are still missing. After transferring the dead bodies to the Busan Harbor in South Korea, the operation to identify the deceased began involving DVI teams from three countries: Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines. When a deep sea fishing boat sinks, it is very difficult to obtain antemortem data of the crew who had been on board for a long time. This is especially so if the crews are multinational. Further, the accuracy of the antemortem data provided by the families may be questionable, and the provided data is often not standardized. Despite the fact that the antemortem data were received in different formats, the identification process for the bodies of the 27 crew from the Oryong sinking was quickly completed through the cooperation among the three DVI teams. This case is an excellent example of how efficiently a DVI operation can be conducted in the Asia Pacific region. Issues raised during this operation should enable even better preparation for similar events in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0163184 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MELVILLE in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean,...
-
Yamamoto, M.; Nam, S. I.; Polyak, L.; Kobayashi, D.; Suzuki, K.; Irino, T.; Shimada, K.
2017-12-01
The Bering Strait inflow (BSI) is an important element of the Arctic Ocean circulation system. We report records of the chlorite/illite ratios in three sediment cores from the northern Chukchi Sea providing insights into the long-term dynamics of the BSI during the Holocene. The BSI approximation by the chlorite/illite record, despite a considerable geographic variability, consistently shows intensified flow from the Bering Sea to the Arctic during the middle Holocene, which is attributed primarily to the effect of higher atmospheric pressure over the Aleutian Basin. The intensified BSI was associated with decrease in sea-ice concentrations and increase in marine production, as indicated by biomarker concentrations, suggesting a major influence of the BSI on sea-ice and biological conditions in the Chukchi Sea. Multi-century to millennial fluctuations, presumably controlled by solar activity, were also identified. This middle Holocene strengthening of the BSI was coeval with intense subpolar gyre circulation in the North Atlantic. We propose that the BSI is linked with the North Atlantic circulation via an atmospheric teleconnection between the Aleutian and Icelandic Lows.
-
Wilderbuer, Thomas; Stockhausen, William; Bond, Nicholas
2013-10-01
This study provides a retrospective analysis of the relationship between physical oceanography, biology and recruitment of three Eastern Bering Sea flatfish stocks: flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon), northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra), and arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) during the period 1978-2005. Stock assessment model estimates of recruitment and spawning stock size indicate that temporal patterns in productivity are consistent with decadal scale (or shorter) patterns in climate variability, which may influence marine survival during the early life history phases. Density-dependence (through spawning stock size) was statistically significant in a Ricker stock-recruit model of flatfish recruitment that included environmental terms. Wind-driven advection of northern rock sole and flathead sole larvae to favorable nursery grounds was found to coincide with years of above-average recruitment. Ocean forcing of Bristol Bay surface waters during springtime was mostly on-shelf (eastward) during the 1980s and again in the early 2000s, but was off-shelf (westerly) during the 1990s, corresponding with periods of good and poor recruitment, respectively. Finally, the Arctic Oscillation was found to be an important indicator of arrowtooth flounder productivity. Model results were applied to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) future springtime wind scenarios to predict the future impact of climate on northern rock sole productivity and indicated that a moderate future increase in recruitment might be expected because the climate trends favor on-shelf transport but that density-dependence will dampen this effect such that northern rock sole abundance will not be substantially affected by climate change.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0109932 includes chemical, meteorological, physical and underway - surface data collected from XUE LONG in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea and Bering...
-
Variability, trends, and predictability of seasonal sea ice retreat and advance in the Chukchi Sea
Serreze, Mark C.; Crawford, Alex D.; Stroeve, Julienne C.; Barrett, Andrew P.; Woodgate, Rebecca A.
2016-10-01
As assessed over the period 1979-2014, the date that sea ice retreats to the shelf break (150 m contour) of the Chukchi Sea has a linear trend of -0.7 days per year. The date of seasonal ice advance back to the shelf break has a steeper trend of about +1.5 days per year, together yielding an increase in the open water period of 80 days. Based on detrended time series, we ask how interannual variability in advance and retreat dates relate to various forcing parameters including radiation fluxes, temperature and wind (from numerical reanalyses), and the oceanic heat inflow through the Bering Strait (from in situ moorings). Of all variables considered, the retreat date is most strongly correlated (r ˜ 0.8) with the April through June Bering Strait heat inflow. After testing a suite of statistical linear models using several potential predictors, the best model for predicting the date of retreat includes only the April through June Bering Strait heat inflow, which explains 68% of retreat date variance. The best model predicting the ice advance date includes the July through September inflow and the date of retreat, explaining 67% of advance date variance. We address these relationships by discussing heat balances within the Chukchi Sea, and the hypothesis of oceanic heat transport triggering ocean heat uptake and ice-albedo feedback. Developing an operational prediction scheme for seasonal retreat and advance would require timely acquisition of Bering Strait heat inflow data. Predictability will likely always be limited by the chaotic nature of atmospheric circulation patterns.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0164210 includes Surface underway data collected from R/V Oden in the Northwest Passage, Can. Archipelago, Bering Strait, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian...
-
Sinclair, Elizabeth H; Walker, William A; Thomason, James R
2015-01-01
The ecological significance of fish and squid of the mesopelagic zone (200 m-1000 m) is evident by their pervasiveness in the diets of a broad spectrum of upper pelagic predators including other fishes and squids, seabirds and marine mammals. As diel vertical migrators, mesopelagic micronekton are recognized as an important trophic link between the deep scattering layer and upper surface waters, yet fundamental aspects of the life history and energetic contribution to the food web for most are undescribed. Here, we present newly derived regression equations for 32 species of mesopelagic fish and squid based on the relationship between body size and the size of hard parts typically used to identify prey species in predator diet studies. We describe the proximate composition and energy density of 31 species collected in the eastern Bering Sea during May 1999 and 2000. Energy values are categorized by body size as a proxy for relative age and can be cross-referenced with the derived regression equations. Data are tabularized to facilitate direct application to predator diet studies and food web models.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115003 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from JOHN V. VICKERS in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112271 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean from 2008-10-11...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112258 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean from 2002-10-11...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113609 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean from 2004-08-07...
-
Shippee, N. J.; Atkinson, D. E.; Walsh, J. E.; Partain, J.; Gottschalck, J.; Marra, J. J.
2013-12-01
Storm activity (i.e. 'storminess') and associated forecasting skill in the North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Alaska is relatively well understood on a daily to weekly scale, however, two important elements are missing from current capacity. First, there is no way to predict storm activity at the monthly to seasonal time frame. Second, storm activity is characterized in terms that best serve weather specialists, and which are often not very informative for different sectors of the public. Increasing the utility of forecasts for end users requires consultation with these groups, and can include expressing storm activity in terms of, for example, strong-wind return intervals or ship hull strength. These types of forecasts can provide valuable information for use in community planning, resource allocation, or potential risk assessment. A preliminary study of seasonal storminess predictability in the North Pacific and Alaska regions has shown that a key factor related to the annual variation of seasonal storminess is the strength of the Aleutian Low as measured using indices such as the North Pacific Index (NPI) or Aleutian Low Pressure Index (ALPI). Use of Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis to identify patterns in storminess variability indicates that the primary mode of annual variation is found to be best explained by the variation in the strength of the Aleutian Low. NPI and the first component of storm activity for the entire region are found to be are highly correlated (R = 0.83). This result is supported by the works of others such as Rodionov et al. (2007), who note the impact of the strength of the Aleutian Low on storm track and speed. Additionally, the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), along with NPI, have been shown to be highly correlated with annual variance in the seasonal storminess for the North Pacific and Alaska. Additional skill has been identified when the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is explicitly considered
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0108123 includes Surface underway, discrete sample and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0115008 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from THOMAS G. THOMPSON in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Plankton and nutrients data were collected using net and CTD casts from the Hokusei Maru in the Sea of Okhotsk, NW Pacific (limit-180), and Bering Sea from 08 March...
-
Mortality of seabirds in high-seas salmon gillnets
Ainley, D.G.; DeGange, A.R.; Jones, L.L.; Beach, R.J.
1981-01-01
Since 1952, the Japanese have operated a large salmon driftnet.fishery in the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. This fishery is divided into two components: the high-seas mothership fleet, which consists of several processing ships and their numerous, smaller catcher boats that remain at sea during the entire fishing season, and the land-based fleet, which consists of independent fishing boats that catch and store their own fish and return to Japan at more frequent intervals (Sanger 1976; Fredin et al. 2 ). A similar fishery in the North Atlantic between 1965 and 1976 was responsible for the deaths of large numbers of the thick-billed murre, Uria lomvia, and significant reductions in its breeding populations (Tull et al. 1972). Recent work in the North Pacific and Bering Sea by Sana (1978) and King et al. (1979) indicated that large numbers of seabirds are killed annually in the Japanese salmon fishery also.
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter A. Lee
2011-06-01
Full Text Available The potential impact of elevated sea surface temperature (SST and pCO2 on algal community structure and particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPp concentrations in the southeastern Bering Sea was examined using a shipboard “Ecostat” continuous culture system. The ecostat system was used to mimic the conditions projected to exist in the world's oceans by the end of this century (i.e. elevated pCO2 (750 ppm and elevated SST (ambient + 4°C. Two experiments were conducted using natural phytoplankton assemblages from the high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC central basin and from the middle domain of the southeastern continental shelf. At the HNLC site, the relative abundances of haptophytes and pelagophytes were higher and the relative abundance of diatoms lower under “greenhouse” conditions (i.e. combined 750 ppm CO2 and elevated temperature than control conditions (380 ppm CO2 and ambient temperature. This shift in algal community structure was accompanied by increases in DMSPp (2–3 fold, DMSPp:Chl a (2–3 fold and DMSP:PON (2 fold. At the continental shelf site, the changes in the relative abundances of haptophytes, pelagophytes and diatoms under “greenhouse” conditions were similar to those observed at the HNLC site, with 2.5 fold increases in DMSPp, 50–100% increases in DMSPp:Chl a and 1.8 fold increases in DMSP:PON. At both locations, changes in community structure and the DMSPp parameters were largely driven by increasing temperature. The observed changes were also consistent with the phytoplankton-DMS-albedo climate feedback mechanism proposed in the Charlson-Lovelock-Andreae-Warren (CLAW hypothesis.
-
Richar, Jonathan I.; Kruse, Gordon H.; Curchitser, Enrique; Hermann, Albert J.
2015-11-01
The eastern Bering Sea (EBS) population of Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) has exhibited high variability in recruitment to the commercially exploited stock since the late 1970s. Concurrently, apparent shifts in crab distribution have also been observed. Larval advection patterns and associated local retention offer a potential mechanism for these observations. The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) was used to simulate larval Tanner crab advection patterns over 1978-2004 based on larval hatching sites inferred from the distributions of reproductive females sampled during annual National Marine Fisheries Service trawl surveys. Connectivity among EBS subregions was examined by comparing start and end float locations after 60 days of simulated drift. High levels of retention (>50% of floats) were observed in the majority of source subregions, and contributed significantly to the total number of endpoints in each region. Patterns in advection and resultant interregional connectivity were variable, with strongest sustained connectivity occurring along shelf, within individual domains. Increased settlement potential in the outer domain and southern middle domain after 1990 is consistent with an observed geographic shift in fishery productivity. Apparent reliance of Bristol Bay on local larval retention validates recent spatial fishery management to conserve this area as a subpopulation.
-
Goldstein, Tracey; Gill, Verena A.; Tuomi, Pamela A.; Monson, Daniel H.; Burdin, Alexander; Conrad, Patricia A.; Dunn, J. Lawrence; Field, Cara L.; Johnson, Christine K.; Jessup, David A.; Bodkin, James L.; Doroff, Angela M.
2011-01-01
Northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) abundance has decreased dramatically over portions of southwest Alaska, USA, since the mid-1980s, and this stock is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In contrast, adjacent populations in south central Alaska, USA, and Russia have been stable to increasing during the same period. Sea otters bordering the area classified in the recent decline were live-captured during 2004–2006 at Bering Island, Russia, and the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, USA, to evaluate differences in general health and current exposure status to marine and terrestrial pathogens. Although body condition was lower in animals captured at Bering Island, Russia, than it was at Kodiak, USA, clinical pathology values did not reveal differences in general health between the two regions. Low prevalences of antibodies (>5%) were found in Kodiak, USA, and on Bering Island, Russia, to Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis neurona, and Leptospira interrogans. Exposure to phocine herpesvirus-1 was found in both Kodiak, USA (15.2%), and Bering Island, Russia (2.3%). Antibodies to Brucella spp. were found in 28% of the otters tested on Bering Island, Russia, compared with only 2.7% of the samples from Kodiak, USA. Prevalence of exposure to Phocine distemper virus (PDV) was 41% in Kodiak, USA, but 0% on Bering Island, Russia. Archived sera from southwest and south-central Alaska dating back to 1989 were negative for PDV, indicating exposure occurred in sea otters in Kodiak, USA, in recent years. Because PDV can be highly pathogenic in naïve and susceptible marine mammal populations, tissues should be examined to explore the contribution of this virus to otter deaths. Our results reveal an increase in exposure to pathogens in sea otters in Kodiak, Alaska, USA, since the 1990s.
-
Cook, M. S.; Miller, R.; White-Nockleby, C.; Chapman, A.; Mix, A. C.
2017-12-01
Radiocarbon estimates of the past ocean are valuable because unlike passive tracers, radiocarbon has the potential to trace both the distribution and rate of transport of water masses. Most studies using paired radiocarbon measurements on planktonic and benthic foraminifera assume that the surface reservoir age was constant at the preindustrial value, which if incorrect, can strongly bias radiocarbon reconstructions. The subarctic Pacific is ringed by volcanic arcs, and there is great potential to use tephrochronology as a stratigraphic tool in sediments from the last glacial and deglaciation, and assign calendar ages to the marine sediment without relying on calibrated planktonic radiocarbon ages. In this study, we use major and trace element analysis of volcanic glass to match tephras between radiocarbon-dated lake cores from Sanak Island in the eastern Aleutians to marine cores from Umnak Plateau in the southeast Bering Sea. There are numerous thin tephras preserved in laminated sediments from the Bolling-Allerod and early Holocene in marine cores from depths (1000-1500 m) within the modern oxygen minimum zone. We find that trace elements are crucial in distinguishing tephras from individual eruptions. Our preliminary radiocarbon measurements suggest that the benthic-atmosphere radiocarbon differences and marine surface reservoir ages in the Bolling-Allerod are similar to pre-industrial values, supporting previously published radiocarbon reconstructions from the region.
-
Export of Nitrogen From the Yukon River Basin to the Bering Sea
Dornblaser, M. M.; Striegl, R. G.
2005-12-01
The US Geological Survey measured nitrogen export from the 831,400 km2 Yukon River basin during 2001-04 as part of a five year water quality study of the Yukon River and its major tributaries. Concentrations of NO2+NO3, NH4+DON, and particulate N were measured ~6 times annually during open water and once under ice cover at three locations on the Yukon River, and on the Porcupine and Tanana Rivers. Concentration and continuous flow data were used to generate daily and annual loads of N species. NH4 concentration was generally negligible when compared to DON concentration, allowing for comparison of the relative importance of DIN vs. DON export at various watershed scales. NO2 concentration was also small compared to NO3. At Pilot Station, the last site on the Yukon before it flows into the Yukon Delta and the Bering Sea, DIN, DON, and particulate N loads averaged 19.3 × 106 kg/yr, 52.6 × 106 kg/yr, and 39.1 × 106 kg/yr, respectively. Normalized for the watershed area at Pilot Station, corresponding N yields were 1.65, 4.52, and 3.35 mmol/m2/yr. DIN yield for the Yukon at Pilot Station is substantially less than the NO3 flux reported for tropical/temperate rivers such as the Amazon, the Yangtze, and the Mississippi. DIN yield in the upper Yukon River basin is similar to that of the Mackenzie and other arctic rivers, but increases substantially downstream. This is likely due to development around Fairbanks in the Tanana River basin. When compared to other headwater basins in the upper Yukon, the Tanana basin yields about four times more DIN and two times more particulate N, while DON yields are only slightly elevated.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This Atlas contains monthly climatic charts of temperature, salinity, and oxygen at the sea surface and at standard depth levels for the Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk,...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144980 includes Surface underway data collected from NOAA Ship OSCAR DYSON in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and North Pacific Ocean from 2014-03-03...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157449 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from MIRAI in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and South...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rosana Paredes
Full Text Available We hypothesized that changes in southeastern Bering Sea foraging conditions for black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla have caused shifts in habitat use with direct implications for population trends. To test this, we compared at-sea distribution, breeding performance, and nutritional stress of kittiwakes in three years (2008-2010 at two sites in the Pribilof Islands, where the population has either declined (St. Paul or remained stable (St. George. Foraging conditions were assessed from changes in (1 bird diets, (2 the biomass and distribution of juvenile pollock (Theragra chalcogramma in 2008 and 2009, and (3 eddy kinetic energy (EKE; considered to be a proxy for oceanic prey availability. In years when biomass of juvenile pollock was low and patchily distributed in shelf regions, kittiwake diets included little or no neritic prey and a much higher occurrence of oceanic prey (e.g. myctophids. Birds from both islands foraged on the nearby shelves, or made substantially longer-distance trips overnight to the basin. Here, feeding was more nocturnal and crepuscular than on the shelf, and often occurred near anticyclonic, or inside cyclonic eddies. As expected from colony location, birds from St. Paul used neritic waters more frequently, whereas birds from St. George typically foraged in oceanic waters. Despite these distinctive foraging patterns, there were no significant differences between colonies in chick feeding rates or fledging success. High EKE in 2010 coincided with a 63% increase in use of the basin by birds from St. Paul compared with 2008 when EKE was low. Nonetheless, adult nutritional stress, which was relatively high across years at both colonies, peaked in birds from St. Paul in 2010. Diminishing food resources in nearby shelf habitats may have contributed to kittiwake population declines at St Paul, possibly driven by increased adult mortality or breeding desertion due to high foraging effort and nutritional stress.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157599 includes chemical, meteorological, physical and time series data collected from MOORING_M2_164W_57N in the Bering Sea from 2013-05-06 to...
-
A Newly Recorded Sea Cucumber (Holothuroidea: Aspidochirotida: Synallactidae from East Sea, Korea
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lee, Taekjun
2014-04-01
Full Text Available Five sea cucumbers were collected from Gisamun and Gonghyeonjin of Gangwon-do, in the East Sea, Korea from 27 December 2009 to 14 November 2012. These specimens were classified as Synallactes nozawai Mitsukuri, 1912 belonging to the family Synallactidae of order Aspidochirotida based on morphological characteristics. The family, genus and species are recorded for the first time from Korea. The distinct morphological characteristics of this species are as follows: body flexible, with thin gelatinous body wall; presence of numerous tubercles along dorsal ambulacra table of body wall consisted of three- or four-armed disk and a spire-form pillar. This species usually inhabits the deep sea and is distributed in the Northwest Pacific from northern Japan to Bering Sea.
-
Yu, Bin; Lin, H.; Wu, Z. W.; Merryfield, W. J.
2018-03-01
The Asian-Bering-North American (ABNA) teleconnection index is constructed from the normalized 500-hPa geopotential field by excluding the Pacific-North American pattern contribution. The ABNA pattern features a zonally elongated wavetrain originating from North Asia and flowing downstream across Bering Sea and Strait towards North America. The large-scale teleconnection is a year-round phenomenon that displays strong seasonality with the peak variability in winter. North American surface temperature and temperature extremes, including warm days and nights as well as cold days and nights, are significantly controlled by this teleconnection. The ABNA pattern has an equivalent barotropic structure in the troposphere and is supported by synoptic-scale eddy forcing in the upper troposphere. Its associated sea surface temperature anomalies exhibit a horseshoe-shaped structure in the North Pacific, most prominent in winter, which is driven by atmospheric circulation anomalies. The snow cover anomalies over the West Siberian plain and Central Siberian Plateau in autumn and spring and over southern Siberia in winter may act as a forcing influence on the ABNA pattern. The snow forcing influence in winter and spring can be traced back to the preceding season, which provides a predictability source for this teleconnection and for North American temperature variability. The ABNA associated energy budget is dominated by surface longwave radiation anomalies year-round, with the temperature anomalies supported by anomalous downward longwave radiation and damped by upward longwave radiation at the surface.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0117502 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN in the Bering Sea, Coastal...
-
2011-01-12
.... 101006495-0498-01] RIN 0648-BA31 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion... 13, 2010, to implement Steller sea lion protection measures to ensure that the Bering Sea and... existence of the western distinct population segment of Steller sea lions or adversely modify its designated...
-
2010-12-13
... (Steller sea lion sites). A lottery system assigned vessels to platoons that were allowed to fish inside.... 101006495-0498-01] RIN 0648-BA31 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion... sea lion protection measures to insure that the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI...
-
A Quantitative Proxy for Sea-Ice Based on Diatoms: A Cautionary Tale.
Nesterovich, A.; Caissie, B.
2016-12-01
Sea ice in the Polar Regions supports unique and productive ecosystems, but the current decline in the Arctic sea ice extent prompts questions about previous sea ice declines and the response of ice related ecosystems. Since satellite data only extend back to 1978, the study of sea ice before this time requires a proxy. Being one of the most productive, diatom-dominated regions in the world and having a wide range of sea ice concentrations, the Bering and Chukchi seas are a perfect place to find a relationship between the presence of sea ice and diatom community composition. The aim of this work is to develop a diatom-based proxy for the sea ice extent. A total of 473 species have been identified in 104 sediment samples, most of which were collected on board the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy ice breaker (2006, 2007) and the Norseman II (2008). The study also included some of the archived diatom smear slides made from sediments collected in 1969. The assemblages were compared to satellite-derived sea ice extent data averaged over the 10 years preceding the sampling. Previous studies in the Arctic and Antarctic regions demonstrated that the Generalized Additive Model (GAM) is one of the best choices for proxy construction. It has the advantage of using only several species instead of the whole assemblage, thus including only sea ice-associated species and minimizing the noise created by species responding to other environmental factors. Our GAM on three species (Connia compita, Fragilariopsis reginae-jahniae, and Neodenticula seminae) has low standard deviation, high level of explained variation, and holds under the ten-fold cross-validation; the standard residual analysis is acceptable. However, a spatial residual analysis revealed that the model consistently over predicts in the Chukchi Sea and under predicts in the Bering Sea. Including a spatial model into the GAM didn't improve the situation. This has led us to test other methods, including a non-parametric model
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157274 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from NATHANIEL B. PALMER in the Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of...
-
Structure-forming corals and sponges and their use as fish habitat in Bering Sea submarine canyons.
Miller, Robert J; Hocevar, John; Stone, Robert P; Fedorov, Dmitry V
2012-01-01
Continental margins are dynamic, heterogeneous settings that can include canyons, seamounts, and banks. Two of the largest canyons in the world, Zhemchug and Pribilof, cut into the edge of the continental shelf in the southeastern Bering Sea. Here currents and upwelling interact to produce a highly productive area, termed the Green Belt, that supports an abundance of fishes and squids as well as birds and marine mammals. We show that in some areas the floor of these canyons harbors high densities of gorgonian and pennatulacean corals and sponges, likely due to enhanced surface productivity, benthic currents and seafloor topography. Rockfishes, including the commercially important Pacific ocean perch, Sebastes alutus, were associated with corals and sponges as well as with isolated boulders. Sculpins, poachers and pleuronectid flounders were also associated with corals in Pribilof Canyon, where corals were most abundant. Fishes likely use corals and sponges as sources of vertical relief, which may harbor prey as well as provide shelter from predators. Boulders may be equivalent habitat in this regard, but are sparse in the canyons, strongly suggesting that biogenic structure is important fish habitat. Evidence of disturbance to the benthos from fishing activities was observed in these remote canyons. Bottom trawling and other benthic fishing gear has been shown to damage corals and sponges that may be very slow to recover from such disturbance. Regulation of these destructive practices is key to conservation of benthic habitats in these canyons and the ecosystem services they provide.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0081015 includes Surface underway, chemical and physical data collected from NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN in the Bering Sea, Channel Islands National...
-
Ager, T.A.
2003-01-01
Pollen analysis of a sediment core from Zagoskin Lake on St. Michael Island, northeast Bering Sea, provides a history of vegetation and climate for the central Bering land bridge and adjacent western Alaska for the past ???30,000 14C yr B.P. During the late middle Wisconsin interstadial (???30,000-26,000 14C yr B.P.) vegetation was dominated by graminoid-herb tundra with willows (Salix) and minor dwarf birch (Betula nana) and Ericales. During the late Wisconsin glacial interval (26,000-15,000 14C yr B.P.) vegetation was graminoid-herb tundra with willows, but with fewer dwarf birch and Ericales, and more herb types associated with dry habitats and disturbed soils. Grasses (Poaceae) dominated during the peak of this glacial interval. Graminoid-herb tundra suggests that central Beringia had a cold, arid climate from ???30,000 to 15,000 14C yr B.P. Between 15,000 and 13,000 14C yr B.P., birch shrub-Ericales-sedge-moss tundra began to spread rapidly across the land bridge and Alaska. This major vegetation change suggests moister, warmer summer climates and deeper winter snows. A brief invasion of Populus (poplar, aspen) occurred ca. 11,000-9500 14C yr B.P., overlapping with the Younger Dryas interval of dry, cooler(?) climate. During the latest Wisconsin to middle Holocene the Bering land bridge was flooded by rising seas. Alder shrubs (Alnus crispa) colonized the St. Michael Island area ca. 8000 14C yr B.P. Boreal forests dominated by spruce (Picea) spread from interior Alaska into the eastern Norton Sound area in middle Holocene time, but have not spread as far west as St. Michael Island. ?? 2003 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea. Data was collected from Ship ALPHA HELIX cruise Aleutian...
-
Murata, K.; Tobo, Y.; Taketani, F.; Miyakawa, T.; Kanaya, Y.
2017-12-01
Measurement of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) was performed using aerosol samples collected during a cruise of R/V Mirai across the western North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean from August to October, 2016. We used the National Institute of Polar Research Cryogenic Refrigerator Applied to Freezing Test (NIPR-CRAFT) device to examine the immersion freezing efficiency of the collected aerosols in the temperature range of -25°C to 0°C and measured the number concentration of atmospheric INPs. The INP concentrations varied over about three orders of magnitude during the cruise. Over the Arctic Ocean (i.e., >70°N), the INPs were simulations, extremely high concentrations of INPs during the returning leg would be attributed to transport of smoke from fires in Siberia. Different INP concentrations during the cruise indicates that INPs in marine air can vary dramatically in response to long-range transport of continental aerosols, such as smoke, in addition to local emissions from the sea surface. The observed concentrations of INPs were reasonably well expressed by power law fits with the number concentration of fluorescent biological aerosol particles simultaneously measured with a Waveband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS-4) during the cruise, which suggests that biological aerosol particles may play a role in determining INP populations in the marine air of this case.
-
The distribution of seabirds and fish in relation to ocean currents in the southeastern Chukchi Sea
Piatt, John F.; Wells, John L.; MacCharles, Andrea; Fadely, Brian S.; Montevecchi, W.A.; Gaston, A.J.
1991-01-01
In late August 1988, we studied the distribution of seabirds in the southeastern Chukchi Sea, particularly in waters near a major seabird colony at Cape Thompson. Foraging areas were characterized using hydrographic data obtained from hydroacoustic surveys for fish. Murres (Uria spp.) and Black-legged Kitttiwakes Rissa tridactyla breeding at Cape Thompson fed mostly on Arctic cod, which are known from previous studies to be the most abundant pelagic fish in the region. Our hydroacoustic surveys revealed that pelagic fish were distributed widely, but densities were estimated to be low (e.g., 0.1-10 g∙m-3) throughout the study area and a few schools were recorded. Large feeding flocks of murres and kittiwakes were observed over fish schools with densities estimated to exceed 15 g∙m-3. Fish densities were higher in shallow Alaska Coastal Current waters than offshore in Bering Sea waters, and most piscivorous seabirds foraged in coastal waters. Poor kittiwake breeding success and a low frequency of fish in murre and kittiwake stomachs in late August suggested that fish densities were marginal for sustaining breeding seabirds at that time. Planktivorous Least Auklets Aethia pusilla and Parakeet Auklets Cyclorrhynchus psittacula foraged almost exclusively in Bering Sea waters. Short-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris and Tufted Puffins Fratercula cirrhata foraged in transitional waters at the front between Coastal and Bering Sea currents.
-
Surge of a Complex Glacier System - The Current Surge of the Bering-Bagley Glacier System, Alaska
Herzfeld, U. C.; McDonald, B.; Trantow, T.; Hale, G.; Stachura, M.; Weltman, A.; Sears, T.
2013-12-01
Understanding fast glacier flow and glacial accelerations is important for understanding changes in the cryosphere and ultimately in sea level. Surge-type glaciers are one of four types of fast-flowing glaciers --- the other three being continuously fast-flowing glaciers, fjord glaciers and ice streams --- and the one that has seen the least amount of research. The Bering-Bagley Glacier System, Alaska, the largest glacier system in North America, surged in 2011 and 2012. Velocities decreased towards the end of 2011, while the surge kinematics continued to expand. A new surge phase started in summer and fall 2012. In this paper, we report results from airborne observations collected in September 2011, June/July and September/October 2012 and in 2013. Airborne observations include simultaneously collected laser altimeter data, videographic data, GPS data and photographic data and are complemented by satellite data analysis. Methods range from classic interpretation of imagery to analysis and classification of laser altimeter data and connectionist (neural-net) geostatistical classification of concurrent airborne imagery. Results focus on the characteristics of surge progression in a large and complex glacier system (as opposed to a small glacier with relatively simple geometry). We evaluate changes in surface elevations including mass transfer and sudden drawdowns, crevasse types, accelerations and changes in the supra-glacial and englacial hydrologic system. Supraglacial water in Bering Glacier during Surge, July 2012 Airborne laser altimeter profile across major rift in central Bering Glacier, Sept 2011
-
The Deglacial to Holocene Paleoceanography of Bering Strait: Results From the SWERUS-C3 Program
Jakobsson, M.; Anderson, L. G.; Backman, J.; Barrientos, N.; Björk, G. M.; Coxall, H.; Cronin, T. M.; De Boer, A. M.; Gemery, L.; Jerram, K.; Johansson, C.; Kirchner, N.; Mayer, L. A.; Mörth, C. M.; Nilsson, J.; Noormets, R. R. N. N.; O'Regan, M.; Pearce, C.; Semiletov, I. P.; Stranne, C.
2017-12-01
The climate-carbon-cryosphere (C3) interactions in the East Siberian Arctic Ocean and related ocean, river and land areas of the Arctic have been the focus for the SWERUS-C3 Program (Swedish - Russian - US Arctic Ocean Investigation of Climate-Cryosphere-Carbon Interactions). This multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary program was carried out on a two-leg 90-day long expedition in 2014 with Swedish icebreaker Oden. One component of the expedition consisted of geophysical mapping and coring of Herald Canyon, located on the Chukchi Sea shelf north of the Bering Strait in the western Arctic Ocean. Herald Canyon is strategically placed to capture the history of the Pacific-Arctic Ocean connection and related changes in Arctic Ocean paleoceanography. Here we present a summary of key results from analyses of the marine geophysical mapping data and cores collected from Herald Canyon on the shelf and slope that proved to be particularly well suited for paleoceanographic reconstruction. For example, we provide a new age constraint of 11 cal ka BP on sediments from the uppermost slope for the initial flooding of the Bering Land Bridge and reestablishment of the Pacific-Arctic Ocean connection following the last glaciation. This age corresponds to meltwater pulse 1b (MWP1b) known as a post-Younger Dryas warming in many sea level and paleoclimate records. In addition, high late Holocene sedimentation rates that range between about 100 and 300 cm kyr-1, in Herald Canyon permitted paleoceanographic reconstructions of ocean circulation and sea ice cover at centennial scales throughout the late Holocene. Evidence suggests varying influence from inflowing Pacific water into the western Arctic Ocean including some evidence for quasi-cyclic variability in several paleoceanographic parameters, e.g. micropaleontological assemblages, isotope geochemistry and sediment physical properties.
-
AFSC/RACE/MACE: Results of 2012 Chukchi Sea Acoustic/Trawl Survey
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — We conducted acoustic-trawl (AT) surveys of the Alaska northern Bering and Chukchi Seas during ice-free periods with a focus on Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), a key...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0109901 includes Surface underway data collected from Marcus G. Langseth in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Caribbean Sea, Cordell Bank...
-
Structure-forming corals and sponges and their use as fish habitat in Bering Sea submarine canyons.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Robert J Miller
Full Text Available Continental margins are dynamic, heterogeneous settings that can include canyons, seamounts, and banks. Two of the largest canyons in the world, Zhemchug and Pribilof, cut into the edge of the continental shelf in the southeastern Bering Sea. Here currents and upwelling interact to produce a highly productive area, termed the Green Belt, that supports an abundance of fishes and squids as well as birds and marine mammals. We show that in some areas the floor of these canyons harbors high densities of gorgonian and pennatulacean corals and sponges, likely due to enhanced surface productivity, benthic currents and seafloor topography. Rockfishes, including the commercially important Pacific ocean perch, Sebastes alutus, were associated with corals and sponges as well as with isolated boulders. Sculpins, poachers and pleuronectid flounders were also associated with corals in Pribilof Canyon, where corals were most abundant. Fishes likely use corals and sponges as sources of vertical relief, which may harbor prey as well as provide shelter from predators. Boulders may be equivalent habitat in this regard, but are sparse in the canyons, strongly suggesting that biogenic structure is important fish habitat. Evidence of disturbance to the benthos from fishing activities was observed in these remote canyons. Bottom trawling and other benthic fishing gear has been shown to damage corals and sponges that may be very slow to recover from such disturbance. Regulation of these destructive practices is key to conservation of benthic habitats in these canyons and the ecosystem services they provide.
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yasuda, Saki; Akagi, Tasuku; Naraoka, Hiroshi; Kitajima, Fumio; Takahashi, Kozo
2016-01-01
The carbon isotope ratios of organic carbon in settling particles collected in the highly-diatom-productive Bering Sea were determined. Wet decomposition was employed to oxidize relatively fresh organic matter. The amount of unoxidised organic carbon in the residue following wet decomposition was negligible. The δ 13 C of organic carbon in the settling particles showed a clear relationship against SiO 2 /CaCO 3 ratio of settling particles: approximately -26‰ and -19‰ at lower and higher SiO 2 /CaCO 3 ratios, respectively. The δ 13 C values were largely interpreted in terms of mixing of two major plankton sources. Both δ 13 C and compositional data can be explained consistently only by assuming that more than 98% of diatomaceous organic matter decays and that organic matter derived from carbonate-shelled plankton may remain much less remineralized. A greater amount of diatom-derived organic matter is discovered to be trapped with the increase of SiO 2 /CaCO 3 ratio of the settling particles. The ratio of organic carbon to inorganic carbon, known as the rain ratio, therefore, tends to increase proportionally with the SiO 2 /CaCO 3 ratio under an extremely diatom-productive condition. (author)
-
Flow Patterns in the Eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010-2015
Stabeno, Phyllis; Kachel, Nancy; Ladd, Carol; Woodgate, Rebecca
2018-02-01
From 2010 to 2015, moorings were deployed on the northern Chukchi Sea at nine sites. Deployment duration varied from 5 years at a site off Icy Cape to 1 year at a site north of Hanna Shoal. In addition, 39 satellite-tracked drifters (drogue depth 25-30 m) were deployed in the region during 2012-2015. The goals of this manuscript are to describe currents in the Chukchi Sea and their relationship to ice and winds. The north-south pressure gradient results in, on average, a northward flow over the Chukchi shelf, which is modified by local winds. The volume transport near Icy Cape (˜0.4 Sv) was ˜40% of flow through Bering Strait and varied seasonally, accounting for >50% of summer and ˜20% of winter transport in Bering Strait. Current direction was strongly influenced by bathymetry, with northward flow through the Central Channel and eastward flow south of Hanna Shoal. The latter joined the coastal flow exiting the shelf via Barrow Canyon. Drifter trajectories indicated the transit from Bering Strait to the mouth of Barrow Canyon took ˜90 days during the ice-free season. Most (˜70%) of the drifters turned westward at the mouth of Barrow Canyon and continued westward in the Chukchi Slope Current. This slope flow was largely confined to the upper 300 m, and although it existed year-round, it was strongest in spring and summer. Drifter trajectories indicated that the Chukchi Slope Current extends as far west as the mouth of Herald Canyon. The remaining ˜30% of the drifters turned eastward or were intercepted by sea ice.
-
Halfar, J.; Steffen, H.; Kronz, A.; Steneck, R. S.; Adey, W.; Lebednik, P. A.
2009-05-01
We present the first continuous high-resolution record of Mg/Ca variations within an encrusting coralline red alga of the species Clathromorphum nereostratum from Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands. Mg/Ca ratios of individual growth increments were analyzed by measuring a single point electron microprobe transect yielding a resolution of 15 samples/year on average, generating a continuous record from 1830 to 1967 of algal Mg/Ca variations. Results show that Mg/Ca ratios in the high-Mg calcite skeleton display pronounced annual cyclicity and archive late spring to late fall sea surface temperature (SST) corresponding to the main season of algal growth. Mg/Ca values correlate well to local SST (ERSSTJun-Nov, 1902-1967; r = 0.73 for 5-year mean), as well as to an air temperature record from the same region. Our data correlate well to a shorter Mg/Ca record from a second site, corroborating the ability of the alga to reliably record regional environmental signals. In addition, Mg/Ca ratios relate well to a 29-year stable oxygen isotope time series measured on the same sample, which provides additional support for the use of Mg as a paleotemperature proxy in coralline red algae, that is, unlike stable oxygen isotopes, not influenced by salinity fluctuations. High spatial correlation to large-scale SST variability in the North Pacific is observed, with patterns of strongest correlation following the direction of major oceanographic features (i.e., the signature of the Alaska Current and the Alaskan Stream), which play a key role in the exchange of water masses between the North Pacific and the Bering Sea through Aleutian Island passages. The time series further displays significant teleconnections with the signature of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the northeast Pacific and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0083189 includes chemical, physical and underway - surface data collected from NATHANIEL B. PALMER in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea,...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0083197 includes chemical, physical and underway - surface data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of...
-
50 CFR Table 4 to Part 679 - Steller Sea Lion Protection Areas Pollock Fisheries Restrictions
2010-10-01
....05 N 150°15.40 W 10 Seal Rocks (Kenai) Gulf of Alaska 59°31.20 N 149°37.50 W 10 Chiswell Islands Gulf..., NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE... Sea 60°37.00 N 173°00.00 W 20 St. Paul I./Sea Lion Rock Bering Sea 57°06.00 N 170°17.50 W 3 St. Paul I...
-
Divoky, G.J.; Douglas, David C.; Stenhouse, I. J.
2016-01-01
Mandt's black guillemot (Cepphus grylle mandtii) is one of the few seabirds associated in all seasons with Arctic sea ice, a habitat that is changing rapidly. Recent decreases in summer ice have reduced breeding success and colony size of this species in Arctic Alaska. Little is known about the species' movements and distribution during the nine month non-breeding period (September–May), when changes in sea ice extent and composition are also occurring and predicted to continue. To examine bird movements and the seasonal role of sea ice to non-breeding Mandt's black guillemots, we deployed and recovered (n = 45) geolocators on individuals at a breeding colony in Arctic Alaska during 2011–2015. Black guillemots moved north to the marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas immediately after breeding, moved south to the Bering Sea during freeze-up in December, and wintered in the Bering Sea January–April. Most birds occupied the MIZ in regions averaging 30–60% sea ice concentration, with little seasonal variation. Birds regularly roosted on ice in all seasons averaging 5 h d−1, primarily at night. By using the MIZ, with its roosting opportunities and associated prey, black guillemots can remain in the Arctic during winter when littoral waters are completely covered by ice.
-
Pliocene palaeoceanography of the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas.
Matthiessen, Jens; Knies, Jochen; Vogt, Christoph; Stein, Ruediger
2009-01-13
The Pliocene is important in the geological evolution of the high northern latitudes. It marks the transition from restricted local- to extensive regional-scale glaciations on the circum-Arctic continents between 3.6 and 2.4Ma. Since the Arctic Ocean is an almost land-locked basin, tectonic activity and sea-level fluctuations controlled the geometry of ocean gateways and continental drainage systems, and exerted a major influence on the formation of continental ice sheets, the distribution of river run-off, and the circulation and water mass characteristics in the Arctic Ocean. The effect of a water mass exchange restricted to the Bering and Fram Straits on the oceanography is unknown, but modelling experiments suggest that this must have influenced the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Cold conditions associated with perennial sea-ice cover might have prevailed in the central Arctic Ocean throughout the Pliocene, whereas colder periods alternated with warmer seasonally ice-free periods in the marginal areas. The most pronounced oceanographic change occurred in the Mid-Pliocene when the circulation through the Bering Strait reversed and low-salinity waters increasingly flowed from the North Pacific into the Arctic Ocean. The excess freshwater supply might have facilitated sea-ice formation and contributed to a decrease in the Atlantic overturning circulation.
-
Talbot, Sandra L.; Sage, Kevin; Rearick, Jolene; Fowler, Megan C.; Muñiz-Salazar, Raquel; Baibak, Bethany; Wyllie-Echeverria, Sandy; Cabello-Pasini, Alehandro; Ward, David H.
2016-01-01
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) populations occupying coastal waters of Alaska are separated by a peninsula and island archipelago into two Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). From populations in both LMEs, we characterize genetic diversity, population structure, and polarity in gene flow using nuclear microsatellite fragment and chloroplast and nuclear sequence data. An inverse relationship between genetic diversity and latitude was observed (heterozygosity: R2 = 0.738, P < 0.001; allelic richness: R2 = 0.327, P = 0.047), as was significant genetic partitioning across most sampling sites (θ = 0.302, P < 0.0001). Variance in allele frequency was significantly partitioned by region only in cases when a population geographically in the Gulf of Alaska LME (Kinzarof Lagoon) was instead included with populations in the Eastern Bering Sea LME (θp = 0.128–0.172; P < 0.003), suggesting gene flow between the two LMEs in this region. Gene flow among locales was rarely symmetrical, with notable exceptions generally following net coastal ocean current direction. Genetic data failed to support recent proposals that multiple Zostera species (i.e. Z. japonica and Z. angustifolia) are codistributed with Z. marina in Alaska. Comparative analyses also failed to support the hypothesis that eelgrass populations in the North Atlantic derived from eelgrass retained in northeastern Pacific Last Glacial Maximum refugia. These data suggest northeastern Pacific populations are derived from populations expanding northward from temperate populations following climate amelioration at the terminus of the last Pleistocene glaciation.
-
Talbot, Sandra L.; Sage, Kevin; Rearick, Jolene; Fowler, Megan C.; Muñiz-Salazar, Raquel; Baibak, Bethany; Wyllie-Echeverria, Sandy; Cabello-Pasini, Alehandro; Ward, David H.
2016-01-01
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) populations occupying coastal waters of Alaska are separated by a peninsula and island archipelago into two Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). From populations in both LMEs, we characterize genetic diversity, population structure, and polarity in gene flow using nuclear microsatellite fragment and chloroplast and nuclear sequence data. An inverse relationship between genetic diversity and latitude was observed (heterozygosity: R2 = 0.738, P < 0.001; allelic richness: R2 = 0.327, P = 0.047), as was significant genetic partitioning across most sampling sites (θ = 0.302, P < 0.0001). Variance in allele frequency was significantly partitioned by region only in cases when a population geographically in the Gulf of Alaska LME (Kinzarof Lagoon) was instead included with populations in the Eastern Bering Sea LME (θp = 0.128–0.172; P < 0.003), suggesting gene flow between the two LMEs in this region. Gene flow among locales was rarely symmetrical, with notable exceptions generally following net coastal ocean current direction. Genetic data failed to support recent proposals that multiple Zostera species (i.e. Z. japonica and Z. angustifolia) are codistributed with Z. marina in Alaska. Comparative analyses also failed to support the hypothesis that eelgrass populations in the North Atlantic derived from eelgrass retained in northeastern Pacific Last Glacial Maximum refugia. These data suggest northeastern Pacific populations are derived from populations expanding northward from temperate populations following climate amelioration at the terminus of the last Pleistocene glaciation.
-
Diomede Islands, Bering Straight
2008-01-01
The Diomede Islands consisting of the western island Big Diomede (also known as Imaqliq, Nunarbuk or Ratmanov Island), and the eastern island Little Diomede (also known as Krusenstern Island or Inaliq), are two rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska. The islands are separated by an international border and the International Date Line which is approximately 1.5 km from each island; you can look from Alaska into tomorrow in Russia. At the closest land approach between the United States, which controls Little Diomede, and Russia, which controls Big Diomede, they are 3 km apart. Little Diomede Island constitutes the Alaskan City of Diomede, while Big Diomede Island is Russia's easternmost point. The first European to reach the islands was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. The text of the 1867 treaty finalizing the sale of Alaska uses the islands to designate the border between the two nations. The image was acquired July 8, 2000, covers an area of 13.5 x 10.8 km, and is located at 65.8 degrees north latitude, 169 degrees west longitude. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
-
The value of ethnography in times of change: The story of Emmonak
Fienup-Riordan, Ann; Brown, Caroline; Braem, Nicole M.
2013-10-01
This paper considers the connections between the social science components of two major multidisciplinary research projects recently carried out in the Eastern Bering Sea: The Bering Ecosystem Study Program (BEST) and the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (BSIERP). Although the primary concern of the larger Integrated Bering Sea Project was oceanographic, a significant effort was made to understand the impacts of changes in the Eastern Bering Sea on coastal communities. We describe our complementary research in Emmonak in order to put the local and traditional knowledge (LTK) survey and interview data gathered during the BSIERP study into ethnographic and historical context to show how important time depth is in the interpretation of LTK. Taking examples from salmon fishing, seal harvesting, and local understandings of place, we argue that a comprehensive ethnographic approach, including both LTK and cultural history, is essential in understanding contemporary Bering Sea coastal communities.
-
Highly variable Pliocene sea surface conditions in the Norwegian Sea
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P. E. Bachem
2017-09-01
Full Text Available The Pliocene was a time of global warmth with small sporadic glaciations, which transitioned towards the larger-scale Pleistocene glacial–interglacial variability. Here, we present high-resolution records of sea surface temperature (SST and ice-rafted debris (IRD in the Norwegian Sea from 5.32 to 3.14 Ma, providing evidence that the Pliocene surface conditions of the Norwegian Sea underwent a series of transitions in response to orbital forcing and gateway changes. Average SSTs are 2 °C above the regional Holocene mean, with notable variability on millennial to orbital timescales. Both gradual changes and threshold effects are proposed for the progression of regional climate towards the Late Pliocene intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Cooling from 4.5 to 4.3 Ma may be linked to the onset of poleward flow through the Bering Strait. This cooling was further intensified by a period of cool summers due to weak obliquity forcing. A 7 °C warming of the Norwegian Sea at 4.0 Ma suggests a major increase in northward heat transport from the North Atlantic, leading to an enhanced zonal SST gradient in the Nordic Seas, which may be linked to the expansion of sea ice in the Arctic and Nordic Seas. A warm Norwegian Sea and enhanced zonal temperature gradient between 4.0 and 3.6 Ma may have been a priming factor for increased glaciation around the Nordic Seas due to enhanced evaporation and precipitation at high northern latitudes.
-
Ortiz, Ivonne; Aydin, Kerim; Hermann, Albert J.; Gibson, Georgina A.; Punt, André E.; Wiese, Francis K.; Eisner, Lisa B.; Ferm, Nissa; Buckley, Troy W.; Moffitt, Elizabeth A.; Ianelli, James N.; Murphy, James; Dalton, Michael; Cheng, Wei; Wang, Muyin; Hedstrom, Kate; Bond, Nicholas A.; Curchitser, Enrique N.; Boyd, Charlotte
2016-12-01
We combined field data and the output from a climate-to-fish coupled biophysical model to calculate weekly climatologies and 1971-2009 time series of physical and biological drivers for 16 distinct regions of the eastern Bering Sea shelf and slope. We focus on spatial trends and physical-biological interactions as a framework to compare model output to localized or season-specific observations. Data on pollock (≥8 cm) diet were used to evaluate energy flows and zooplankton dynamics predicted by the model. Model validation shows good agreement to sea-ice cover albeit with a one month delay in ice retreat. Likewise, the timing of spring phytoplankton blooms in the model were delayed approximately one month in the south and extend further into summer, but the relative timing between the spring and fall bloom peaks was consistent with observations. Ice-related primary producers may shift the timing of the spring bloom maximum biomass earlier in years when sea ice was still present after mid-March in the southern regions. Including the effects of explicit, dynamic fish predation on zooplankton in the model shifts the seasonal spring peak and distribution of zooplankton later in the year relative to simulations with implicit predation dependent only on zooplankton biomass and temperature; the former capturing the dynamic demand on zooplankton prey by fish. Pollock diets based on stomach samples collected in late fall and winter from 1982-2013 show overwintering euphausiids and small pollock as key prey items in the outer and southern Bering Sea shelf; a characteristic not currently present in the model. The model captured two large-scale gradients, supported by field data, characterizing the overall dynamics: 1) inshore to off-shelf physical and biological differences with a gradient in inter-annual variability from higher frequency inshore to lower frequency offshore; and 2) latitudinal gradients in the timing of events. The combined effects of length of day
-
Alaska Phocid Argos Telemetry Archive (2004-2013)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Polar Ecosystems Program conducts research and monitoring on phocid seals in the East Bering Sea, West Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Beaufort Sea, and Chukchi Sea...
-
Pleuthner, Rachel L.; Shaw, C. Tracy; Schatz, Megan J.; Lessard, Evelyn J.; Harvey, H. Rodger
2016-12-01
Two extended pulsed feeding experiments, following the spring bloom period, investigated lipid retention in the prominent Bering Sea euphausiid (krill) Thysanoessa raschii. These experiments occurred during late spring and early summer of 2010. Concurrent taxonomic analysis of the natural algal community allowed prey type to be linked to lipid composition of the natural communities. In late spring, experimental periods of feeding followed by starvation showed an overall decrease in total lipid for T. raschii. In early summer, no consistent trend was observed for total lipid with the visible presence of storage lipid in some animals. Polar lipids, as phospholipids, were the dominant krill lipid class in both experiments constituting ≥88% of total lipid, and triacylglycerols reached a maximum of 5% of total lipid. The sterols cholesterol and brassicasterol+desmosterol comprised 98-99% of total sterol abundances in T. raschii throughout both experiments, even after feeding periods when alternative sterols (i.e. the algal sterol 24-methylenecholesterol) accounted for up to 39% of sterols in potential food particles. Cholesterol abundance and concentration increased during both incubations, likely due to the metabolism of dietary sterols. Major fatty acids observed in krill included C14:0n, C16:0n, C16:1(n-7), C18:1(n-7), C18:1(n-9), C20:5(n-3), and C22:6(n-3) with the diatom-attributed C16:1(n-7) decreasing in abundance and concentration during starvation. Low concentrations of the dinoflagellate-derived sterol and a novel C28:8 PUFA, typically found in dinoflagellates and prymnesiophytes, indicated predation on protozooplankton in early summer when diatom abundances were low. The stability of lipid distributions over periods of starvation and intermittent feeding suggest that fatty acid and sterol biomarkers present in this polar euphausiid principally reflect long-term diet history rather than short-term feeding episodes.
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
K. Sugie
2013-10-01
Full Text Available Little is known concerning the effect of CO2 on phytoplankton ecophysiological processes under nutrient and trace element-limited conditions, because most CO2 manipulation experiments have been conducted under elements-replete conditions. To investigate the effects of CO2 and iron availability on phytoplankton ecophysiology, we conducted an experiment in September 2009 using a phytoplankton community in the iron limited, high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC region of the Bering Sea basin . Carbonate chemistry was controlled by the bubbling of the several levels of CO2 concentration (180, 380, 600, and 1000 ppm controlled air, and two iron conditions were established, one with and one without the addition of inorganic iron. We demonstrated that in the iron-limited control conditions, the specific growth rate and the maximum photochemical quantum efficiency (Fv/Fm of photosystem (PS II decreased with increasing CO2 levels, suggesting a further decrease in iron bioavailability under the high-CO2 conditions. In addition, biogenic silica to particulate nitrogen and biogenic silica to particulate organic carbon ratios increased from 2.65 to 3.75 and 0.39 to 0.50, respectively, with an increase in the CO2 level in the iron-limited controls. By contrast, the specific growth rate, Fv/Fm values and elemental compositions in the iron-added treatments did not change in response to the CO2 variations, indicating that the addition of iron canceled out the effect of the modulation of iron bioavailability due to the change in carbonate chemistry. Our results suggest that high-CO2 conditions can alter the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients through decreasing iron bioavailability in the iron-limited HNLC regions in the future.
-
Walrus areas of use in the Chukchi Sea during sparse sea ice cover
Jay, Chadwick V.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Kochnev, Anatoly A.
2012-01-01
The Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens feeds on benthic invertebrates on the continental shelf of the Chukchi and Bering Seas and rests on sea ice between foraging trips. With climate warming, ice-free periods in the Chukchi Sea have increased and are projected to increase further in frequency and duration. We radio-tracked walruses to estimate areas of walrus foraging and occupancy in the Chukchi Sea from June to November of 2008 to 2011, years when sea ice was sparse over the continental shelf in comparison to historical records. The earlier and more extensive sea ice retreat in June to September, and delayed freeze-up of sea ice in October to November, created conditions for walruses to arrive earlier and stay later in the Chukchi Sea than in the past. The lack of sea ice over the continental shelf from September to October caused walruses to forage in nearshore areas instead of offshore areas as in the past. Walruses did not frequent the deep waters of the Arctic Basin when sea ice retreated off the shelf. Walruses foraged in most areas they occupied, and areas of concentrated foraging generally corresponded to regions of high benthic biomass, such as in the northeastern (Hanna Shoal) and southwestern Chukchi Sea. A notable exception was the occurrence of concentrated foraging in a nearshore area of northwestern Alaska that is apparently depauperate in walrus prey. With increasing sea ice loss, it is likely that walruses will increase their use of coastal haul-outs and nearshore foraging areas, with consequences to the population that are yet to be understood.
-
Haney, J. Christopher
1991-01-01
Systematic ship-board surveys were used to simultaneously record seabird abundances and resolve coarse-scale (3 to 10 km) horizontal and fine-scale (1 to 10 m) vertical variability in water-column structure and bathymetry for portions of the coastal zone in Anadyr Strait near western St. Lawrence Island, northern Bering Sea, Alaska, during August and September 1987. Three plankton-feeding alcids, parakeet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula), crested (Aethia cristatella) and least (A. pusilla) auklets, each exhibited distinct associations for different pycnocline characteristics. Least auklets were more abundant in mixed water, but they also occurred within stratified water where the pycnocline and upper-mixed layer were shallow (≤8 m) and thin (≤10 m), respectively. Low body mass (85 g), high buoyancy, and relatively poor diving ability may have restricted this auklet to areas where water-column strata nearly intersected the surface, or to areas from which strata were absent altogether due to strong vertical mixing. Parakeet and crested auklets, which are larger-bodied (ca. 260 g) planktivores with presumably greater diving ability, were more abundant in stratified water, and both species exhibited less specific affinities for water-column characteristic at intermediate and shallow levels. All three auklets avoided locations with strong pycnocline gradients (≤0.22σtm−1), a crude index of the strong, subsurface shear in water velocities characteristic of this region. Auklet distributions in Anadyr Strait were consistent with: (1) strata accessibility, as estimated from relationships between body mass and relative diving ability, (2) possible avoidance of strong subsurface water motions, and (3) habits and distributions of plankton prey. In contrast, largebodied (>450 g) alcids [i.e., common (Uria aalge) and thick-billed (U. lomvia) murres, pigeon guillemots (Cephus columba), tufted (Fratercula cirrhata), and horned (F. corniculata) puffins feeding on fish or
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157049 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea,...
-
Environmental variability facilitates coexistence within an alcid community at sea
Haney, J. Christopher; Schauer, Amy E.S.
1994-01-01
We examined coexistence at sea among 7 taxa of diving, wing-propelled seabirds (Alcidae) in the genera Aethia, Uria, Cepphus, and Fratercula. Species abundances were measured simultaneously with a suite of environmental factors in the northern Bering Sea, Alaska, USA; data from 260 adjacent and non-adjacent sites occupied by alcids foraging offshore near breeding colonies were then subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). We used PCA to group redundant environmental descriptors, to identify orthogonal axes for constructing a multi-dimensional niche, and to differentiate species associations within niche dimensions from species associations among niche dimensions. Decomposition of the correlation matrix for 22 environmental and 7 taxonomic variables with PCA gave 14 components (10 environmental and 4 species interactions) that retained 90% of the original available variance. Alcid abundances (all species) were most strongly correlated with axes representing tidal stage, a time-area interaction (due to sampling layout), water masses, and a temporal or intra-seasonal trend partially associated with weather changes. Axes representing tidal stage, 2 gradients in macro-habitat (Anadyr and Bering Shelf Water masses), the micro-habitat of the sea surface, and an air-sea interaction were most important for detecting differences among species within niche dimensions. Contrary to assumptions of competition, none of 4 compound variables describing primarily species-interactions gave strong evidence for negative associations between alcid taxa sharing similar body sizes and feeding requirements. This exploratory analysis supports the view that alcids may segregate along environmental gradients at sea. But in this community, segregation was unrelated to foraging distance from colonies, in part because foraging 'substrate' was highly variable in structure, location, and area1 extent. We contend that coexistence within this seabird group is facilitated via expanded niche
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0112355 includes biological, chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MIRAI in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0117677 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MELVILLE in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Bering Sea, Gulf of...
-
Tsutsui, Hideto; Takahashi, Kozo; Asahi, Hirofumi; Jordan, Richard W.; Nishida, Shiro; Nishiwaki, Niichi; Yamamoto, Sumito
2016-03-01
Coccolithophore fluxes at two sediment trap stations, Station AB in the Bering Sea and Station SA in the subarctic Pacific Ocean, were studied over a nineteen-year (August 1990-July 2009) interval. Two major species, Coccolithus pelagicus and Emiliania huxleyi, occur at both stations, with Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Umbilicosphaera sibogae, Braarudosphaera bigelowii, and Syracosphaera spp. as minor components. The mean coccolithophore fluxes at Stations AB and SA increased from 28.9×106 m2 d-1 and 61.9×106 m2 d-1 in 1990-1999 to 54.4×106 m2 d-1 and 130.2×106 m2 d-1 in 2002-2009, respectively. Furthermore, in late 1999 to early 2000, there was a significant shift in the most dominant species from E. huxleyi to C. pelagicus. High abundances of E. huxleyi correspond to the positive mode of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), while those of C. pelagicus respond to the PDO negative mode and are related to water temperature changes at huxleyi. At both stations the mean seawater temperature in the top 45 m from August to October increased ca. 1 °C with linear recurrence from 1990 to 2008. The coccosphere fluxes after Year 2000 at Stations AB and SA, and the shift in species dominance, may have been influenced by this warming.
-
Hauser, Donna D W; Laidre, Kristin L; Stafford, Kathleen M; Stern, Harry L; Suydam, Robert S; Richard, Pierre R
2017-06-01
Migrations are often influenced by seasonal environmental gradients that are increasingly being altered by climate change. The consequences of rapid changes in Arctic sea ice have the potential to affect migrations of a number of marine species whose timing is temporally matched to seasonal sea ice cover. This topic has not been investigated for Pacific Arctic beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) that follow matrilineally maintained autumn migrations in the waters around Alaska and Russia. For the sympatric Eastern Chukchi Sea ('Chukchi') and Eastern Beaufort Sea ('Beaufort') beluga populations, we examined changes in autumn migration timing as related to delayed regional sea ice freeze-up since the 1990s, using two independent data sources (satellite telemetry data and passive acoustics) for both populations. We compared dates of migration between 'early' (1993-2002) and 'late' (2004-2012) tagging periods. During the late tagging period, Chukchi belugas had significantly delayed migrations (by 2 to >4 weeks, depending on location) from the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Spatial analyses also revealed that departure from Beaufort Sea foraging regions by Chukchi whales was postponed in the late period. Chukchi beluga autumn migration timing occurred significantly later as regional sea ice freeze-up timing became later in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering seas. In contrast, Beaufort belugas did not shift migration timing between periods, nor was migration timing related to freeze-up timing, other than for southward migration at the Bering Strait. Passive acoustic data from 2008 to 2014 provided independent and supplementary support for delayed migration from the Beaufort Sea (4 day yr -1 ) by Chukchi belugas. Here, we report the first phenological study examining beluga whale migrations within the context of their rapidly transforming Pacific Arctic ecosystem, suggesting flexible responses that may enable their persistence yet also complicate predictions of how
-
Sheffield Guy, L.; Wiggins, H. V.; Schreck, M. B.; Metcalf, V. K.
2017-12-01
The Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) provides Alaskan Native subsistence walrus hunters and Bering Strait coastal communities with weekly reports on spring sea ice and weather conditions to promote hunter safety, food security, and preservation of cultural heritage. These reports integrate scientific and Indigenous knowledge into a co-produced tool that is used by both local and scientific communities. SIWO is a team effort led by the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS, with funding from NSF Arctic Sciences Section), with the Eskimo Walrus Commission, National Weather Service - Alaska Sea Ice Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks - International Arctic Research Center, and local observers. For each weekly outlook, the National Weather Service provides location-specific weather and sea ice forecasts and regional satellite imagery. Local observations of sea ice, weather, and hunting conditions are provided by observers from five Alaskan communities in the Bering Strait region: Wales, Shishmaref, Nome, Gambell, and Savoonga. These observations typically include a written description of conditions accompanied by photographs of sea ice or subsistence activities. Outlooks are easily accessible and provide a platform for sharing of knowledge among hunters in neighboring communities. The opportunity to contribute is open, and Indigenous language and terms are encouraged. These observations from local hunters and community members also provide a valuable tool for validation of weather forecasts, satellite products, and other information for scientists. This presentation will discuss the process, products, and mutually beneficial outcomes of the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook.
-
Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Piatt, John F.; García-Reyes, Marisol; Zador, Stephani; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Romano, Marc; Renner, Heather
2017-01-01
Seabirds are thought to be reliable, real-time indicators of forage fish availability and the climatic and biotic factors affecting pelagic food webs in marine ecosystems. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that temporal trends and interannual variability in seabird indicators reflect simultaneously occurring bottom-up (climatic) and competitor (pink salmon) forcing of food webs. To test this hypothesis, we derived multivariate seabird indicators for the Bering Sea–Aleutian Island (BSAI) ecosystem and related them to physical and biological conditions known to affect pelagic food webs in the ecosystem. We examined covariance in the breeding biology of congeneric pelagic gulls (kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla and R. brevirostris) andauks (murres Uria aalge and U. lomvia), all of whichare abundant and well-studiedinthe BSAI. At the large ecosystem scale, kittiwake and murre breeding success and phenology (hatch dates) covaried among congeners, so data could be combined using multivariate techniques, but patterns of responsedifferedsubstantially betweenthe genera.Whiledata fromall sites (n = 5)inthe ecosystemcould be combined, the south eastern Bering Sea shelf colonies (St. George, St. Paul, and Cape Peirce) provided the strongest loadings on indicators, and hence had the strongest influence on modes of variability. The kittiwake breeding success mode of variability, dominated by biennial variation, was significantly related to both climatic factors and potential competitor interactions. The murre indicator mode was interannual and only weakly related to the climatic factors measured. The kittiwake phenology indicator mode of variability showed multi-year periods (“stanzas”) of late or early breeding, while the murre phenology indicator showed a trend towards earlier timing. Ocean climate relationships with the kittiwake breeding success indicator suggestthat early-season (winter–spring) environmental conditions and the abundance of pink salmon affect the
-
Denali Ice Core Record of North Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures and Marine Primary Productivity
Polashenski, D.; Osterberg, E. C.; Kreutz, K. J.; Winski, D.; Wake, C. P.; Ferris, D. G.; Introne, D.; Campbell, S. W.
2016-12-01
Chemical analyses of precipitation preserved in glacial ice cores provide a unique opportunity to study changes in atmospheric circulation patterns and ocean surface conditions through time. In this study, we aim to investigate changes in both the physical and biological parameters of the north-central Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea over the twentieth century using the deuterium excess (d-excess) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) records from the Mt. Hunter ice cores drilled in Denali National Park, Alaska. These parallel, 208 m-long ice cores were drilled to bedrock during the 2013 field season on the Mt. Hunter plateau (63° N, 151° W, 3,900 m above sea level) by a collaborative research team consisting of members from Dartmouth College and the Universities of Maine and New Hampshire. The cores were sampled on a continuous melter system at Dartmouth College and analyzed for the concentrations major ions (Dionex IC) and trace metals (Element2 ICPMS), and for stable water isotope ratios (Picarro). The depth-age scale has been accurately dated to 400 AD using annual layer counting of several chemical species and further validated using known historical volcanic eruptions and the Cesium-137 spike associated with nuclear weapons testing in 1963. We use HYSPLIT back trajectory modeling to identify likely source areas of moisture and aerosol MSA being transported to the core site. Satellite imagery allows for a direct comparison between chlorophyll a concentrations in these source areas and MSA concentrations in the core record. Preliminary analysis of chlorophyll a and MSA concentrations, both derived almost exclusively from marine biota, suggest that the Mt. Hunter ice cores reflect changes in North Pacific and Bering Sea marine primary productivity. Analysis of the water isotope and MSA data in conjunction with climate reanalysis products shows significant correlations (psea surface temperatures in the Bering Sea and North Central Pacific. These findings, coupled with
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144350 includes Surface underway data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of SE Alaska, Gulf of...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144338 includes Surface underway data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of SE Alaska and North...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144345 includes Surface underway data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of SE Alaska, Gulf of...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144346 includes Surface underway data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea and Northwest Passage from 2013-08-06 to...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144530 includes Surface underway data collected from HEALY in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of SE Alaska, Gulf of Alaska...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0144305 includes Surface underway data collected from Marcus G. Langseth in the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Hawaiian...
-
Early Pliocene onset of modern Nordic Seas circulation related to ocean gateway changes.
De Schepper, Stijn; Schreck, Michael; Beck, Kristina Marie; Matthiessen, Jens; Fahl, Kirsten; Mangerud, Gunn
2015-10-28
The globally warm climate of the early Pliocene gradually cooled from 4 million years ago, synchronous with decreasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. In contrast, palaeoceanographic records indicate that the Nordic Seas cooled during the earliest Pliocene, before global cooling. However, a lack of knowledge regarding the precise timing of Nordic Seas cooling has limited our understanding of the governing mechanisms. Here, using marine palynology, we show that cooling in the Nordic Seas was coincident with the first trans-Arctic migration of cool-water Pacific mollusks around 4.5 million years ago, and followed by the development of a modern-like Nordic Seas surface circulation. Nordic Seas cooling precedes global cooling by 500,000 years; as such, we propose that reconfiguration of the Bering Strait and Central American Seaway triggered the development of a modern circulation in the Nordic Seas, which is essential for North Atlantic Deep Water formation and a precursor for more widespread Greenland glaciation in the late Pliocene.
-
Saruwatari, K.; Satoh, M.; Harada, N.; Suzuki, I.; Shiraiwa, Y.
2015-11-01
Strains of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (Haptophyta) collected from the subarctic North Pacific and Arctic Oceans during the R/V MIRAI cruise in 2010 (MR10-05) were established as clone cultures and have been maintained in the laboratory at 15 °C and 32 ‰ salinity. To study the physiological responses of coccolith formation to changes in temperature and salinity, growth experiments and morphometric investigations were performed on two strains of MR57N isolated from the northern Bering Sea (56°58' N, 167°11' W) and MR70N at the Chukchi Sea (69°99' N, 168° W). This is the first report of a detailed morphometric and morphological investigation of Arctic Ocean coccolithophore strains. The specific growth rates at the logarithmic growth phases in both strains markedly increased as temperature was elevated from 5 to 20 °C, although coccolith productivity (the percentage of calcified cells) was similar at 10-20 % at all temperatures. On the other hand, the specific growth rate of strain MR70N was affected less by changes in salinity in the range 26-35 ‰, but the proportion of calcified cells decreased at high and low salinities. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, coccolith morphotypes can be categorized into Type B/C on the basis of their biometrical parameters, such as length of the distal shield (LDS), length of the inner central area (LICA), and the thickness of distal shield elements. The central area elements of coccoliths varied from grilled type to closed type when temperature was increased or salinity was decreased, and coccolith size decreased simultaneously. Coccolithophore cell size also decreased with increasing temperature, although the variation in cell size was slightly greater at the lower salinity level. This indicates that subarctic and arctic coccolithophore strains can survive in a wide range of seawater temperatures and at lower salinities due to their marked morphometric adaptation ability. Because all
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mendenhall, V.M.
1991-04-01
In recent years, although descriptive studies have continued, the emphasis on population monitoring of seabirds has increased. Commercial uses of the Continental Shelf of the Bering and Chukchi Seas, including oil and gas development, subsurface placer mining, and commercial fishing, carry the potential for adverse pressures on seabird populations. Populations and productivity of seabirds were monitored in 1989 at three Bering Sea colonies: St. George, Cape Peirce, and Bluff. Murres and black-legged kittiwakes were monitored at all colonies to facilitate intercolony comparisons. These species were selected because they are relatively easy to study, numerous, sensitive to potential impacts of development, and widely distributed. Red legged kittiwakes also were monitored at St. George because of concern for the world status of the species. Methods were standardized among the three colonies to facilitate comparisons among colonies and years. Observations of productivity began at the time nests were established and continued until most young had fledged. Kittiwake nests and murre breeding sites used for estimation of productivity were mapped on photographs or sketches and the fate of each was recorded
-
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Moore, S.E.; Clarke, J.T.
1991-06-01
In keeping with the National Environmental Policy Act (1969), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973), the OCS Lands Act Amendments (1978) established a management policy that included studies in OCS lease sale areas to ascertain potential environmental impacts of oil and gas development on OCS marine coastal environments. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is the agency responsible for these studies and for the leasing of submerged Federal lands. The report summarizes the 1990 investigations of the distribution, abundance, migration, behavior and habitat relationships of endangered whales in the Alaskan Chukchi and western Beaufort Seas (hereafter, study area); 1990 was the second of a three year (1989-91) study. The Bering Sea stock of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) was the principal species studied, with incidental sightings of all other marine mammals routinely recorded. The 1990 season was compromised by circumstances that restricted the availability of the survey aircraft (Grumman Goose, model G21G) to the period 26 October - 7 November; opportunistic surveys were flown in the study area from 3-25 October. In 1990, there were 14 sightings of 19 bowheads from 9-29 October; 5 whales, including 2 calves, were seen north of the study area. One gray whale, 110 belukhas and 53 polar bears were also seen. Over nine survey seasons (1982-90), there were 240 sightings of 520 bowhead whales and 148 sightings of 398 gray whales
-
Bering-Okhotsk Seal Survey (BOSS) On-Effort Flight Tracks (2012-13)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Aerial surveys were flown during the spring of 2012 and 2013 as part of the Bering Okhotsk Seal Surveys (BOSS) project to gather data on distribution and abundance...
-
Saruwatari, Kazuko; Satoh, Manami; Harada, Naomi; Suzuki, Iwane; Shiraiwa, Yoshihiro
2016-05-01
Strains of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (Haptophyta) collected from the subarctic North Pacific and Arctic oceans in 2010 were established as clone cultures and have been maintained in the laboratory at 15 °C and 32 ‰ salinity. To study the physiological responses of coccolith formation to changes in temperature and salinity, growth experiments and morphometric investigations were performed on two strains, namely MR57N isolated from the northern Bering Sea and MR70N at the Chukchi Sea. This is the first report of a detailed morphometric and morphological investigation of Arctic Ocean coccolithophore strains. The specific growth rates at the logarithmic growth phases in both strains markedly increased as temperature was elevated from 5 to 20 °C, although coccolith productivity (estimated as the percentage of calcified cells) was similar at 10-20 % at all temperatures. On the other hand, the specific growth rate of MR70N was affected less by changes in salinity in the range 26-35 ‰, but the proportion of calcified cells decreased at high and low salinities. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, coccolith morphotypes can be categorized into Type B/C on the basis of their biometrical parameters. The central area elements of coccoliths varied from thin lath type to well-calcified lath type when temperature was increased or salinity was decreased, and coccolith size decreased simultaneously. Coccolithophore cell size also decreased with increasing temperature, although the variation in cell size was slightly greater at the lower salinity level. This indicates that subarctic and arctic coccolithophore strains can survive in a wide range of seawater temperatures and at lower salinities with change in their morphology. Because all coccolith biometric parameters followed the scaling law, the decrease in coccolith size was caused simply by the reduced calcification. Taken together, our results suggest that calcification productivity may
-
Deglacial climate modulated by the storage and release of Arctic sea ice
Condron, A.; Coletti, A. J.; Bradley, R. S.
2017-12-01
Periods of abrupt climate cooling during the last deglaciation (20 - 8 kyr ago) are often attributed to glacial outburst floods slowing the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Here, we present results from a series of climate model simulations showing that the episodic break-up and mobilization of thick, perennial, Arctic sea ice during this time would have released considerable volumes of freshwater directly to the Nordic Seas, where processes regulating large-scale climate occur. Massive sea ice export events to the North Atlantic are generated whenever the transport of sea ice is enhanced, either by changes in atmospheric circulation, rising sea level submerging the Bering land bridge, or glacial outburst floods draining into the Arctic Ocean from the Mackenzie River. We find that the volumes of freshwater released to the Nordic Seas are similar to, or larger than, those estimated to have come from terrestrial outburst floods, including the discharge at the onset of the Younger Dryas. Our results provide the first evidence that the storage and release of Arctic sea ice helped drive deglacial climate change by modulating the strength of the AMOC.
-
Ruthrauff, D.R.; Tibbitts, T.L.; Gill, R.E.; Dementyev, M.N.
2012-01-01
The Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) is endemic to the Bering Sea region and unique among shorebirds in the North Pacific for wintering at high latitudes. The nominate subspecies, the Pribilof Rock Sandpiper (C. p. ptilocnemis), breeds on four isolated islands in the Bering Sea and appears to
-
Cuzzone, Joshua K.; Clark, Peter U.; Carlson, Anders E.; Ullman, David J.; Rinterknecht, Vincent R.; Milne, Glenn A.; Lunkka, Juha-Pekka; Wohlfarth, Barbara; Marcott, Shaun A.; Caffee, Marc
2016-08-01
The last deglaciation of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) from ∼ 21, 000 to 13,000 yr ago is well-constrained by several hundred 10Be and 14C ages. The subsequent retreat history, however, is established primarily from minimum-limiting 14C ages and incomplete Baltic-Sea varve records, leaving a substantial fraction of final SIS retreat history poorly constrained. Here we develop a high-resolution chronology for the final deglaciation of the SIS based on 79 10Be cosmogenic exposure dates sampled along three transects spanning southern to northern Sweden and Finland. Combining this new chronology with existing 10Be ages on deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum shows that rates of SIS margin retreat were strongly influenced by deglacial millennial-scale climate variability and its effect on surface mass balance, with regional modulation of retreat associated with dynamical controls. Ice-volume estimates constrained by our new chronology suggest that the SIS contributed ∼ 8 m sea-level equivalent to global sea-level rise between ∼14.5 ka and 10 ka. Final deglaciation was largely complete by ∼10.5 ka, with highest rates of sea-level rise occurring during the Bølling-Allerød, a 50% decrease during the Younger Dryas, and a rapid increase during the early Holocene. Combining our SIS volume estimates with estimated contributions from other remaining Northern Hemisphere ice sheets suggests that the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) contributed 14.4 ± 5.9 m to global sea-level rise since ∼13 ka. This new constraint supports those studies that indicate that an ice volume of 15 m or more of equivalent sea-level rise was lost from the AIS during the last deglaciation.
-
2010-09-24
... Economic Zone Off Alaska; Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery published on.... 090511911-0307-02] RIN 0648-AX89 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery; Correction AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS...
-
2012-03-09
.... 110207103-2041-02] RIN 0648-BA80 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery; Economic Data Collection; Correction AGENCY: National Marine... Management in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery; Economic Data Collection published on February 3, 2012. This...
-
75 FR 52308 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
2010-08-25
... in the Exclusive Economic Zone under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and.... 1801 et seq. (MSA). Amendment 80 to the FMP primarily allocated several Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area non-pollock trawl groundfish fisheries among fishing sectors, and facilitated the formation...
-
2011-03-01
teardrop viscous-plastic rheology (Zhang and Rothrock 2005), a mechanical redistribution function for ice ridging ( Thorndike et al. 1975; Hibler 1980...293:85–89. Thorndike A.S., Rothrock D.A., Maykut G.A., Colony R. (1975) The thickness distribution of sea ice. Journal of Geophysical Research 80
-
Late Holocene sea ice conditions in Herald Canyon, Chukchi Sea
Pearce, C.; O'Regan, M.; Rattray, J. E.; Hutchinson, D. K.; Cronin, T. M.; Gemery, L.; Barrientos, N.; Coxall, H.; Smittenberg, R.; Semiletov, I. P.; Jakobsson, M.
2017-12-01
Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has been in steady decline in recent decades and, based on satellite data, the retreat is most pronounced in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Historical observations suggest that the recent changes were unprecedented during the last 150 years, but for a longer time perspective, we rely on the geological record. For this study, we analyzed sediment samples from two piston cores from Herald Canyon in the Chukchi Sea, collected during the 2014 SWERUS-C3 Arctic Ocean Expedition. The Herald Canyon is a local depression across the Chukchi Shelf, and acts as one of the main pathways for Pacific Water to the Arctic Ocean after entering through the narrow and shallow Bering Strait. The study site lies at the modern-day seasonal sea ice minimum edge, and is thus an ideal location for the reconstruction of past sea ice variability. Both sediment cores contain late Holocene deposits characterized by high sediment accumulation rates (100-300 cm/kyr). Core 2-PC1 from the shallow canyon flank (57 m water depth) is 8 meter long and extends back to 4200 cal yrs BP, while the upper 3 meters of Core 4-PC1 from the central canyon (120 mwd) cover the last 3000 years. The chronologies of the cores are based on radiocarbon dates and the 3.6 ka Aniakchak CFE II tephra, which is used as an absolute age marker to calculate the marine radiocarbon reservoir age. Analysis of biomarkers for sea ice and surface water productivity indicate stable sea ice conditions throughout the entire late Holocene, ending with an abrupt increase of phytoplankton sterols in the very top of both sediment sequences. The shift is accompanied by a sudden increase in coarse sediments (> 125 µm) and a minor change in δ13Corg. We interpret this transition in the top sediments as a community turnover in primary producers from sea ice to open water biota. Most importantly, our results indicate that the ongoing rapid ice retreat in the Chukchi Sea of recent decades was unprecedented during the
-
What is going on up there? - The Chukchi Sea Ecosystem Mooring
Janzen, C.; McCammon, M.; Danielson, S. L.; Winsor, P.; Hopcroft, R. R.; Lalande, C.; Stafford, K.; Hauri, C.; McDonnell, A. M. P.
2016-02-01
As Arctic regions are projected to strongly reflect the impacts of a changing climate, an effort is underway to make sustained, year-round measurements of concurrent physical and biogeochemical parameters in the Arctic. Deploying highly instrumented year-round moorings in the water is no simple feat, given harsh Arctic conditions that include the presence of sea ice and deep ice keels during much of the year. Enter the late-breaking ecosystem mooring located in the northeast Chukchi Sea. This mooring complements established biophysical moorings elsewhere in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas, including those maintained by NOAA-PMEL (M8), UW-APL (Bering Strait) and JAMSTEC moorings. (southern Chukchi and Barrow Canyon). The mooring described here is located on the southern flank of Hanna Shoal and provides a multi-disciplinary approach to year-round observations within a biological hotspot. The Chukchi Ecosystem Mooring is equipped with a sensor suite aimed to monitor and document the state of ocean acidification, nutrient and carbon cycles, particles, waves, currents and physical properties, and even passive and active acoustic monitoring for zooplankton, fish, and marine mammals. Having the simultaneous interdisciplinary measurements provides data valuable to an ecosystem-based approach to research and resource management. The fully outfitted observatory is providing an unprecedented view into the mechanistic workings of the Chukchi Shelf Ecosystem. The first mooring was deployed in September 2014 and recovered in August 2015. The August 2015 deployment consisted of three moorings, each with incremental sensor packages to complete the ecosystem sensor suite. The mooring construction and instrumentation are described in detail, including introduction to the advances in sensor technologies that enable such deployments. Year one data recovery summaries and plots are provided to demonstrate the capabilities.
-
Siddon, Elizabeth Calvert; Kristiansen, Trond; Mueter, Franz J; Holsman, Kirstin K; Heintz, Ron A; Farley, Edward V
2013-01-01
Understanding mechanisms behind variability in early life survival of marine fishes through modeling efforts can improve predictive capabilities for recruitment success under changing climate conditions. Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) support the largest single-species commercial fishery in the United States and represent an ecologically important component of the Bering Sea ecosystem. Variability in walleye pollock growth and survival is structured in part by climate-driven bottom-up control of zooplankton composition. We used two modeling approaches, informed by observations, to understand the roles of prey quality, prey composition, and water temperature on juvenile walleye pollock growth: (1) a bioenergetics model that included local predator and prey energy densities, and (2) an individual-based model that included a mechanistic feeding component dependent on larval development and behavior, local prey densities and size, and physical oceanographic conditions. Prey composition in late-summer shifted from predominantly smaller copepod species in the warmer 2005 season to larger species in the cooler 2010 season, reflecting differences in zooplankton composition between years. In 2010, the main prey of juvenile walleye pollock were more abundant, had greater biomass, and higher mean energy density, resulting in better growth conditions. Moreover, spatial patterns in prey composition and water temperature lead to areas of enhanced growth, or growth 'hot spots', for juvenile walleye pollock and survival may be enhanced when fish overlap with these areas. This study provides evidence that a spatial mismatch between juvenile walleye pollock and growth 'hot spots' in 2005 contributed to poor recruitment while a higher degree of overlap in 2010 resulted in improved recruitment. Our results indicate that climate-driven changes in prey quality and composition can impact growth of juvenile walleye pollock, potentially severely affecting recruitment variability.
-
The response of the Goddard general circulation model to sea ice boundary conditions
Herman, G.; Johnson, W. T.
1979-01-01
The effect of variation in the location of Arctic sea ice boundaries on the model's mean monthly climatology was examined. When sea ice boundaries were at their maximum extent the differences resulted in the January-February climatology. Sea level pressure was higher over the Barents Sea, in the Davis Strait, and in the Sea of Okhotsk. Pressure was lower by as much as 8 mb in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the British Isles, and in the Gulf of Alaska. Pressure rises in the eastern subtropical regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific accompanied pressure falls in the Gulf of Alaska and Icelandic region. Geopotential heights at 500 mb were more than 100 gpm lower in the Bering Sea, and more than 120 gpm lower in the Icelandic region. Zonally averaged temperatures were cooler by 4 deg C below 3800 mb between 50 deg and 70 deg N with little change elsewhere. Zonally averaged geopotentials were lower by as much as 70 gpm in the mid-troposphere between 50/-70 deg N and zonal winds increased by as much as 3 m s in the mid-troposphere between 35/-50 deg N.
-
The Bering Autonomous Target Detection
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jørgensen, John Leif; Denver, Troelz; Betto, Maurizio
2003-01-01
An autonomous asteroid target detection and tracking method has been developed. The method features near omnidirectionality and focus on high speed operations and completeness of search of the near space rather than the traditional faint object search methods, employed presently at the larger...... telescopes. The method has proven robust in operation and is well suited for use onboard spacecraft. As development target for the method and the associated instrumentation the asteroid research mission Bering has been used. Onboard a spacecraft, the autonomous detection is centered around the fully...... autonomous star tracker the Advanced Stellar Compass (ASC). One feature of this instrument is that potential targets are registered directly in terms of date, right ascension, declination, and intensity, which greatly facilitates both tracking search and registering. Results from ground and inflight tests...
-
Modeled distribution and abundance of a pelagic seabird reveal trends in relation to fisheries
Renner, Martin; Parrish, Julia K.; Piatt, John F.; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Edwards, Ann E.; Hunt, George L.
2013-01-01
The northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis is one of the most visible and widespread seabirds in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. However, relatively little is known about its abundance, trends, or the factors that shape its distribution. We used a long-term pelagic dataset to model changes in fulmar at-sea distribution and abundance since the mid-1970s. We used an ensemble model, based on a weighted average of generalized additive model (GAM), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and random forest models to estimate the pelagic distribution and density of fulmars in the waters of the Aleutian Archipelago and Bering Sea. The most important predictor variables were colony effect, sea surface temperature, distribution of fisheries, location, and primary productivity. We calculated a time series from the ratio of observed to predicted values and found that fulmar at-sea abundance declined from the 1970s to the 2000s at a rate of 0.83% (± 0.39% SE) per annum. Interpolating fulmar densities on a spatial grid through time, we found that the center of fulmar distribution in the Bering Sea has shifted north, coinciding with a northward shift in fish catches and a warming ocean. Our study shows that fisheries are an important, but not the only factor, shaping fulmar distribution and abundance trends in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
-
Collaborations for Arctic Sea Ice Information and Tools
Sheffield Guy, L.; Wiggins, H. V.; Turner-Bogren, E. J.; Rich, R. H.
2017-12-01
The dramatic and rapid changes in Arctic sea ice require collaboration across boundaries, including between disciplines, sectors, institutions, and between scientists and decision-makers. This poster will highlight several projects that provide knowledge to advance the development and use of sea ice knowledge. Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO: https://www.arcus.org/search-program/siwo) - SIWO is a resource for Alaskan Native subsistence hunters and other interested stakeholders. SIWO provides weekly reports, during April-June, of sea ice conditions relevant to walrus in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi seas. Collaboration among scientists, Alaskan Native sea-ice experts, and the Eskimo Walrus Commission is fundamental to this project's success. Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN: https://www.arcus.org/sipn) - A collaborative, multi-agency-funded project focused on seasonal Arctic sea ice predictions. The goals of SIPN include: coordinate and evaluate Arctic sea ice predictions; integrate, assess, and guide observations; synthesize predictions and observations; and disseminate predictions and engage key stakeholders. The Sea Ice Outlook—a key activity of SIPN—is an open process to share and synthesize predictions of the September minimum Arctic sea ice extent and other variables. Other SIPN activities include workshops, webinars, and communications across the network. Directory of Sea Ice Experts (https://www.arcus.org/researchers) - ARCUS has undertaken a pilot project to develop a web-based directory of sea ice experts across institutions, countries, and sectors. The goal of the project is to catalyze networking between individual investigators, institutions, funding agencies, and other stakeholders interested in Arctic sea ice. Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH: https://www.arcus.org/search-program) - SEARCH is a collaborative program that advances research, synthesizes research findings, and broadly communicates the results to support
-
Icthyoplankton Assemblages and Distribution in the Chukchi Sea 2012-2013
Busby, M. S.; Duffy-Anderson, J. T.; Mier, K. L.; Tabisola, H. M.
2016-02-01
There is significant interest in the effects of climate change on the Pacific arctic ecosystem, and in determining relationships between physical drivers and biological response. Ichthyoplankton surveys have become an integral component of ecosystem studies in the Pacific arctic over the past decade. In summer 2012 and 2013, large scale fisheries oceanographic surveys that included ichthyoplankton tows were conducted in the northern Bering and eastern Chukchi Seas as part of the Arctic Ecosystem Integrated Survey (Arctic Eis). Spatial and temporal analyses of fish larvae collected determined that yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) was the most abundant larval fish caught followed by Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida). Cluster analyses showed L. aspera to be the dominant component of a southern, nearshore assemblage strongly associated with the northward moving Alaska Coastal Current (ACC) characterized by relatively warm-low salinity water. Boreogadus saida larvae dominated a more northern assemblage in close proximity to the ice edge and were more abundant in 2013 than 2012. Collections of pelagic fish eggs determined locations of spawning centers for L. aspera nearshore of the Seward Peninsula and Bering flounder (Hippoglossoides robustus) to the west and offshore from Point Barrow in 2012. Similar but less pronounced trends in egg distribution were observed in 2013. Larvae of the forage fish species capelin (Mallotus villosus) and Arctic sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) were important assemblage components in 2012 and 2013 respectively. These patterns in the distribution of eggs and larvae are similar to those observed in other studies. The influence of circulation patterns on the distributions of fish in the Chukchi Sea is being investigated and will be discussed.
-
Density-dependent changes in effective area occupied for sea-bottom-associated marine fishes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Thorson, James T.; Rindorf, Anna; Gao, Jin
2016-01-01
among taxa and regions. The average relationship is weak but significant (0.6% increase in area for a 10% increase in abundance), whereas only a small proportion of species–region combinations show a negative relationship (i.e. shrinking area when abundance increases). Approximately one...... for every 10% abundance increase) followed by Pleuronectiformes and Scorpaeniformes, and the Eastern Bering Sea shows a strong relationship between abundance and area occupied relative to other regions. We conclude that the BM explains a small but important portion of spatial dynamics for sea......The spatial distribution of marine fishes can change for many reasons, including density-dependent distributional shifts. Previous studies show mixed support for either the proportional-density model (PDM; no relationship between abundance and area occupied, supported by ideal-free distribution...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from moorings deployed in Bering Strait from summer 2015 to summer 2016. Mooring deployments were funded by the NSF-Arctic Observing...
-
Yang, Weifeng; Guo, Laodong
2018-03-01
Black carbon (BC) has been recognized as a climate forcing and a major component in the global carbon budget. However, studies on BC in the Arctic Ocean remain scarce. We report here variations in the abundance, sources and burial fluxes of sedimentary soot black carbon (soot-BC) in the western Arctic Ocean. The soot-BC contents averaged 1.6 ± 0.3, 0.46 ± 0.04 and 0.56 ± 0.10 mg-C g-1 on the Mackenzie, Chukchi and Bering Shelves, respectively, accounting for 16.6%, 10.2% and 10.4% of the total organic carbon in surface sediment. Temporally, contents of soot-BC remained fairly stable before 1910, but increased rapidly after the 1970s on the Mackenzie Shelf, indicating enhanced source input related to warming. Comparable δ13C signatures of soot-BC (- 24.95‰ to - 24.57‰) to C3 plants pointed to a major biomass source of soot-BC to the Beaufort Sea. Soot-BC showed similar temporal patterns with large fluctuations in the Chukchi/Bering shelf regions, implying the same source terms for soot-BC in these areas. Two events with elevated soot-BC corresponded to a simultaneous increase in biomass combustion and fossil fuel (coal and oil) consumption in Asia. The similar temporal variability in sedimentary soot-BC between the Arctic shelves and Asian lakes and the comparable δ13C values manifested that anthropogenic emission from East Asia was an important source of soot-BC in the western Arctic and subarctic regions. The burial fluxes of soot-BC, estimated from both 137Cs- and 210Pb-derived sedimentation rates, were 2.43 ± 0.42 g-C m-2 yr-1 on the Mackenzie Shelf, representing an efficient soot-BC sink. Soot-BC showed an increase in buried fluxes from 0.56 ± 0.02 g-C m-2 yr-1 during 1963-1986 to 0.88 ± 0.05 g-C m-2 yr-1 after 1986 on the Chukchi Shelf, and from 1.00 ± 0.18 g-C m-2 yr-1 to 2.58 ± 1.70 g-C m-2 yr-1 on the Bering Shelf, which were consistent with recent anthropogenically enhanced BC input observed especially in Asia. Overall, the three Arctic
-
Daigle, Hugh; Worthington, Lindsay L.; Gulick, Sean P. S.; Van Avendonk, Harm J. A.
2017-04-01
Pore pressures in sediments at convergent margins play an important role in driving chemical fluxes and controlling deformation styles and localization. In the Bering Trough offshore Southern Alaska, extreme sedimentation rates over the last 140 kyr as a result of glacial advance/retreats on the continental shelf have resulted in elevated pore fluid pressures in slope sediments overlying the Pamplona Zone fold and thrust belt, the accretionary wedge resulting from subduction of the Yakutat microplate beneath the North American Plate. Based on laboratory experiments and downhole logs acquired at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1421, we predict that the overpressure in the slope sediments may be as high as 92% of the lithostatic stress. Results of one-dimensional numerical modeling accounting for changes in sedimentation rate over the last 130 kyr predicted overpressures that are consistent with our estimates, suggesting that the overpressure is a direct result of the rapid sedimentation experienced on the Bering shelf and slope. Comparisons with other convergent margins indicate that such rapid sedimentation and high overpressure are anomalous in sediments overlying accretionary wedges. We hypothesize that the shallow overpressure on the Bering shelf/slope has fundamentally altered the deformation style within the Pamplona Zone by suppressing development of faults and may inhibit seismicity by focusing faulting elsewhere or causing deformation on existing faults to be aseismic. These consequences are probably long-lived as it may take several million years for the excess pressure to dissipate.
-
Surge dynamics on Bering Glacier, Alaska, in 2008–2011
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Braun
2012-11-01
Full Text Available A surge cycle of the Bering Glacier system, Alaska, is examined using observations of surface velocity obtained using synthetic aperture radar (SAR offset tracking, and elevation data obtained from the University of Alaska Fairbanks LiDAR altimetry program. After 13 yr of quiescence, the Bering Glacier system began to surge in May 2008 and had two stages of accelerated flow. During the first stage, flow accelerated progressively for at least 10 months and reached peak observed velocities of ~ 7 m d−1. The second stage likely began in 2010. By 2011 velocities exceeded 9 m d−1 or ~ 18 times quiescent velocities. Fast flow continued into July 2011. Surface morphology indicated slowing by fall 2011; however, it is not entirely clear if the surge is yet over. The quiescent phase was characterized by small-scale acceleration events that increased driving stresses up to 70%. When the surge initiated, synchronous acceleration occurred throughout much of the glacier length. Results suggest that downstream propagation of the surge is closely linked to the evolution of the driving stress during the surge, because driving stress appears to be tied to the amount of resistive stress provided by the bed. In contrast, upstream acceleration and upstream surge propagation is not dependent on driving stress evolution.
-
The Bering Target Tracking Instrumentation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Denver, Troelz; Jørgensen, John Leif; Betto, Maurizio
2003-01-01
The key science instrument on the Bering satellite mission is a relative small telescope with an entrance aperture of 300 mm and a focal length between 500 and 1000 mm. The detection of potential targets is performed by one of the target scanning advanced stellar compasses (ASCs). This procedure...... results in a simple prioritized list of right ascension, declination, proper motion and intensity of each prospective target. The telescope itself has a dedicated ASC Camera Head Unit (CHU) mounted on the secondary mirror, largely co-aligned with the telescope. This CHU accurately determines the telescope......'s pointing direction. To achieve fast tracking over a large solid angle, the telescope pointing is achieved by means of a folding mirror in the optical pathway. When a prospective target approaches the telescope FOV, the ASC on the secondary will guide the folding mirror into position such that the target...
-
Arctic Sea Ice Variability and Trends, 1979-2006
Parkinson, Claire L.; Cavalieri, Donald J.
2008-01-01
Analysis of Arctic sea ice extents derived from satellite passive-microwave data for the 28 years, 1979-2006 yields an overall negative trend of -45,100 +/- 4,600 km2/yr (-3.7 +/- 0.4%/decade) in the yearly averages, with negative ice-extent trends also occurring for each of the four seasons and each of the 12 months. For the yearly averages the largest decreases occur in the Kara and Barents Seas and the Arctic Ocean, with linear least squares slopes of -10,600 +/- 2,800 km2/yr (-7.4 +/- 2.0%/decade) and -10,100 +/- 2,200 km2/yr (-1.5 +/- 0.3%/decade), respectively, followed by Baffin Bay/Labrador Sea, with a slope of -8,000 +/- 2,000 km2/yr) -9.0 +/- 2.3%/decade), the Greenland Sea, with a slope of -7,000 +/- 1,400 km2/yr (-9.3 +/- 1.9%/decade), and Hudson Bay, with a slope of -4,500 +/- 900 km2/yr (-5.3 +/- 1.1%/decade). These are all statistically significant decreases at a 99% confidence level. The Seas of Okhotsk and Japan also have a statistically significant ice decrease, although at a 95% confidence level, and the three remaining regions, the Bering Sea, Canadian Archipelago, and Gulf of St. Lawrence, have negative slopes that are not statistically significant. The 28-year trends in ice areas for the Northern Hemisphere total are also statistically significant and negative in each season, each month, and for the yearly averages.
-
Beaufort Sea planning area oil and gas Lease Sale 170. Final environmental impact statement
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1998-02-01
This environmental impact statement (EIS) assesses Lease Sale 170 proposed for August 1998 and comprised of 363 lease blocks in the Beaufort Sea planning area. The analysis addresses the significant environmental and socioeconomic concerns identified in the scoping process. Scoping consisted of input from State and Federal agencies, the petroleum industry, Native groups, environmental and public interest groups, and concerned individuals. The potential effects expected from the interaction between environmental resources and OCS-related activities were determined with respect to available scientific information and traditional knowledge. This EIS incorporates information from the Final EIS for the Beaufort Sea OCS Sale 144 (USD01, MMS, 1996a)
-
Impacts of projected sea ice changes on trans-Arctic navigation
Stephenson, S. R.; Smith, L. C.
2012-12-01
Reduced Arctic sea ice continues to be a palpable signal of global change. Record lows in September sea ice extent from 2007 - 2011 have fueled speculation that trans-Arctic navigation routes may become physically viable in the 21st century. General Circulation Models project a nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in summer by mid-century; however, how reduced sea ice will realistically impact navigation is not well understood. Using the ATAM (Arctic Transportation Accessibility Model) we present simulations of 21st-century trans-Arctic voyages as a function of climatic (ice) conditions and vessel class. Simulations are based on sea ice projections for three climatic forcing scenarios (RCP 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5 W/m^2) representing present-day and mid-century conditions, assuming Polar Class 6 (PC6) and open-water vessels (OW) with medium and no ice-breaking capability, respectively. Optimal least-cost routes (minimizing travel time while avoiding ice impassible to a given vessel class) between the North Atlantic and the Bering Strait were calculated for summer months of each time window. While Arctic navigation depends on other factors besides sea ice including economics, infrastructure, bathymetry, current, and weather, these projections should be useful for strategic planning by governments, regulatory and environmental agencies, and the global maritime industry to assess potential changes in the spatial and temporal ranges of Arctic marine operations.
-
Latitudinal variation of phytoplankton communities in the western Arctic Ocean
Min Joo, Hyoung; Lee, Sang H.; Won Jung, Seung; Dahms, Hans-Uwe; Hwan Lee, Jin
2012-12-01
Recent studies have shown that photosynthetic eukaryotes are an active and often dominant component of Arctic phytoplankton assemblages. In order to explore this notion at a large scale, samples were collected to investigate the community structure and biovolume of phytoplankton along a transect in the western Arctic Ocean. The transect included 37 stations at the surface and subsurface chlorophyll a maximum (SCM) depths in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Canadian Basin from July 19 to September 5, 2008. Phytoplankton (>2 μm) were identified and counted. A cluster analysis of abundance and biovolume data revealed different assemblages over the shelf, slope, and basin regions. Phytoplankton communities were composed of 71 taxa representing Dinophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, Chrysophyceae, Dictyochophyceae, Prasinophyceae, and Prymnesiophyceae. The most abundant species were of pico- to nano-size at the surface and SCM depths at most stations. Nano- and pico-sized phytoplankton appeared to be dominant in the Bering Sea, whereas diatoms and nano-sized plankton provided the majority of taxon diversity in the Bering Strait and in the Chukchi Sea. From the western Bering Sea to the Bering Strait, the abundance, biovolume, and species diversity of phytoplankton provided a marked latitudinal gradient towards the central Arctic. Although pico- and nano-sized phytoplankton contributed most to cell abundance, their chlorophyll a contents and biovolumes were less than those of the larger micro-sized taxa. Micro-sized phytoplankton contributed most to the biovolume in the largely ice-free waters of the western Arctic Ocean during summer 2008.
-
Progression of the 2011-2012 Surge of Bering Glacier and Bagley Ice Field, Alaska
Herzfeld, U. C.; McDonald, B.; Stachura, M.; Hale, R.; Trantow, T.; Weltman, A.; Chen, P.
2012-12-01
Bering Glacier, Alaska, started a surge in late spring 2011. The surge reached the ice front in May 2011 and extended into Bagley Ice Field by summer 2011. New surge-related crevassing was observed in July 2012. We collected aerial observations, including systematic videographic and photographic imagery, GPS data and laser altimeter data in September 2011 and in July 2012. In this talk, an analysis of surge progression and comparison to the early, mature and late stages of the 1993-1995 surge of Bering Glacier and Bagley Ice Field will be presented. A suite of approaches will be used to this end: Analysis of elevation changes based on CryoSat data, 2009 and 2010 IceBridge data and 2011 and 2012 laser altimeter data collected by our group, geostatistical classification of crevasse types based on imagery, classification of laser altimeter data and analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery (Worldview and GEOS).
-
Kaufman, Darrell S.; Brigham-Grette, Julie
Multiple periods of Late Pliocene and Pleistocene high sea level are recorded by surficial deposits along the coastal plains of northwestern Alaska. Analyses of the extent of amino acid epimerization in fossil molluscan shells from the Nome coastal plain of the northern Bering Sea coast, and from the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain of the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea coasts, allow recognition of at least five intervals of higher-than-present relative sea level. Three Late Pliocene transgressions are represented at Nome by the complex and protracted Beringian transgression, and on the Arctic Coastal Plain by the Colvillian, Bigbendian, and Fishcreekian transgressions. These were followed by a lengthy period of non-marine deposition during the Early Pleistocene when sea level did not reach above its present position. A Middle Pleistocene high-sea-level event is represented at Nome by the Anvilian transgression, and on the Arctic Coastal Plain by the Wainwrightian transgression. Anvilian deposits at the type locality are considerably younger than previously thought, perhaps as young as Oxygen-Isotope Stage 11 (˜410,000 BP). Finally, the last interglacial Pelukian transgression is represented discontinuously along the shores of northwestern Alaska. Amino acid epimerization data, together with previous paleomagnetic measurements, radiometric-age determinations, and paleontologic evidence provide geochronological constraints on the sequence of marine deposits. They form the basis of regional correlations and offer a means of evaluating the post-depositional thermal history of the high-sea-level deposits. Provisional correlations between marine units at Nome and the Artic Coastal Plain indicate that the temperature difference that separates the two sites today had existed by about 3.0 Ma. Since that time, the effective diagenetic temperature was lowered by about 3-4°C at both sites, and the mean annual temperature was lowered considerably more. This temperature decrease was
-
Recent Changes in Arctic Sea Ice Melt Onset, Freeze-Up, and Melt Season Length
Markus, Thorsten; Stroeve, Julienne C.; Miller, Jeffrey
2010-01-01
In order to explore changes and trends in the timing of Arctic sea ice melt onset and freeze-up and therefore melt season length, we developed a method that obtains this information directly from satellite passive microwave data, creating a consistent data set from 1979 through present. We furthermore distinguish between early melt (the first day of the year when melt is detected) and the first day of continuous melt. A similar distinction is made for the freeze-up. Using this method we analyze trends in melt onset and freeze-up for 10 different Arctic regions. In all regions except for the Sea of Okhotsk, which shows a very slight and statistically insignificant positive trend (O.4 days/decade), trends in melt onset are negative, i.e. towards earlier melt. The trends range from -1.0day/decade for the Bering Sea to -7.3 days/decade for the East Greenland Sea. Except for the Sea of Okhotsk all areas also show a trend towards later autumn freeze onset. The Chukchi/Beaufort Seas and Laptev/East Siberian Seas observe the strongest trends with 7 days/decade. For the entire Arctic, the melt season length has increased by about 20 days over the last 30 years. Largest trends of over 1O days/decade are seen for Hudson Bay, the East Greenland Sea the Laptev/East Siberian Seas, and the Chukchi/Beaufort Seas. Those trends are statistically significant a1 the 99% level.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from moorings deployed in Bering Strait from summer 2014 to summer 2015. Mooring deployments were funded by the NSF-Arctic Observing...
-
Comiso, Josefino C.; Cota, Glenn F.
2004-01-01
Spatially detailed satellite data of mean color, sea ice concentration, surface temperature, clouds, and wind have been analyzed to quantify and study the large scale regional and temporal variability of phytoplankton blooms in the Arctic and peripheral seas from 1998 to 2002. In the Arctic basin, phytoplankton chlorophyll displays a large symmetry with the Eastern Arctic having about fivefold higher concentrations than those of the Western Arctic. Large monthly and yearly variability is also observed in the peripheral seas with the largest blooms occurring in the Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Barents Sea during spring. There is large interannual and seasonal variability in biomass with average chlorophyll concentrations in 2002 and 2001 being higher than earlier years in spring and summer. The seasonality in the latitudinal distribution of blooms is also very different such that the North Atlantic is usually most expansive in spring while the North Pacific is more extensive in autumn. Environmental factors that influence phytoplankton growth were examined, and results show relatively high negative correlation with sea ice retreat and strong positive correlation with temperature in early spring. Plankton growth, as indicated by biomass accumulation, in the Arctic and subarctic increases up to a threshold surface temperature of about 276-277 degree K (3-4 degree C) beyond which the concentrations start to decrease suggesting an optimal temperature or nutrient depletion. The correlation with clouds is significant in some areas but negligible in other areas, while the correlations with wind speed and its components are generally weak. The effects of clouds and winds are less predictable with weekly climatologies because of unknown effects of averaging variable and intermittent physical forcing (e.g. over storm event scales with mixing and upwelling of nutrients) and the time scales of acclimation by the phytoplankton.
-
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Krason, J.; Ciesnik, M.
1987-01-01
Four major areas with inferred gas hydrates are the subject of this study. Two of these areas, the Navarin and the Norton Basins, are located within the Bering Sea shelf, whereas the remaining areas of the Atka Basin in the central Aleutian Trench system and the eastern Aleutian Trench represent a huge region of the Aleutian Trench-Arc system. All four areas are geologically diverse and complex. Particularly the structural features of the accretionary wedge north of the Aleutian Trench still remain the subjects of scientific debates. Prior to this study, suggested presence of the gas hydrates in the four areas was based on seismic evidence, i.e., presence of bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs). Although the disclosure of the BSRs is often difficult, particularly under the structural conditions of the Navarin and Norton basins, it can be concluded that the identified BSRs are mostly represented by relatively weak and discontinuous reflectors. Under thermal and pressure conditions favorable for gas hydrate formation, the relative scarcity of the BSRs can be attributed to insufficient gas supply to the potential gas hydrate zone. Hydrocarbon gas in sediment may have biogenic, thermogenic or mixed origin. In the four studied areas, basin analysis revealed limited biogenic hydrocarbon generation. The migration of the thermogenically derived gases is probably diminished considerably due to the widespread diagenetic processes in diatomaceous strata. The latter processes resulted in the formation of the diagenetic horizons. The identified gas hydrate-related BSRs seem to be located in the areas of increased biogenic methanogenesis and faults acting as the pathways for thermogenic hydrocarbons.
-
1981-06-01
I0’ writing -up of results, and synthesis of the Bering km in surface area; the Bering Sea area is on the MIZ results with incoming results from the...application to rapid Ielting . Rev. Iho trne.ali Sea sdui ri Al ).f X, N. pi I 1975 Api I 19761 li la yer lj t ’ii.,i r wNil liet.,ii fol r1 od,% ’ir e r. S
-
Elias, S.A.; Short, S.K.; Phillips, R.L.
1992-01-01
Insect fossils and pollen from late Pleistocene nonmarine peat layers were recovered from cores from the shelf region of the Chukchi Sea at depths of about 50 m below sea level. The peats date to 11,300-11,000 yr B.P. and provide a limiting age for the regional Pleistocene-Holocene marine transgression. The insect fossils are indicative of arctic coastal habitats like those of the Mackenzie Delta region (mean July temperatures = 10.6-14??C) suggesting that 11,000 yr ago the exposed Chukchi Sea shelf had a climate substantially warmer than modern coastal regions of the Alaskan north slope. The pollen spectra are consistent with the age assignment to the Birch Interval (14,000-9000 yr B.P.). The data suggest a meadow-like graminoid tundra with birch shrubs and some willow shrubs growing in sheltered areas. ?? 1992.
-
Dendrochronology and late Holocene history of Bering piedmont glacier, Alaska
Wiles, G.C.; Post, A.; Muller, E.H.; Molnia, B.F.
1999-01-01
Fluctuations of the piedmont lobe of Bering Glacier and its sublobe Steller Glacier over the past two millennia are reconstructed using 34 radiocarbon dates and tree-ring data from 16 sites across the glaciers' forelands. The general sequence of glacial activity is consistent with well-dated fluctuations of tidewater and land-terminating glaciers elsewhere along the Gulf of Alaska. Extensive forested areas along 25 km of the Bering ice margin were inundated by glacio-lacustrine and glacio-fluvial sediments during a probable ice advance shortly before 500 cal yr A.D. Regrowth of forests followed the retreating ice as early as the 7th century A.D., with frequent interruptions of tree growth due to outwash aggradation. Forests overrun by ice and buried in outwash indicate readvance about 1080 cal yr A.D. Retreat followed, with ice-free conditions maintained along the distal portions of the forefield until the early 17th century after which the ice advanced to within a few kilometers of its outer Neoglacial moraine. Ice reached this position after the mid-17th century and prior to 200 yr ago. Since the early 20th century, glacial retreat has been punctuated by periodic surges. The record from forests overrun by the nonsurging Steller Lobe shows that this western ice margin was advancing by 1250 A.D., reaching near its outer moraine after 1420 cal yr A.D. Since the late 19th century, the lobe has dominantly retreated.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Zooplankton biomass data collected in North Atlantic Ocean, Greenland Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Bering Sea from 03 Mar 1958 to 18 Jun 1964 by PINRO. Data...
-
Ecosystem variability in the offshore northeastern Chukchi Sea
Blanchard, Arny L.; Day, Robert H.; Gall, Adrian E.; Aerts, Lisanne A. M.; Delarue, Julien; Dobbins, Elizabeth L.; Hopcroft, Russell R.; Questel, Jennifer M.; Weingartner, Thomas J.; Wisdom, Sheyna S.
2017-12-01
Understanding influences of cumulative effects from multiple stressors in marine ecosystems requires an understanding of the sources for and scales of variability. A multidisciplinary ecosystem study in the offshore northeastern Chukchi Sea during 2008-2013 investigated the variability of the study area's two adjacent sub-ecosystems: a pelagic system influenced by interannual and/or seasonal temporal variation at large, oceanographic (regional) scales, and a benthic-associated system more influenced by small-scale spatial variations. Variability in zooplankton communities reflected interannual oceanographic differences in waters advected northward from the Bering Sea, whereas variation in benthic communities was associated with seafloor and bottom-water characteristics. Variations in the planktivorous seabird community were correlated with prey distributions, whereas interaction effects in ANOVA for walruses were related to declines of sea-ice. Long-term shifts in seabird distributions were also related to changes in sea-ice distributions that led to more open water. Although characteristics of the lower trophic-level animals within sub-ecosystems result from oceanographic variations and interactions with seafloor topography, distributions of apex predators were related to sea-ice as a feeding platform (walruses) or to its absence (i.e., open water) for feeding (seabirds). The stability of prey resources appears to be a key factor in mediating predator interactions with other ocean characteristics. Seabirds reliant on highly-variable zooplankton prey show long-term changes as open water increases, whereas walruses taking benthic prey in biomass hotspots respond to sea-ice changes in the short-term. A better understanding of how variability scales up from prey to predators and how prey resource stability (including how critical prey respond to environmental changes over space and time) might be altered by climate and anthropogenic stressors is essential to
-
Demersal and larval fish assemblages in the Chukchi Sea
Norcross, Brenda L.; Holladay, Brenda A.; Busby, Morgan S.; Mier, Kathryn L.
2010-01-01
A multidisciplinary research cruise was conducted in the Chukchi Sea in summer 2004 during which we investigated assemblages of small demersal fishes and ichthyoplankton and the water masses associated with these assemblages. This study establishes a baseline of 30 demersal fish and 25 ichthyoplankton taxa in US and Russian waters of the Chukchi Sea. Presence/absence of small demersal fish clustered into four assemblages: Coastal Fishes, Western Chukchi Fishes, South Central Chukchi Fishes, and North Central Chukchi Fishes. Habitats occupied by small demersal fishes were characterized by sediment type, bottom salinity, and bottom temperature. Abundance of ichthyoplankton grouped into three assemblages with geographical extent similar to that of the bottom assemblages, except that there was a single assemblage for Central Chukchi Fishes. Water-column temperature and salinity characterized ichthyoplankton habitats. Three water masses, Alaska Coastal Water, Bering Sea Water, and Winter Water, were identified from both bottom and depth-averaged water-column temperature and salinity. A fourth water mass, Resident Chukchi Water, was identified only in the bottom water. The water mass and habitat characteristics with which demersal and larval fish assemblages were associated create a baseline to measure anticipated effects of climate change that are expected to be most severe at high latitudes. Monitoring fish assemblages could be a tool for assessing the effects of climate change. Climate-induced changes in distributions of species would result in a restructuring of fish assemblages in the Chukchi Sea.
-
Thin Ice Area Extraction in the Seasonal Sea Ice Zones of the Northern Hemisphere Using Modis Data
Hayashi, K.; Naoki, K.; Cho, K.
2018-04-01
Sea ice has an important role of reflecting the solar radiation back into space. However, once the sea ice area melts, the area starts to absorb the solar radiation which accelerates the global warming. This means that the trend of global warming is likely to be enhanced in sea ice areas. In this study, the authors have developed a method to extract thin ice area using reflectance data of MODIS onboard Terra and Aqua satellites of NASA. The reflectance of thin sea ice in the visible region is rather low. Moreover, since the surface of thin sea ice is likely to be wet, the reflectance of thin sea ice in the near infrared region is much lower than that of visible region. Considering these characteristics, the authors have developed a method to extract thin sea ice areas by using the reflectance data of MODIS (NASA MYD09 product, 2017) derived from MODIS L1B. By using the scatter plots of the reflectance of Band 1 (620 nm-670 nm) and Band 2 (841 nm-876 nm)) of MODIS, equations for extracting thin ice area were derived. By using those equations, most of the thin ice areas which could be recognized from MODIS images were well extracted in the seasonal sea ice zones in the Northern Hemisphere, namely the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. For some limited areas, Landsat-8 OLI images were also used for validation.
-
The Impact of Stratospheric Circulation Extremes on Minimum Arctic Sea Ice Extent
Smith, K. L.; Polvani, L. M.; Tremblay, B.
2017-12-01
The interannual variability of summertime Arctic sea ice extent (SIE) is anti-correlated with the leading mode of extratropical atmospheric variability in preceding winter, the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Given this relationship and the need for better seasonal predictions of Arctic SIE, we here examine the role of stratospheric circulation extremes and stratosphere-troposphere coupling in linking the AO and Arctic SIE variability. We show that extremes in the stratospheric circulation during the winter season, namely stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) and strong polar vortex (SPV) events, are associated with significant anomalies in sea ice concentration in the Bering Straight and the Sea of Okhotsk in winter, the Barents Sea in spring and along the Eurasian coastline in summer in both observations and a fully-coupled, stratosphere-resolving general circulation model. The accompanying figure shows the composite mean sea ice concentration anomalies from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) for SSWs (N = 126, top row) and SPVs (N = 99, bottom row) for winter (a,d), spring (b,e) and summer (c,f). Consistent with previous work on the AO, we find that SSWs, which are followed by the negative phase of the AO at the surface, result in sea ice growth, whereas SPVs, which are followed by the positive phase of the AO at the surface, result in sea ice loss, although the dynamic and thermodynamic processes driving these sea ice anomalies in the three Arctic regions, noted above, are different. Our analysis suggests that the presence or absence of stratospheric circulation extremes in winter may play a non-trivial role in determining total September Arctic SIE when combined with other factors.
-
Hu, Aixue; Meehl, Gerald A; Han, Weiqing; Timmermann, Axel; Otto-Bliesner, Bette; Liu, Zhengyu; Washington, Warren M; Large, William; Abe-Ouchi, Ayako; Kimoto, Masahide; Lambeck, Kurt; Wu, Bingyi
2012-04-24
Abrupt climate transitions, known as Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich events, occurred frequently during the last glacial period, specifically from 80-11 thousand years before present, but were nearly absent during interglacial periods and the early stages of glacial periods, when major ice-sheets were still forming. Here we show, with a fully coupled state-of-the-art climate model, that closing the Bering Strait and preventing its throughflow between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans during the glacial period can lead to the emergence of stronger hysteresis behavior of the ocean conveyor belt circulation to create conditions that are conducive to triggering abrupt climate transitions. Hence, it is argued that even for greenhouse warming, abrupt climate transitions similar to those in the last glacial time are unlikely to occur as the Bering Strait remains open.
-
Bowhead whale body condition and links to summer sea ice and upwelling in the Beaufort Sea
George, John C.; Druckenmiller, Matthew L.; Laidre, Kristin L.; Suydam, Robert; Person, Brian
2015-08-01
We examined the response of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) body condition to summer sea ice conditions and upwelling-favorable winds. We used a long-term dataset collected from whales of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas (BCB) stock to estimate various body condition indices (BCI's) for individual whales that were harvested by Alaskan Eskimos. A series of offshore regions frequented by bowhead whales in summer were delineated and used to quantify interannual summertime environmental conditions including: (a) mean open water fraction, (b) duration of melt season, (c) date of continuous freeze-up, and (d) mean upwelling-favorable wind stress. Body condition was analyzed relative to these metrics for both the preceding summer feeding season and the previous three seasons combined. Our analysis indicates a significant increase in the long-term trend in an axillary girth-based body condition index (BCIG) over the study period (1989-2011). The increase in BCIG is likely associated with the trend in overall reduction of sea ice, including increased duration of open water, changes in upwelling potential (wind stress), and possibly higher primary production in the Pacific Arctic marine ecosystem favoring water-column invertebrates. We found strong significant positive correlations between BCIG and late summer open water fraction in the Beaufort Sea and smaller nearshore areas off the Mackenzie Delta and west of Banks Island. Additionally, BCIG was positively and significantly correlated with duration of melt season, later date of freeze-up in the Beaufort Sea, and upwelling-favorable winds on the Mackenzie shelf and west of Banks Island. A strong seasonal difference in BCI's was noted for subadult bowheads, presumably associated with summer feeding; however, yearlings were found to drop in BCI over at least the first summer after weaning. Our results indicate an overall increase in bowhead whale body condition and a positive correlation with summer sea ice loss over the
-
33 CFR 334.1330 - Bering Strait, Alaska; naval restricted area off Cape Prince of Wales.
2010-07-01
... restricted area off Cape Prince of Wales. 334.1330 Section 334.1330 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF....1330 Bering Strait, Alaska; naval restricted area off Cape Prince of Wales. (a) The area. An area 2,000 feet wide extending from a point on Cape Prince of Wales marked by a triangular cable marker located...
-
Stern, Harry; Kovacs, Kit M.; Lowry, Lloyd; Moore, Sue E.; Regehr, Eric V.; Ferguson, Steven H.; Wiig, Øystein; Boveng, Peter; Angliss, Robyn P.; Born, Erik W.; Litovka, Dennis; Quakenbush, Lori; Lydersen, Christian; Vongraven, Dag; Ugarte, Fernando
2015-01-01
Abstract Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are icons of climate change, largely because of their close association with sea ice. However, neither a circumpolar assessment of AMM status nor a standardized metric of sea ice habitat change is available. We summarized available data on abundance and trend for each AMM species and recognized subpopulation. We also examined species diversity, the extent of human use, and temporal trends in sea ice habitat for 12 regions of the Arctic by calculating the dates of spring sea ice retreat and fall sea ice advance from satellite data (1979–2013). Estimates of AMM abundance varied greatly in quality, and few studies were long enough for trend analysis. Of the AMM subpopulations, 78% (61 of 78) are legally harvested for subsistence purposes. Changes in sea ice phenology have been profound. In all regions except the Bering Sea, the duration of the summer (i.e., reduced ice) period increased by 5–10 weeks and by >20 weeks in the Barents Sea between 1979 and 2013. In light of generally poor data, the importance of human use, and forecasted environmental changes in the 21st century, we recommend the following for effective AMM conservation: maintain and improve comanagement by local, federal, and international partners; recognize spatial and temporal variability in AMM subpopulation response to climate change; implement monitoring programs with clear goals; mitigate cumulative impacts of increased human activity; and recognize the limits of current protected species legislation. PMID:25783745
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tabitha C Y Hui
Full Text Available A leading hypothesis to explain the dramatic decline of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus in western Alaska during the latter part of the 20th century is a change in prey availability due to commercial fisheries. We tested this hypothesis by exploring the relationships between sea lion population trends, fishery catches, and the prey biomass accessible to sea lions around 33 rookeries between 2000 and 2008. We focused on three commercially important species that have dominated the sea lion diet during the population decline: walleye pollock, Pacific cod and Atka mackerel. We estimated available prey biomass by removing fishery catches from predicted prey biomass distributions in the Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska; and modelled the likelihood of sea lions foraging at different distances from rookeries (accessibility using satellite telemetry locations of tracked animals. We combined this accessibility model with the prey distributions to estimate the prey biomass accessible to sea lions by rookery. For each rookery, we compared sea lion population change to accessible prey biomass. Of 304 comparisons, we found 3 statistically significant relationships, all suggesting that sea lion populations increased with increasing prey accessibility. Given that the majority of comparisons showed no significant effect, it seems unlikely that the availability of pollock, cod or Atka mackerel was limiting sea lion populations in the 2000s.
-
Sea Ice Evolution in the Pacific Arctic by Selected CMIP5 Models: the Present and the Future
Wang, M.; Yang, Q.; Overland, J. E.; Stabeno, P. J.
2016-12-01
With fast declining of sea ice cover in the Arctic, the timing of sea ice break-up and freeze-up is an urgent economic, social and scientific issue. Based on daily sea ice concentration data we assess three parameters: the dates of sea ice break-up and freeze-up and the annual sea ice duration in the Pacific Arctic. The sea ice duration is shrinking, with the largest trend during the past decade (1990-2015); this declining trend will continue based on CMIP5 model projections. The seven CMIP5 models used in current study are able to simulate all three parameters well when compared with observations. Comparisons made at eight Chukchi Sea mooring sites and the eight Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) boxes show consistent results as well. The 30-year averaged trend for annual sea ice duration is projected to be -0.68 days/year to -1.2 days/year for 2015-2044. This is equivalent 20 to 36 days reduction in the annual sea ice duration. A similar magnitude of the negative trend is also found at all eight DBO boxes. The reduction in annual sea ice duration will include both earlier break-up dates and later freeze-up date. However, models project that a later freeze-up contributes more than early break-up to the overall shortening of annual sea ice duration. Around the Bering Strait future changes are the smallest, with less than 20-days change in duration during next 30 years. Upto 60 days reduction of the sea ice duration is projected for the decade of 2030-2044 in the East Siberia, the Chukchi and the Beaufort Seas.
-
Rooper, Chris; Stone, Robert P.; Etnoyer, Peter; Conrath, Christina; Reynolds, Jennifer; Greene, H. Gary; Williams, Branwen; Salgado, Enrique; Morrison, Cheryl L.; Waller, Rhian G.; Demopoulos, Amanda W.J.
2017-01-01
Deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems are widespread throughout most of Alaska’s marine waters. In some places, such as the central and western Aleutian Islands, deep-sea coral and sponge resources can be extremely diverse and may rank among the most abundant deep-sea coral and sponge communities in the world. Many different species of fishes and invertebrates are associated with deep-sea coral and sponge communities in Alaska. Because of their biology, these benthic invertebrates are potentially impacted by climate change and ocean acidification. Deepsea coral and sponge ecosystems are also vulnerable to the effects of commercial fishing activities. Because of the size and scope of Alaska’s continental shelf and slope, the vast majority of the area has not been visually surveyed for deep-sea corals and sponges. NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) sponsored a field research program in the Alaska region between 2012–2015, referred to hereafter as the Alaska Initiative. The priorities for Alaska were derived from ongoing data needs and objectives identified by the DSCRTP, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), and Essential Fish Habitat-Environmental Impact Statement (EFH-EIS) process.This report presents the results of 15 projects conducted using DSCRTP funds from 2012-2015. Three of the projects conducted as part of the Alaska deep-sea coral and sponge initiative included dedicated at-sea cruises and fieldwork spread across multiple years. These projects were the eastern Gulf of Alaska Primnoa pacifica study, the Aleutian Islands mapping study, and the Gulf of Alaska fish productivity study. In all, there were nine separate research cruises carried out with a total of 109 at-sea days conducting research. The remaining projects either used data and samples collected by the three major fieldwork projects or were piggy-backed onto existing research programs at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC).
-
Zhong, Guangcai; Xie, Zhiyong; Cai, Minghong; Möller, Axel; Sturm, Renate; Tang, Jianhui; Zhang, Gan; He, Jianfeng; Ebinghaus, Ralf
2012-01-03
Surface seawater and marine boundary layer air samples were collected on the ice-breaker R/V Xuelong (Snow Dragon) from the East China Sea to the high Arctic (33.23-84.5° N) in July to September 2010 and have been analyzed for six current-use pesticides (CUPs): trifluralin, endosulfan, chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, dacthal, and dicofol. In all oceanic air samples, the six CUPs were detected, showing highest level (>100 pg/m(3)) in the Sea of Japan. Gaseous CUPs basically decreased from East Asia (between 36.6 and 45.1° N) toward Bering and Chukchi Seas. The dissolved CUPs in ocean water ranged widely from air. Trifluralin in seawater was relatively high in the Sea of Japan (35.2° N) and evenly distributed between 36.9 and 72.5° N, but it remained below the detection limit at the highest northern latitudes in Chukchi Sea. In contrast with other CUPs, concentrations of chlorothalonil and dacthal were more abundant in Chukchi Sea and in East Asia. The air-sea gas exchange of CUPs was generally dominated by net deposition. Latitudinal trends of fugacity ratios of α-endosulfan, chlorothalonil, and dacthal showed stronger deposition of these compounds in East Asia than in Chukchi Sea, while trifluralin showed stronger deposition in Chukchi Sea (-455 ± 245 pg/m(2)/day) than in the North Pacific (-241 ± 158 pg/m(2)/day). Air-sea gas exchange of chlorpyrifos varied from net volatilizaiton in East Asia (<40° N) to equilibrium or net deposition in the North Pacific and the Arctic.
-
Flint, Paul L.
2013-01-01
Broad-scale multi-species declines in populations of North American sea ducks for unknown reasons is cause for management concern. Oceanic regime shifts have been associated with rapid changes in ecosystem structure of the North Pacific and Bering Sea. However, relatively little is known about potential effects of these changes in oceanic conditions on marine bird populations at broad scales. I examined changes in North American breeding populations of sea ducks from 1957 to 2011 in relation to potential oceanic regime shifts in the North Pacific in 1977, 1989, and 1998. There was strong support for population-level effects of regime shifts in 1977 and 1989, but little support for an effect of the 1998 shift. The continental-level effects of these regime shifts differed across species groups and time. Based on patterns of sea duck population dynamics associated with regime shifts, it is unclear if the mechanism of change relates to survival or reproduction. Results of this analysis support the hypothesis that population size and trends of North American sea ducks are strongly influenced by oceanic conditions. The perceived population declines appear to have halted >20 years ago, and populations have been relatively stable or increasing since that time. Given these results, we should reasonably expect dramatic changes in sea duck population status and trends with future oceanic regime shifts.
-
Chanda L. Meek; Amy Lauren Lovecraft; Martin D. Robards; Gary P. Kofinas
2008-01-01
Arctic coastal communities in the Bering Strait region of Alaska (USA) and Chukotka (Russia) share a close relationship with their natural environments that can be characterized as a social-ecological system. This system is complex, featuring changing ecosystem conditions, multiple jurisdictions, migratory animal populations, and several cultures. We argue that...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nicholas D Pyenson
Full Text Available Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus undertake long migrations, from Baja California to Alaska, to feed on seasonally productive benthos of the Bering and Chukchi seas. The invertebrates that form their primary prey are restricted to shallow water environments, but global sea-level changes during the Pleistocene eliminated or reduced this critical habitat multiple times. Because the fossil record of gray whales is coincident with the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation, gray whales survived these massive changes to their feeding habitat, but it is unclear how.We reconstructed gray whale carrying capacity fluctuations during the past 120,000 years by quantifying gray whale feeding habitat availability using bathymetric data for the North Pacific Ocean, constrained by their maximum diving depth. We calculated carrying capacity based on modern estimates of metabolic demand, prey availability, and feeding duration; we also constrained our estimates to reflect current population size and account for glaciated and non-glaciated areas in the North Pacific. Our results show that key feeding areas eliminated by sea-level lowstands were not replaced by commensurate areas. Our reconstructions show that such reductions affected carrying capacity, and harmonic means of these fluctuations do not differ dramatically from genetic estimates of carrying capacity.Assuming current carrying capacity estimates, Pleistocene glacial maxima may have created multiple, weak genetic bottlenecks, although the current temporal resolution of genetic datasets does not test for such signals. Our results do not, however, falsify molecular estimates of pre-whaling population size because those abundances would have been sufficient to survive the loss of major benthic feeding areas (i.e., the majority of the Bering Shelf during glacial maxima. We propose that gray whales survived the disappearance of their primary feeding ground by employing generalist filter-feeding modes
-
Lander, M. E.; Fadely, B.; Gelatt, T.; Sterling, J.; Johnson, D.; Haulena, M.; McDermott, S.
2016-02-01
Decreased natality resulting from nutritional stress is one hypothesized mechanism for declines of Steller sea lions (SSLs; Eumetopias jubatus) in western Alaska, but little is known of the winter foraging habitats or behavior of adult females. To address this critical data need, adult female Steller sea lions were chemically immobilized and tagged with Fastloc® GPS satellite transmitters during the fall at Southeast Alaska (SEAK) during 2010 (n=3), and the central and western Aleutian Islands (AI) from 2011-2014 (n=9). To identify habitat features of biological importance to these animals, location data were processed with a continuous-time correlated random walk model and kernel density estimates of predicted locations were used to compute individual-based utilization distributions. Kernel density estimates and diving behaviors (i.e. mean, maximum, and frequency of dive depths) were examined with respect to a series of static and dynamic environmental variables using linear mixed-effects models. Habitat use varied within and among individuals, but overall, all response variables were significantly related to a combination of the predictor variables season, distance to nearest SSL site, bathymetric slope, on/off shelf, sea surface temperature, sea surface height, proportion of daylight, and some interaction effects (P≤0.05). The habitat use of SSL from SEAK was consistent with previous reports and reflected the seasonal distribution of predictable forage fish, whereas SSL from the AI used a variety of marine ecosystems and habitat use was more variable, likely reflecting specific prey behaviors encountered in different areas. These results have improved our understanding of the habitat features necessary for the conservation of adult female SSL and have been useful for reviewing designated critical habitat for Steller sea lions throughout the U.S. range.
-
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2012-11-15
This report focuses on the tasks and results from Working Group 1 (WG1), grid configuration and integration, chaired jointly by representatives from Denmark and the Netherlands. The methodology, assumptions concerning generation portfolio, load situation, available technology and results are presented. This report presents the WG1 Offshore Grid Study that supports the North Seas Countries' Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) final report. The information contained in this report aims to evaluate the long-term development of an offshore grid structure in the North Seas by providing a view on how such a grid may possibly develop in the future, based on the assumptions made for this study. The report aims to compare and evaluate the possible advantages and disadvantages of the long term development of an optimised, integrated (or meshed) offshore grid in the North Seas by providing a view of how that possible grid might develop in the future against changes to the electricity energy requirements. To evaluate basic variants, different transmission design topologies (radial and meshed) were compared and analysed with respect to various aspects, such as cost/benefits, import and export levels and the systems' CO2 emissions.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0166631 includes Surface underway data collected from CGC Healy in the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean from 2016-06-30...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data are water column and sediment data largely collected in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, with some coverage for the Beaufort and East Siberian Seas, and with...
-
Parkinson, Claire L.; Cavalieri, Donald J.; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
Satellite passive-microwave data have been used to calculate sea ice extents over the period 1979-1999 for the north polar sea ice cover as a whole and for each of nine regions. Over this 21-year time period, the trend in yearly average ice extents for the ice cover as a whole is -32,900 +/- 6,100 sq km/yr (-2.7 +/- 0.5 %/decade), indicating a reduction in sea ice coverage that has decelerated from the earlier reported value of -34,000 +/- 8,300 sq km/yr (-2.8 +/- 0.7 %/decade) for the period 1979-1996. Regionally, the reductions are greatest in the Arctic Ocean, the Kara and Barents Seas, and the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, whereas seasonally, the reductions are greatest in summer, for which season the 1979-1999 trend in ice extents is -41,600 +/- 12,900 sq km/ yr (-4.9 +/- 1.5 %/decade). On a monthly basis, the reductions are greatest in July and September for the north polar ice cover as a whole, in September for the Arctic Ocean, in June and July for the Kara and Barents Seas, and in April for the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Only two of the nine regions show overall ice extent increases, those being the Bering Sea and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.For neither of these two regions is the increase statistically significant, whereas the 1079 - 1999 ice extent decreases are statistically significant at the 99% confidence level for the north polar region as a whole, the Arctic Ocean, the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, and Hudson Bay.
-
Sea otters in the northern Pacific Ocean
Bodkin, James L.; Jameson, Ronald J.; Estes, James A.; LaRoe, Edward T.; Farris, Gaye S.; Puckett, Catherine E.; Doran, Peter D.; Mac, Michael J.
1995-01-01
forest communities. At the same time, sea otter predation on other marine invertebrates can lead to direct competition with humans for resources. These interactions add complex dimensions to the conservation and management of sea otters, in large part because of wide-ranging social, ecological, and economic consequences of sea otter foraging.Long-term data on abundance and distribution are available for relatively few sea otter populations. Here we summarize such data from three populations: Being Island, Russia; Prince William Sound, Alaska; and Olympic Peninsula, Washington. The Bering Island population resulted from natural emigration and represents complete recovery. Prince William Sounds represents near recovery of a remnant population, whereas the Washington population was established via translocations from Alaska and is just beginning to recover. We will compare growth rates and current status among these populations. Because of its unique status and growth characteristics, the California sea otter is not treated in this article.
-
Brower, Amelia A.; Ferguson, Megan C.; Schonberg, Susan V.; Jewett, Stephen C.; Clarke, Janet T.
2017-10-01
The shallow continental shelf waters of the Bering and Chukchi seas are the northernmost foraging grounds of North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Benthic amphipods are considered the primary prey of gray whales in these waters, although no comprehensive quantitative analysis has been performed to support this assumption. Gray whale relative abundance, distribution, and behavior in the northeastern Chukchi Sea (69°-72°N, 155-169°W) were documented during aerial surveys in June-October 2009-2012. Concurrently, vessel-based benthic infaunal sampling was conducted in the area in July-August 2009-10, September 2011, and August 2012. Gray whales were seen in the study area each month that surveys were conducted, with the majority of whales feeding. Statistical analyses confirm that the highest densities of feeding gray whales were associated with high benthic amphipod abundance, primarily within 70 km of shore from Point Barrow to Icy Cape, in water whales were not seen in 40-km×40-km cells containing benthic sampling stations with 85 m-2 or fewer amphipods. Continuing broad-scale aerial surveys in the Chukchi Sea and prey sampling near feeding gray whales will be an important means to monitor and document ongoing and predicted ecosystem changes.
-
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2012-11-15
This report focuses on the tasks and results from Working Group 1 (WG1), grid configuration and integration, chaired jointly by representatives from Denmark and the Netherlands. The methodology, assumptions concerning generation portfolio, load situation, available technology and results are presented. This report presents the WG1 Offshore Grid Study that supports the North Seas Countries' Offshore Grid Initiative (NSCOGI) final report. The information contained in this report aims to evaluate the long-term development of an offshore grid structure in the North Seas by providing a view on how such a grid may possibly develop in the future, based on the assumptions made for this study. The report aims to compare and evaluate the possible advantages and disadvantages of the long term development of an optimised, integrated (or meshed) offshore grid in the North Seas by providing a view of how that possible grid might develop in the future against changes to the electricity energy requirements. To evaluate basic variants, different transmission design topologies (radial and meshed) were compared and analysed with respect to various aspects, such as cost/benefits, import and export levels and the systems' CO2 emissions.
-
Stein, R. H.; Fahl, K.; Gierz, P.; Niessen, F.; Lohmann, G.
2017-12-01
Over the last about four decades, coinciding with global warming and atmospheric CO2increase, the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has decreased dramatically, a decrease much more rapid than predicted by climate models. The driving forces of this change are still not fully understood. In this context, detailed paleoclimatic records going back beyond the timescale of direct observations, i.e., high-resolution Holocene records but also records representing more distant warm periods, may help to to distinguish and quantify more precisely the natural and anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing of global climate change and related sea ice decrease. Here, we concentrate on sea ice biomarker records representing the penultimate glacial/last interglacial (MIS 6/MIS 5e) and the Holocene time intervals. Our proxy records are compared with climate model simulations using a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM). Based on our data, polynya-type sea ice conditions probably occurred off the major ice sheets along the northern Barents and East Siberian continental margins during late MIS 6. Furthermore, we demonstrate that even during MIS 5e, i.e., a time interval when the high latitudes have been significantly warmer than today, sea ice existed in the central Arctic Ocean during summer, whereas sea ice was significantly reduced along the Barents Sea continental margin influenced by Atlantic Water inflow. Assuming a closed Bering Strait (no Pacific Water inflow) during early MIS 5, model simulations point to a significantly reduced sea ice cover in the central Arctic Ocean, a scenario that is however not supported by the proxy record and thus seems to be less realistic. Our Holocene biomarker proxy records from the Chukchi Sea indicate that main factors controlling the millennial Holocene variability in sea ice are probably changes in surface water and heat flow from the Pacific into the Arctic Ocean as well as the long-term decrease in summer insolation
-
76 FR 23996 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council Public Meeting
2011-04-29
... species catch report), NMFS Management Report (update on Steller Sea Lion Research), Alaska Department of Fish & Game Report, NOAA Enforcement Report, United States Coast Guard Report, United States Fish... Fish Habitat (EFH): Review habitat conservation area boundary; review report on Northern Bering Sea...
-
Meiri, Meirav; Lister, Adrian M.; Collins, Matthew J.; Tuross, Noreen; Goebel, Ted; Blockley, Simon; Zazula, Grant D.; van Doorn, Nienke; Dale Guthrie, R.; Boeskorov, Gennady G.; Baryshnikov, Gennady F.; Sher, Andrei; Barnes, Ian
2014-01-01
Human colonization of the New World is generally believed to have entailed migrations from Siberia across the Bering isthmus. However, the limited archaeological record of these migrations means that details of the timing, cause and rate remain cryptic. Here, we have used a combination of ancient DNA, 14C dating, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, and collagen sequencing to explore the colonization history of one of the few other large mammals to have successfully migrated into the Americas at this time: the North American elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis), also known as wapiti. We identify a long-term occupation of northeast Siberia, far beyond the species’s current Old World distribution. Migration into North America occurred at the end of the last glaciation, while the northeast Siberian source population became extinct only within the last 500 years. This finding is congruent with a similar proposed delay in human colonization, inferred from modern human mitochondrial DNA, and suggestions that the Bering isthmus was not traversable during parts of the Late Pleistocene. Our data imply a fundamental constraint in crossing Beringia, placing limits on the age and mode of human settlement in the Americas, and further establish the utility of ancient DNA in palaeontological investigations of species histories. PMID:24335981
-
2012-08-30
... Dillingham/Katmai room at the Hilton Hotel, 500 West 3rd Street, Anchorage, AK. You may submit comments on... the legal authority, history of the Steller sea lion protection measures, litigation, potential...
-
Sterling, Jeremy T; Springer, Alan M.; Iverson, Sara J.; Johnson, Shawn P.; Pelland, Noel A.; Johnson, Devin S.; Lea, Mary-Anne; Bond, Nicholas A.
2014-01-01
Adult male and female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) are sexually segregated in different regions of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea during their winter migration. Explanations for this involve interplay between physiology, predator-prey dynamics, and ecosystem characteristics, however possible mechanisms lack empirical support. To investigate factors influencing the winter ecology of both sexes, we deployed five satellite-linked conductivity, temperature, and depth data loggers on adult males, and six satellite-linked depth data loggers and four satellite transmitters on adult females from St. Paul Island (Bering Sea, Alaska, USA) in October 2009. Males and females migrated to different regions of the North Pacific Ocean: males wintered in the Bering Sea and northern North Pacific Ocean, while females migrated to the Gulf of Alaska and California Current. Horizontal and vertical movement behaviors of both sexes were influenced by wind speed, season, light (sun and moon), and the ecosystem they occupied, although the expression of the behaviors differed between sexes. Male dive depths were aligned with the depth of the mixed layer during daylight periods and we suspect this was the case for females upon their arrival to the California Current. We suggest that females, because of their smaller size and physiological limitations, must avoid severe winters typical of the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea and migrate long distances to areas of more benign environmental conditions and where prey is shallower and more accessible. In contrast, males can better tolerate often extreme winter ocean conditions and exploit prey at depth because of their greater size and physiological capabilities. We believe these contrasting winter behaviors 1) are a consequence of evolutionary selection for large size in males, important to the acquisition and defense of territories against rivals during the breeding season, and 2) ease environmental
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jeremy T Sterling
Full Text Available Adult male and female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus are sexually segregated in different regions of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea during their winter migration. Explanations for this involve interplay between physiology, predator-prey dynamics, and ecosystem characteristics, however possible mechanisms lack empirical support. To investigate factors influencing the winter ecology of both sexes, we deployed five satellite-linked conductivity, temperature, and depth data loggers on adult males, and six satellite-linked depth data loggers and four satellite transmitters on adult females from St. Paul Island (Bering Sea, Alaska, USA in October 2009. Males and females migrated to different regions of the North Pacific Ocean: males wintered in the Bering Sea and northern North Pacific Ocean, while females migrated to the Gulf of Alaska and California Current. Horizontal and vertical movement behaviors of both sexes were influenced by wind speed, season, light (sun and moon, and the ecosystem they occupied, although the expression of the behaviors differed between sexes. Male dive depths were aligned with the depth of the mixed layer during daylight periods and we suspect this was the case for females upon their arrival to the California Current. We suggest that females, because of their smaller size and physiological limitations, must avoid severe winters typical of the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea and migrate long distances to areas of more benign environmental conditions and where prey is shallower and more accessible. In contrast, males can better tolerate often extreme winter ocean conditions and exploit prey at depth because of their greater size and physiological capabilities. We believe these contrasting winter behaviors 1 are a consequence of evolutionary selection for large size in males, important to the acquisition and defense of territories against rivals during the breeding season, and 2 ease environmental
-
Beatty, William; Jay, Chadwick V.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Grebmeier, Jacqueline M.; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Blanchard, Arny L.; Jewett, Stephen C.
2016-01-01
Sea ice dominates marine ecosystems in the Arctic, and recent reductions in sea ice may alter food webs throughout the region. Sea ice loss may also stress Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens), which feed on benthic macroinvertebrates in the Bering and Chukchi seas. However, no studies have examined the effects of sea ice on foraging Pacific walrus space use patterns. We tested a series of hypotheses that examined walrus foraging resource selection as a function of proximity to resting substrates and prey biomass. We quantified walrus prey biomass with 17 benthic invertebrate families, which included bivalves, polychaetes, amphipods, tunicates, and sipunculids. We included covariates for distance to sea ice and distance to land, and systematically developed a series of candidate models to examine interactions among benthic prey biomass and resting substrates. We ranked candidate models with Bayesian Information Criterion and made inferences on walrus resource selection based on the top-ranked model. Based on the top model, biomass of the bivalve family Tellinidae, distance to ice, distance to land, and the interaction of distances to ice and land all positively influenced walrus foraging resource selection. Standardized model coefficients indicated that distance to ice explained the most variation in walrus foraging resource selection followed by Tellinidae biomass. Distance to land and the interaction of distances to ice and land accounted for similar levels of variation. Tellinidae biomass likely represented an index of overall bivalve biomass, indicating walruses focused foraging in areas with elevated levels of bivalve and tellinid biomass. Our results also emphasize the importance of sea ice to walruses. Projected sea ice loss will increase the duration of the open water season in the Chukchi Sea, altering the spatial distribution of resting sites relative to current foraging areas and possibly affecting the spatial structure of benthic communities.
-
75 FR 44758 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
2010-07-29
... Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. OMB Control Number: 0648-0401. Form Number(s): None. Type of... allocation program for the pollock fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). The... based on the formation of fishery cooperatives around each inshore pollock processor. Implementing...
-
Synoptic eddy-resolving Ocean Surveys over the Slope of the Chukchi Sea 2016 and 2017
Muenchow, A.; Elmer, C.; Badiey, M.; Eickmeier, J.; Ryan, P. A.
2017-12-01
Mild weather and warm waters kept the outer continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea ice-free in 2016 when we conducted ocean surveys as part of the Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE). We used standard CTD and ADCP profiling systems aboard R/V Sikuliaq to describe ocean density and velocity fields at 3 km scales across and 6 km scales along the slope. Our survey covers 800 km2between the 100-m and 400-m isobaths and resolves the internal Rossby radius of deformation which represents the dominant spatial (or eddy) scale for a density-stratified ocean. Our early November 2016 data revealed Bering Sea Summer Waters with temperatures exceeding 1.0 C at 80-m depth near the 200-m isobath. Three-dimensional distribution of this water and associated density gradients suggests a current to the east. The flow is likely unstable, we speculate, because it spawns eddy-like features that we will describe. We will test this hypothesis with ocean current shear estimated from vessel-mounted ADCP profiles. A similar survey is planned for October 2017, when USCGC Healy will re-visit the area to recover ocean moorings deployed prior to the 2016 surveys.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Physical, current meter, biological, and optical oceanographic data were collected in the Bering Strait from August 16, 2004 to September 3, 2007. These data were...
-
2010-12-07
... undisturbed habitats; (7) secure resting areas that provide refuge from extreme weather, other bears, or... Seas population, which extends into the Russian Federation (Russia) (Figure 1) (Amstrup et al. 2004a, p... northern Bering Sea and adjacent coastal areas in Alaska and Russia. The eastern boundary of the Chukchi...
-
2010-10-01
.../processor restrictions. A catcher/processor vessel authorized to fish for BSAI pollock under § 679.4 is... Pribilof Island Area Habitat Conservation Zone. (7) Steller sea lion protection areas, Bering Sea subarea... lion conservation area (SCA)—(A) General. Directed fishing for pollock by vessels catching pollock for...
-
The Bering Land Bridge: a moisture barrier to the dispersal of steppe-tundra biota?
Elias, Scott A.; Crocker, Barnaby
2008-12-01
The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) connected the two principal arctic biological refugia, Western and Eastern Beringia, during intervals of lowered sea level in the Pleistocene. Fossil evidence from lowland BLB organic deposits dating to the Last Glaciation indicates that this broad region was dominated by shrub tundra vegetation, and had a mesic climate. The dominant ecosystem in Western Beringia and the interior regions of Eastern Beringia was steppe-tundra, with herbaceous plant communities and arid climate. Although Western and Eastern Beringia shared many species in common during the Late Pleistocene, there were a number of species that were restricted to only one side of the BLB. Among the vertebrate fauna, the woolly rhinoceros was found only to the west of the BLB, North American camels, bonnet-horned musk-oxen and some horse species were found only to the east of the land bridge. These were all steppe-tundra inhabitants, adapted to grazing. The same phenomenon can be seen in the insect faunas of the Western and Eastern Beringia. The steppe-tundra beetle fauna of Western Beringia was dominated by weevils of the genus Stephanocleonus, a group that was virtually absent from Eastern Beringia. The dry-adapted weevils, Lepidophorus lineaticollis and Vitavitus thulius were important members of steppe-tundra communities in Eastern Beringia, but were either absent or rare in Western Beringia. The leaf beetles Chrysolina arctica, C. brunnicornis bermani, and Galeruca interrupta circumdata were typical members of the Pleistocene steppe-tundra communities of Western Beringia, but absent from Eastern Beringia. On the other hand, some steppe tundra-adapted leaf beetles managed to occupy both sides of the BLB, such as Phaedon armoraciae. Much of the BLB remains unstudied, but on biogeographic grounds, it appears that there was some kind of biological filter that blocked the movements of some steppe-tundra plants and animals across the BLB.
-
Ocean Acidification in the Surface Waters of the Pacific-Arctic Boundary Regions
Mathis, J. T.; Cross, J. N.; Evans, W.; Doney, S. C.
2016-02-01
The continental shelves of the Pacific-Arctic Region (PAR) are especially vulnerable to the effects of ocean acidification (OA) because the intrusion of anthropogenic CO2 is not the only process that can reduce pH and carbonate mineral saturation states for aragonite (ΩArag). Enhanced sea-ice melt, respiration of organic matter, upwelling and riverine inputs have been shown to exacerbate CO2-driven ocean acidification in high-latitude regions. Additionally, the indirect effect of changing sea-ice coverage is providing a positive feedback to OA as more open water will allow for greater uptake of atmospheric CO2. Here, we compare model-based outputs from the Community Earth System Model with a subset of recent ship-based observations, and take an initial look at future model projections of surface water ΩArag in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. We then use the model outputs to define benchmark years when biological impacts are likely to result from reduced ΩArag. Each of the three continental shelf seas in the PAR will become undersaturated with respect to aragonite at approximately 30-year intervals, indicating that aragonite undersaturations gradually progress upstream along the flow path of the waters as they move north from the Pacific Ocean. However, naturally high variability in ΩArag may indicate higher resilience of the Bering Sea ecosystem to these low-ΩArag conditions than the Chukchi and the Beaufort Seas. Based on our initial results, we have determined that the annual mean for ΩArag will pass below the current range of natural variability in 2025 for the Beaufort Sea and 2027 for the Chukchi Sea. Because of the higher range of natural variability, the annual mean for ΩArag for the Bering Sea does not pass out of the natural variability range until 2044. As ΩArag in these shelf seas slips below the present-day range of large seasonal variability by midcentury, it could put tremendous pressure on the diverse ecosystems that support some of
-
78 FR 42756 - Marine Mammals; File No. 14330
2013-07-17
... Islands, and Sea Lion Rock, all of the Pribilof Island group in the Bering Sea. The amendment was to... hereby given that the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, Tribal Government, Ecosystem Conservation Office, St. Paul Island, AK, has applied for an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 14330-01...
-
Warner, Jeffery F; Harpole, Michael G; Crerar, Lorelei D
2017-01-01
Microsatellite DNA can provide more detailed population genetic information than mitochondrial DNA which is normally used to research ancient bone. The methods detailed in this chapter can be utilized for any type of bone. However, for this example, four microsatellite loci were isolated from Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) using published primers for manatee and dugong microsatellites. The primers DduC05 (Broderick et al., Mol Ecol Notes 6:1275-1277, 2007), Tmakb60, TmaSC5 (Pause et al., Mol Ecol Notes 6: 1073-1076, 2007), and TmaE11 (Garcia-Rodriguez et al., Mol Ecol 12:2161-2163, 2000) all successfully amplified microsatellites from H. gigas. The DNA samples were from bone collected on Bering or St. Lawrence Islands. DNA was analyzed using primers with the fluorescent label FAM-6. Sequenced alleles were then used to indicate a difference in the number of repeats and thus a difference in individuals. This is the first time that H. gigas microsatellite loci have been isolated. These techniques for ancient bone microsatellite analysis allow an estimate of population size for a newly discovered St. Lawrence Island sea cow population.
-
A.E. Nordenski and the auroral oval
Nygrén, Tuomo; Silén, Johan
In 1857, Adold Erik Nordenskiöld (1832-1901), a Finnish geographer and mineralogist, was forced to withdraw from his position at the University of Helsinki because of a conflict with the czarist officials in Finland. He then moved to Sweden, where he became one of the most celebrated explorers of his time. Most famous of his polar expeditions was the discovery of the Northeast Passage. Nordenskiöld made his voyage in the wooden steamship Vega in 1878-79.Vega started its voyage on June 22, 1878, and was directed in a course around Scandinavia and along the Siberian coast toward Bering Strait. Nordenskiöld's plan was to reach the Pacific Ocean during the summer months, but this was hindered by unfavorable ice conditions. At the end of September the sea was blocked by ice fields, and the Vega had to pass the winter on the northern coast of the Chukchi Peninsula (67°4‧49″N, 173°23‧2″W)—exasperatingly close to the open waters of Bering Strait. The ship could not set sail any sooner than the following July when the sea was free again. After visiting Japan, China, and Ceylon, the Vega passed through the Suez Canal and finally, on April 24, 1880, arrived at Stockholm.
-
2011-11-16
... meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 500 West Third Ave., Anchorage, AK. The agenda for the Council... return to the sea with a minimum of injury. Halibut caught incidentally by catcher/processors in the... the directed fishery. In the case of the Bering Sea flatfish fishery, seasons have been closed before...
-
Sea water intrusion model of Amchitka Island, Alaska
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wheatcraft, S.W.
1995-09-01
During the 1960s and 1970s, Amchitka Island, Alaska, was the site of three underground nuclear tests, referred to as Milrow, Long Shot and Cannikin. Amchitka Island is located in the western part of the Aleutian Island chain, Alaska. The groundwater systems affected by the three underground nuclear tests at Amchitka Island are essentially unmonitored because all of the current monitoring wells are too shallow and not appropriately placed to detect migration from the cavities. The dynamics of the island's fresh water-sea water hydrologic system will control contaminant migration from the three event cavities, with migration expected in the direction of the Bering Sea from Long shot and Cannikin and the Pacific Ocean from Milrow. The hydrogeologic setting (actively flowing groundwater system to maintain a freshwater lens) suggests a significant possibility for relatively rapid contaminant migration from these sites, but also presents an opportunity to use projected flowpaths to a monitoring advantage. The purpose of this investigation is to develop a conceptual model of the Amchitka groundwater system and to produce computer model simulations that reflect the boundary conditions and hydraulic properties of the groundwater system. The simulations will be used to assess the validity of the proposed conceptual model and highlight the uncertainties in hydraulic properties of the aquifer. The uncertainties will be quantified by sensitivity analyses on various model parameters. Within the limitations of the conceptual model and the computer simulations, conclusions will be drawn regarding potential radionuclide migration from the three underground nuclear tests
-
Groundwater Availability Within the Salton Sea Basin Final Report
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tompson, A; Demir, Z; Moran, J; Mason, D; Wagoner, J; Kollet, S; Mansoor, K; McKereghan, P
2008-01-11
It is widely recognized that increasing demands for water in Southern California are being affected by actions to reduce and redirect the amount of water imported from the Colorado River. In the Imperial Valley region, for example, import reductions will not only affect agricultural users but also could produce significant collateral impacts on the level and quality of water in the Salton Sea, its regional ecology, or even the long term air quality in the greater basin. The notion of using groundwater in the Imperial Valley as an additional source for agricultural or domestic needs, energy production, or Salton Sea restoration efforts, so as to offset reductions in imported water, is not a new concept. Even though it has been discussed recently (e.g., LLNL, 2002), the idea goes back, in part, to several studies performed by the US Department of Interior and other agencies that have indicated that there may be substantial, usable amounts of groundwater in some portions of the Imperial Valley. It has been estimated, for example, that between 1.1 and 3 billion acre-feet (AF) of groundwater lie within the extended, deep basin underlying the valley and Salton Sea region, even though much of it may be unrecoverable or too poor in its quality (Imperial County, 1997). This is a significant volume with respect to the total annual precipitation volume received in California, whose average is close to 200 million (or 0.2 billion) AF per year (DWR, 1998), and especially with respect to the total annual precipitation received in the Salton Sea watershed itself, which we estimate (Appendix A) to be approximately 2.5 million acre feet (MAF) per year. Clearly, a thorough appraisal of the groundwater resources in the Imperial Valley and Salton Sea region--i.e., an assessment of their overall physical availability--will be needed to determine how they can be used and managed to suit new or redirected demands in the region. Development of an improved or updated groundwater assessment
-
Multi-year study of the carbonate system in the Chukchi Sea with emphasizes on its western part
Semiletov, I. P.; Pipko, I.; Pugach, S.
2015-12-01
Variability of the Arctic climate has affected many aspects of the Arctic environment, especially in the Pacific sector of the Arctic. The primary implication is that today's Arctic cryosphere (glaciers, frozen ground, and sea ice) and biosphere (terrestrial, lacustrine, and marine) are not at steady state; they have changed and will continue to change in response to evolving Arctic climate. Over the decade 2004-2013 environmental changes in the Pacific sector of the Arctic have been dramatic enough to suggest that a 'new normal' climate is emerging (Wood et al., 2015). Like everywhere in the Arctic, understanding of environmental change in the Chukchi Sea is hindered by sparse data. Dynamics of the carbonate system (CS) in the eastern Chukchi Sea (US EEZ) has been studied more extensively for a longer period and is better understood than in its western (Russian EEZ) part. Here we focus on the carbonate system data collected in the Russian part of the Chukchi Sea over > 10 years (2000-2011). Our data exhibit a strong mesoscale and interannual dynamics of carbonate system parameters in the surface seawater. The aragonite saturation state (WAr) was highly variable but also has generally been decreasing in the upper waters from 2000 to 2011. It was shown that despite strong sea ice loss, waters heating and storm increasing, the surface waters in this area have been consistently undersaturated by CO2 with respect to the atmosphere. Notable localized exceptions, where CO2 outgassing occurs, include the well-mixed waters near Bering Strait. Combining our long-term carbonate system data set (1996-2011) with the available literature data we felt in conclusion that the entire Chukchi Sea during ice-free season absorbs ~12-15× 1012 g C and a significant part of this carbon was transferred to the deep layers and insulated from contact with the atmosphere for a long time. Note that the CO2 invasion is a similar value with the CO2 outgassing from the shallow eastern Laptev Sea
-
Passive seismic monitoring of the Bering Glacier during its last surge event
Zhan, Z.
2017-12-01
The physical causes behind glacier surges are still unclear. Numerous evidences suggest that they probably involve changes in glacier basal conditions, such as switch of basal water system from concentrated large tunnels to a distributed "layer" as "connected cavities". However, most remote sensing approaches can not penetrate to the base to monitor such changes continuously. Here we apply seismic interferometry using ambient noise to monitor glacier seismic structures, especially to detect possible signatures of the hypothesized high-pressure water "layer". As an example, we derive an 11-year long history of seismic structure of the Bering Glacier, Alaska, covering its latest surge event. We observe substantial drops of Rayleigh and Love wavespeeds across the glacier during the surge event, potentially caused by changes in crevasse density, glacier thickness, and basal conditions.
-
20th-century glacial-marine sedimentation in Vitus Lake, Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.
Molnia, B.F.; Post, A.; Carlson, P.R.
1996-01-01
Vitus Lake, the ice-marginal basin at the southeastern edge of Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., is a site of modern, rapid, glacial-marine sedimentation. Rather than being a fresh-water lake, Vitus Lake is a tidally influenced, marine to brackish embayment connected to the Pacific Ocean by an inlet, the Seal River. Vitus Lake consists of five deep bedrock basins, separated by interbasinal highs. Glacial erosion has cut these basins as much as 250 m below sea level. High-resolution seismic reflection surveys conducted in 1991 and 1993 of four of Vitus Lake's basins reveal a complex, variable three-component acoustic stratigraphy. Although not fully sampled, the stratigraphy is inferred to be primarily glacial-marine units of (1) basal contorted and deformed glacial-marine and glacial sediments deposited by basal ice-contact processes and submarine mass-wasting; (2) acoustically well-stratified glacial-marine sediment, which unconformably overlies the basal unit and which grades upward into (3) acoustically transparent or nearly transparent glacial-marine sediment. Maximum thicknesses of conformable glacial-marine sediment exceed 100 m. All of the acoustically transparent and stratified deposits in Vitus Lake are modern in age, having accumulated between 1967 and 1993. The basins where these three-part sequences of "present-day" glacial-marine sediment are accumulating are themselves cut into older sequences of stratified glacial and glacial-marine deposits. These older units outcrop on the islands in Vitus Lake. In 1967, as the result of a major surge, glacier ice completely filled all five basins. Subsequent terminus retreat, which continued through August 1993, exposed these basins, providing new locations for glacial-marine sediment accumulation. A correlation of sediment thicknesses measured from seismic profiles at specific locations within the basins, with the year that each location became ice-free, shows that the sediment accumulation at some locations
-
AFSC/RACE/GAP/Nichol: Archival tag depth and temperature data from snow crab
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Seasonal migration of commercial-size (=102 mm carapace width [CW]), morphometrically mature (MM) snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio) from the eastern Bering Sea was...
-
AKRO/SF: Community Development Quota (CDQ) System
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program allocates a percentage of all Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands quotas for groundfish, prohibited species,...
-
2013-03-29
... off Alaska. The workshop concerns accurate accounting of Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea... definition of directed fishing for pollock. The meeting is open to the public, but NMFS is particularly...
-
2010-10-01
... subchapter, vessels are not considered as being on an “international voyage” when solely navigating the Great... inches. Oceans means a route that goes beyond 20 nautical miles offshore on any of the following waters: (1) Any ocean. (2) The Gulf of Mexico. (3) The Caribbean Sea. (4) The Bering Sea. (5) The Gulf of...
-
Hu, Aixue; Meehl, Gerald A.; Han, Weiqing; Timmermann, Axel; Otto-Bliesner, Bette; Liu, Zhengyu; Washington, Warren M.; Large, William; Abe-Ouchi, Ayako; Kimoto, Masahide; Lambeck, Kurt; Wu, Bingyi
2012-01-01
Abrupt climate transitions, known as Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich events, occurred frequently during the last glacial period, specifically from 80–11 thousand years before present, but were nearly absent during interglacial periods and the early stages of glacial periods, when major ice-sheets were still forming. Here we show, with a fully coupled state-of-the-art climate model, that closing the Bering Strait and preventing its throughflow between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans during the g...
-
Linkages between Alaskan sockeye salmon abundance, growth at sea, and climate, 1955-2002
Ruggerone, G.T.; Nielsen, J.L.; Bumgarner, J.
2007-01-01
We tested the hypothesis that increased growth of salmon during early marine life contributed to greater survival and abundance of salmon following the 1976/1977 climate regime shift and that this, in turn, led to density-dependent reductions in growth during late marine stages. Annual measurements of Bristol Bay (Bering Sea) and Chignik (Gulf of Alaska) sockeye salmon scale growth from 1955 to 2002 were used as indices of body growth. During the first and second years at sea, growth of both stocks tended to be higher after the 1976-1977 climate shift, whereas growth during the third year and homeward migration was often below average. Multiple regression models indicated that return per spawner of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon and adult abundance of western and central Alaska sockeye salmon were positively correlated with growth during the first 2 years at sea and negatively correlated with growth during later life stages. After accounting for competition between Bristol Bay sockeye and Asian pink salmon, age-specific adult length of Bristol Bay salmon increased after the 1976-1977 regime shift, then decreased after the 1989 climate shift. Late marine growth and age-specific adult length of Bristol Bay salmon was exceptionally low after 1989, possibly reducing their reproductive potential. These findings support the hypothesis that greater marine growth during the first 2 years at sea contributed to greater salmon survival and abundance, which in turn led to density-dependent growth during later life stages when size-related mortality was likely lower. Our findings provide new evidence supporting the importance of bottom-up control in marine ecosystems and highlight the complex dynamics of species interactions that continually change as salmon grow and mature in the ocean. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
-
AFSC/REFM: Groundfish SAFE Economic Report
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Groundfish SAFE Economic Report, published annually as a supplement to the Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands...
-
AFSC/RACE/GAP/Kotwicki: Relative light intensity collected during bottom trawl surveys
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Assessing the effect of light intensity and light penetration on the distributionand behavior of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the eastern Bering Sea and...
-
AFSC/REFM: North Pacific Groundfish Diet Data 1981-present, Aydin, K.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Groundfish diet data collected during the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (NOAA/NMFS) groundfish surveys in the eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of...
-
Brigham-Grette, J.; Polyak, L. V.; Caissie, B.; Sharko, C. J.; Petsch, S.
2010-12-01
Sea ice is an important component of the climate system. Yet, reconstructions of Arctic sea ice conditions reflecting glacial and interglacial change over the past 3 million years are almost nonexistent. Our work to evaluate the sea ice and sea surface temperature record of the Bering Strait region builds on a review of the sea ice history of the pan-Arctic. The best estimates of sea ice make use of indirect proxies based on reconstructions of treeline, sea surface temperatures, depositional systems, and the ecological preferences of extant marine microfossil species. The development of new proxies of past sea ice extent including microfossil assemblages (diatoms, ostracodes) and biomarker proxies (IP25) show promise for quantifying seasonal concentrations of sea ice cover on centennial to millennial timescales. Using both marine and terrestrial information, periods of restricted sea ice and ice-free Arctic conditions can be inferred for parts of the late Cenozoic. The Arctic Ocean borderlands contain clear stratigraphic evidence for forested conditions at intervals over the past 50 million years, recording the migration of treeline from High Arctic coastal locations within the Canadian Archipelago. Metasequoia forests of the peak Eocene gave way to a variety of biomass-rich circumarctic redwood forests by 46 Ma. Between 23 and 16 Ma, cool-temperate metasequoia forests dominated NE Alaska and the Yukon while mixed conifer-hardwood forests (similar to those of modern southern maritime Canada and New England) dominated the central Canadian Archipelago. By 16 Ma, these forests gave way to larch and spruce. From 5 to 3 Ma the braid plains of the Beaufort Fm were dominated by over 100 vascular plants including pine and birch, while other locations remained dominated by spruce and larch. Boreal conditions across northern Greenland and arctic Alaska are consistent with the presence of bivalve Arctica islandica in marine sediments capping the Beaufort Formation on Meighen
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) have a wide distribution along the Pacific coast, extending from Baja California to Alaska, the Bering Sea and through to the eastern...
-
AFSC/REFM: Pacific cod genetics in the Aleutian Islands 2004-2007
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Landscape genetics of Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus within the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area of Alaska was examined in samples from nine...
-
AFSC/ABL: 2007-2013 Chinook Salmon Bycatch Sample
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A genetic analyses of samples from the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) bycatch from the 2007-2013 Bering Sea-Aleutian Island and Gulf of Alaska trawl...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) have a wide distribution along the Pacific coast, extending from Baja California to Alaska, the Bering Sea and through to the eastern...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archive is of data from 150 CTD casts taken during the 2013 Norseman II cruise to the Bering Strait. For positions, see file headers or the cruise report...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) have conducted summer surveys to...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Data was collected from Ship ALPHA HELIX cruise...
-
American Fisheries Act (AFA) Permit Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Beginning January 1, 2000, all vessels and processors wishing to participate in the non-CDQ Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) pollock fishery are required to...
-
Storm-Driven Mixing and Potential Impact on the Arctic Ocean
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Yang, Jiayan
2004-01-01
... different hydrographic structures. The Beaufort Sea is strongly influenced by inflow of Pacific water through the Bering Strait, while the area north of Fram Strait is directly affected by the inflow of warm and salty...
-
AKRO/SF: Catch Accounting System (CAS)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Catch Accounting System (CAS) creates total catch estimates for the groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Each year, quotas...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Time-series current measurements, temperature, and salinity data were collected from fixed platforms at the Bering Sea - Norton Sound from July 14, 1985 to July 22,...
-
Global projections of extreme sea levels in view of climate change
Vousdoukas, M. I.; Feyen, L.; Voukouvalas, E.; Mentaschi, L.; Verlaan, M.; Jevrejeva, S.; Jackson, L. P.
2017-12-01
Global warming is expected to drive increasing extreme sea levels (ESLs) and flood risk along the world's coasts. The present contribution aims to present global ESL projections obtained by combining dynamic simulations of all the major ESL components during the present century, considering the latest CMIP5 projections for RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Baseline values are obtained combining global re-analyses of tides, waves, and storm surges, including the effects of tropical cyclones. The global average RSLR is projected around 20 and 24 cm by the 2050s under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively and is projected to reach 46 and 67 cm by the year 2100. The largest increases in MSL are projected along the South Pacific, Australia and West Africa, while the smaller RSLR is projected around East North America, and Europe. Contributions from waves and storm surges show a very weak increasing global trend, which becomes statistically significant only towards the end of the century and under RCP8.5. However, for areas like the East China Sea, Sea of Japan, Alaska, East Bering Sea, as well as the Southern Ocean, climate extremes could increase up to 15%. By the end of this century the 100-year event ESL along the world's coastlines will on average increase by 48 cm for RCP4.5 and 75 cm for RCP8.5. The strongest rise is projected along the Southern Ocean exceeding 1 m under RCP8.5 by the end of the century. Increase exceeding 80 cm is projected for East Asia, West North America, East South America, and the North Indian Ocean. Considering always the business as usual and the year 2100, the lowest increase in ESL100 is projected along the East North America and Europe (below 50 cm). The present findings indicate that, under both RCPs, by the year 2050 the present day 100-year event will occur every 5 years along a large part of the tropics, rendering coastal zones exposed to intermittent flood hazard.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from moorings deployed in the US waters of the Bering Strait from summer 2011 to summer 2013 (with mooring servicing in summer 2012). For...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of Pelagic bird sighting data from the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. These data were collected early in the Outer Continental Shelf...
-
AFSC/ABL: Immature chum salmon allozyme ID of mixed stocks
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Immature chum salmon were collected by the F/V Northwest Explorer between September 5 and October 8, during the 2002 BASIS survey across the eastern Bering Sea shelf...
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lauri A Jemison
Full Text Available Genetic studies and differing population trends support the separation of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus into a western distinct population segment (WDPS and an eastern DPS (EDPS with the dividing line between populations at 144° W. Despite little exchange for thousands of years, the gap between the breeding ranges narrowed during the past 15-30 years with the formation of new rookeries near the DPS boundary. We analyzed >22,000 sightings of 4,172 sea lions branded as pups in each DPS from 2000-2010 to estimate probabilities of a sea lion born in one DPS being seen within the range of the other DPS (either 'West' or 'East'. Males from both populations regularly traveled across the DPS boundary; probabilities were highest at ages 2-5 and for males born in Prince William Sound and southern Southeast Alaska. The probability of WDPS females being in the East at age 5 was 0.067 but 0 for EDPS females which rarely traveled to the West. Prince William Sound-born females had high probabilities of being in the East during breeding and non-breeding seasons. We present strong evidence that WDPS females have permanently emigrated to the East, reproducing at two 'mixing zone' rookeries. We documented breeding bulls that traveled >6,500 km round trip from their natal rookery in southern Alaska to the northern Bering Sea and central Aleutian Islands and back within one year. WDPS animals began moving East in the 1990s, following steep population declines in the central Gulf of Alaska. Results of our study, and others documenting high survival and rapid population growth in northern Southeast Alaska suggest that conditions in this mixing zone region have been optimal for sea lions. It is unclear whether eastward movement across the DPS boundary is due to less-optimal conditions in the West or a reflection of favorable conditions in the East.
-
Jemison, Lauri A.; Pendleton, Grey W.; Fritz, Lowell W.; Hastings, Kelly K.; Maniscalco, John M.; Trites, Andrew W.; Gelatt, Tom S.
2013-01-01
Genetic studies and differing population trends support the separation of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) into a western distinct population segment (WDPS) and an eastern DPS (EDPS) with the dividing line between populations at 144° W. Despite little exchange for thousands of years, the gap between the breeding ranges narrowed during the past 15–30 years with the formation of new rookeries near the DPS boundary. We analyzed >22,000 sightings of 4,172 sea lions branded as pups in each DPS from 2000–2010 to estimate probabilities of a sea lion born in one DPS being seen within the range of the other DPS (either ‘West’ or ‘East’). Males from both populations regularly traveled across the DPS boundary; probabilities were highest at ages 2–5 and for males born in Prince William Sound and southern Southeast Alaska. The probability of WDPS females being in the East at age 5 was 0.067 but 0 for EDPS females which rarely traveled to the West. Prince William Sound-born females had high probabilities of being in the East during breeding and non-breeding seasons. We present strong evidence that WDPS females have permanently emigrated to the East, reproducing at two ‘mixing zone’ rookeries. We documented breeding bulls that traveled >6,500 km round trip from their natal rookery in southern Alaska to the northern Bering Sea and central Aleutian Islands and back within one year. WDPS animals began moving East in the 1990s, following steep population declines in the central Gulf of Alaska. Results of our study, and others documenting high survival and rapid population growth in northern Southeast Alaska suggest that conditions in this mixing zone region have been optimal for sea lions. It is unclear whether eastward movement across the DPS boundary is due to less-optimal conditions in the West or a reflection of favorable conditions in the East. PMID:23940543
-
Federal Fisheries Permit (FFP)/ Federal Processor Permit (FPP) Permit Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Federal Fisheries Permit (FFP) is required for vessels of the United States which are used to fish for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska or Bering Sea and...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Weekly biophysical and fish model output of FEAST. Part of The Bering Sea Project, FEAST is a high resolution (~10km2) spatial model that uses a Regional Ocean...
-
Woodgate, Rebecca A.
2018-01-01
Year-round in situ Bering Strait mooring data (1990-2015) document a long-term increase (∼0.01 Sv/yr) in the annual mean transport of Pacific waters into the Arctic. Between 2002 and 2015, all annual mean transports (except 2005 and 2012) are greater than the previously accepted climatology (∼0.8 Sv). The record-length maximum (2014: 1.2 ± 0.1 Sv) is 70% higher than the record-length minimum (2001: 0.7 ± 0.1 Sv), corresponding to a reduction in the flushing time of the Chukchi Sea (to ∼4.5 months from ∼7.5 months). The transport increase results from stronger northward flows (not fewer southward flow events), yielding a 150% increase in kinetic energy, presumably with impacts on bottom suspension, mixing, and erosion. Curiously, we find no significant trends in annual mean flow in the Alaskan Coastal Current (ACC), although note that these data are only available 2002-2015. Record-length trends in annually integrated heat and freshwater fluxes (primarily driven by volume flux trends) are large (0.06 ± 0.05 × 1020 J/yr; 30 ± 20 km3/yr; relative to -1.9 °C and 34.8 psu), with heat flux lows in 2001 and 2012 (∼3 × 1020 J) and highs in 2007 and 2015 (∼5.5 × 1020 J), and a freshwater range of ∼2300 km3 (2001) to ∼3500 km3 (2014). High-flow year 2015 (volume transport ∼1.1 Sv) has the highest annual mean temperature recorded, ∼0.7 °C, astoundingly warmer than the record-length mean of 0.0 ± 0.2 °C, while low-flow year 2012 (∼0.8 Sv) is also remarkably cold (∼-0.6 °C), likely due to anomalously weak northward flow in January-March, partly driven by anomalously strong southward winds in March. A seasonal decomposition of properties of the main flow shows significant freshening in winter (∼0.03 psu/yr, January-March) likely due to sea-ice changes, but no trend (or perhaps salinization) in the rest of the year. A seasonal warming trend in the strait proper in May and June (∼0.04 °C/yr) is reflected in a trend to earlier arrival (0.9
-
Takahashi, Kozo; Tsutsui, Hideto
2017-04-01
Time-series sediment traps were deployed for nearly 20 years (1990-2009) at two long-term locations: Station SA (49°N, 174°W, trap depth 4,800 m, water depth 5,400 m) in the central subarctic Pacific, and Station AB (53.5°N, 177°W, trap depth 3,200 m, water depth 3,800 m) in the southern Bering Sea. Among many biogenic particles, calcareous nannoplankton represented nearly half or more of the entire calcium carbonate fluxes of the regions. Dominant taxa include Coccolithus pelagicus and Emiliania huxleyi. The flux maxima of the former taxon occurred twice a year during June and October-November, whereas that of the latter taxon only occurred primarily once a year in November at both stations, indicating environmental preferences of the taxa. Among many environmental conditions, the fluxes of Emiliania huxleyi showed strong correlations with both water temperatures above 45 m depth and air temperatures (these parameters taken with one-month lag [earlier values] considering sinking time of ca. a month to the respective trap depths). Coccolithus pelagicus, on the other hand, showed lower values in the correlation with temperatures (Tsutsui et al., 2016), indicating that this taxon is somewhat more dependent on other factors such as nutrients compared to those of E. huxleyi. The timings of the seasonal flux maxima of calcareous nannoplankton are quite different from and later than those of other taxonomic groups such as diatoms and silicoflagellates. The primary seasonal flux maxima of diatoms and silicoflagellates, for example, occurred in May, a month earlier than the June maximum of C. pelagicus, and secondary seasonal flux maxima occurred in August, 2-3 months earlier than those of calcareous nannoplankton at both stations, based on 8 year flux records for diatoms (Onodera and Takahashi, 2009) and 4 year records for silicoflagellates (Onodera and Takahashi, 2012). By examining seasonal changes of nitrate and phosphate concentrations above 50 m depth from ERDDAP
-
Yun, Mi Sun; Joo, Hui Tae; Park, Jung Woo; Kang, Jae Joong; Kang, Sung-Ho; Lee, Sang H.
2018-04-01
The carbon allocations of phytoplankton into different photosynthetic end products (lipids, LMWM, polysaccharides, and proteins) were determined to understand physiological conditions of phytoplankton in the northern Chukchi Sea during the Korean Arctic expedition, 2011, using the 13C isotope tracer technique. The carbon allocation rates of lipids, LMWM, polysaccharides, and proteins were 0.00009-0.00062 h-1, 0.00001-0.00049 h-1, 0.00001-0.00025 h-1, and 0.00001-0.00062 h-1 within the euphotic depths from surface to 1% light depths during our cruise period, respectively. Significant relationships between protein production rates and chlorophyll a concentrations (large and total) were found in this study. Moreover, we found a significant negative relationship between lipid production rates and ammonium concentrations. These relationships match well with the previous results for environmental/physiological conditions for phytoplankton growth. Overall, phytoplankton allocated more photosynthetic carbon into lipids (42.5 ± 17.7%) whereas relatively lower to proteins (20.4 ± 15.5%) in this study. The lipid-rich and protein-poor allocation patterns in this study suggest that phytoplankton in the northern Chukchi Sea were in a stationary growth phase under nutrient deficient condition based on biological and environmental conditions observed during our study period. Based on comparison with the previous studies in the northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea, we found that the photosynthetic carbon allocation patterns depending on physiological status of phytoplankton under the different growth and/or nutrient conditions could be largely vary at different regions in the Arctic Ocean. More intensive research on the physiological status of phytoplankton is further required to determine how phytoplankton response to the changing environmental conditions and consequently how they impact on higher trophic levels in marine ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean.
-
Improving estimation of glacier volume change: a GLIMS case study of Bering Glacier System, Alaska
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. J. Beedle
2008-04-01
Full Text Available The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS project has developed tools and methods that can be employed by analysts to create accurate glacier outlines. To illustrate the importance of accurate glacier outlines and the effectiveness of GLIMS standards we conducted a case study on Bering Glacier System (BGS, Alaska. BGS is a complex glacier system aggregated from multiple drainage basins, numerous tributaries, and many accumulation areas. Published measurements of BGS surface area vary from 1740 to 6200 km2, depending on how the boundaries of this system have been defined. Utilizing GLIMS tools and standards we have completed a new outline (3630 km2 and analysis of the area-altitude distribution (hypsometry of BGS using Landsat images from 2000 and 2001 and a US Geological Survey 15-min digital elevation model. We compared this new hypsometry with three different hypsometries to illustrate the errors that result from the widely varying estimates of BGS extent. The use of different BGS hypsometries results in highly variable measures of volume change and net balance (bn. Applying a simple hypsometry-dependent mass-balance model to different hypsometries results in a bn rate range of −1.0 to −3.1 m a−1 water equivalent (W.E., a volume change range of −3.8 to −6.7 km3 a−1 W.E., and a near doubling in contributions to sea level equivalent, 0.011 mm a−1 to 0.019 mm a−1. Current inaccuracies in glacier outlines hinder our ability to correctly quantify glacier change. Understanding of glacier extents can become comprehensive and accurate. Such accuracy is possible with the increasing volume of satellite imagery of glacierized regions, recent advances in tools and standards, and dedication to this important task.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profiles were collected from Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) casts from the BERING STRAIT, STRANGER, and other platforms. Data were collected from 02...
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from moorings deployed in Bering Strait from summer 2013 to summer 2014. Mooring deployments were funded by the ONR award N00014-13-1-0468...
-
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lavergne, T.; Dybkjær, Gorm; Girard-Ardhuin, Fanny
The Sea Ice Essential Climate Variable (ECV) as defined by GCOS pertains of both sea ice concentration, thickness, and drift. Now in its second phase, the ESA CCI Sea Ice project is conducting the necessary research efforts to address sea ice drift.Accurate estimates of sea ice drift direction an...... in the final product. This contribution reviews the motivation for the work, the plans for sea ice drift algorithms intercomparison and selection, and early results from our activity....
-
2011-06-08
... ecological or physiological requirements, many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Central-Western Bering Sea, August 2011 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...
-
Sea ice draft in the Weddell Sea, measured by upward looking sonars
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Behrendt
2013-06-01
Full Text Available The presented database contains time-referenced sea ice draft values from upward looking sonar (ULS measurements in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The sea ice draft data can be used to infer the thickness of the ice. They were collected during the period 1990–2008. In total, the database includes measurements from 13 locations in the Weddell Sea and was generated from more than 3.7 million measurements of sea ice draft. The files contain uncorrected raw drafts, corrected drafts and the basic parameters measured by the ULS. The measurement principle, the data processing procedure and the quality control are described in detail. To account for the unknown speed of sound in the water column above the ULS, two correction methods were applied to the draft data. The first method is based on defining a reference level from the identification of open water leads. The second method uses a model of sound speed in the oceanic mixed layer and is applied to ice draft in austral winter. Both methods are discussed and their accuracy is estimated. Finally, selected results of the processing are presented. The data can be downloaded from doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.785565.
-
Trantow, T.; Herzfeld, U. C.
2017-12-01
Glacier acceleration, ubiquitous along the periphery of the major icesheets, presents one of the main uncertainties in modeling future global sea-level rise according to the IPCC 5th Assessment Report (2013). The surge phenomenon is one type of glacial acceleration and is the least understood. During a surge, large-scale elevation change and significant crevassing occurs throughout the entire ice system. Crevasses are the most obvious manifestations of the surge dynamics and provide a source of geophysical information that allows reconstruction of deformation processes. The recent surge of the Bering-Bagley Glacier System (BBGS), Alaska, in 2011-2013 provides an excellent test case to study surging through airborne and satellite observations together with numerical modeling. A 3D full-Stokes finite element model of the BBGS has been created using the Elmer/Ice software for structural and dynamical investigations of the surge. A von Mises condition is applied to modeled surface stresses to predict where crevassing would occur during the surge. The model uses CryoSat-2 derived surface topography (Baseline-C), bedrock topography, Glen's flow law with an isothermal assumption and a uniform linear friction law at the ice/bedrock boundary to represent the surge state in early 2011 when peak velocities were observed. Additionally, geostatistical characterization applied to optical satellite imagery provides an observational data set for model-data comparisons. Observed and modeled crevasse characteristics are compared with respect to their location, magnitude and orientation. Similarity mapping applied to the modeled von Mises stress and observed surface roughness values indicates that the two quantities are correlated. Results indicate that large-scale surface crevasses resulting from a surge are connected to the bedrock topography of the glacier system. The model-data comparisons used in this analysis serve to validate the numerical model and provide insight into the
-
Jacobs, K. M.; McNutt, S. R.; Reyes, C. G.; Deangelis, S.
2006-12-01
The April 20, 2006 Mw=7.6 earthquake that occurred in Koryakia, Russia, just North of Kamchatka, produced very clear T-phases on seismic stations in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The seismic stations are maintained by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) to monitor volcanoes. Strong T-phases were recorded by most of the AVO network. The well-distributed locations of the AVO stations along most of the arc, allow unusually clear observations of phase travel times and path effects. T-phases were recorded most clearly and with highest amplitudes in the central and western Aleutians. A sharp decline in amplitude is seen moving east across the arc as the path crosses the Alaskan continental shelf in the eastern Bering Sea. The partial destructive effects of the Bower's Ridge blocking part of the energy are evident at stations on several of the westernmost Aleutian volcanoes. In the central Aleutians several volcano networks recorded a strong secondary T-phase which we believe to be a reflection from the continental shelf edge or from somewhere else along the path. There are other possible interpretations to this signal, which are also being investigated. Using arrival times and distances of the T-phases we have calculated an average apparent velocity in the SOFAR channel of about 1550 m/s. This is slightly above the predicted speeds of 1400-1500 m/s for the Bering Sea. Investigations of the causes of the velocities variations as well as the secondary T-phases are ongoing and will likely yield new information about seismic and acoustic propagation in the Bering Sea.
-
Zhao, Hui; Qiu, Weiting; Qu, Weilu
2018-02-01
The unpromising situation of terrestrial oil resources makes the deep-sea oil industry become an important development strategy. The South China Sea has a vast sea area with a wide distribution of oil and gas resources, but there is a phenomenon that exploration and census rates and oil exploitation are low. In order to solve the above problems, this article analyzes the geology, oil and gas exploration and exploration equipment in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Comparing the political environment of China and the United States energy industry and the economic environment of oil companies, this article points out China’s deep-sea oil exploration and mining problems that may exist. Finally, the feasibility of oil exploration and exploitation in the South China Sea is put forward, which will provide reference to improve the conditions of oil exploration in the South China Sea and promoting the stable development of China’s oil industry.
-
2012-02-03
...; Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery; Economic Data Collection AGENCY... Management Area (BSAI) in the Exclusive Economic Zone under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the... Management Program Economic Data Report (Chinook salmon EDR program). (a) Requirements. NMFS developed the...
-
2013-06-03
... will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or... Marmot Bay Area relative to other areas; (2) the observation of mature male and female Tanner crab... performance standard and construction requirements that apply to the Bering Sea flatfish fishery under...
-
Sea-level variability over five glacial cycles.
Grant, K M; Rohling, E J; Ramsey, C Bronk; Cheng, H; Edwards, R L; Florindo, F; Heslop, D; Marra, F; Roberts, A P; Tamisiea, M E; Williams, F
2014-09-25
Research on global ice-volume changes during Pleistocene glacial cycles is hindered by a lack of detailed sea-level records for time intervals older than the last interglacial. Here we present the first robustly dated, continuous and highly resolved records of Red Sea sea level and rates of sea-level change over the last 500,000 years, based on tight synchronization to an Asian monsoon record. We observe maximum 'natural' (pre-anthropogenic forcing) sea-level rise rates below 2 m per century following periods with up to twice present-day ice volumes, and substantially higher rise rates for greater ice volumes. We also find that maximum sea-level rise rates were attained within 2 kyr of the onset of deglaciations, for 85% of such events. Finally, multivariate regressions of orbital parameters, sea-level and monsoon records suggest that major meltwater pulses account for millennial-scale variability and insolation-lagged responses in Asian monsoon records.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Bathythermograph data were collected from the BERING STRAIT within a 1-mile radius of Ocean Weather Station V (3400N 16400E) and in transit. Data were collected by...
-
Two new ways of mapping sea ice thickness using ocean waves
Wadhams, P.
2010-12-01
TWO NEW METHODS OF MAPPING SEA ICE THICKNESS USING OCEAN WAVES. P. Wadhams (1,2), Martin Doble (1,2) and F. Parmiggiani (3) (1) Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK. (2) Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 06234 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France (2) ISAC-CNR, Bologna, Italy Two new methods of mapping ice thickness have been recently developed and tested, both making use of the dispersion relation of ocean waves in ice of radically different types. In frazil-pancake ice, a young ice type in which cakes less than 5 m across float in a suspension of individual ice crystals, the propagation of waves has been successfully modelled by treating the ice layer as a highly viscous fluid. The model predicts a shortening of wavelengths within the ice. Two-dimensional Fourier analysis of successive SAR subscenes to track the directional spectrum of a wave field as it enters an ice edge shows that waves do indeed shorten within the ice, and the change has been successfully used to predict the thickness of the frazil-pancake layer. Concurrent shipborne sampling in the Antarctic has shown that the method is accurate, and we now propose its use throughout the important frazil-pancake regimes in the world ocean (Antarctic circumpolar ice edge zone, Greenland Sea, Bering Sea and others). A radically different type of dispersion occurs when ocean waves enter the continuous icefields of the central Arctic, when they couple with the elastic ice cover to propagate as a flexural-gravity wave. A two-axis tiltmeter array has been used to measure the resulting change in the dispersion relation for long ocean swell (15-30 s) originating from storms in the Greenland Sea. The dispersion relation is slightly different from swell in the open ocean, so if two such arrays are placed a substantial distance (100s of km) apart and used to observe the changing wave period of arrivals from a given
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data were collected under NSF Grant # ARC-0722448 ("BEST: Impacts of Sea-ice on the Hydrographic Structure, Nutrients, and Mesozooplankton over the Eastern...
-
Final report for sea-level rise response modeling for San Francisco Bay estuary tidal marshes
Takekawa, John Y.; Thorne, Karen M.; Buffington, Kevin J.; Spragens, Kyle A.; Swanson, Kathleen M.; Drexler, Judith Z.; Schoellhamer, David H.; Overton, Cory T.; Casazza, Michael L.
2013-01-01
The International Panel on Climate Change has identified coastal ecosystems as areas that will be disproportionally affected by climate change. Current sea-level rise projections range widely with 0.57 to 1.9 meters increase in mea sea level by 2100. The expected accelerated rate of sea-level rise through the 21st century will put many coastal ecosystems at risk, especially those in topographically low-gradient areas. We assessed marsh accretion and plant community state changes through 2100 at 12 tidal salt marshes around San Francisco Bay estuary with a sea-level rise response model. Detailed ground elevation, vegetation, and water level data were collected at all sites between 2008 and 2011 and used as model inputs. Sediment cores (taken by Callaway and others, 2012) at four sites around San Francisco Bay estuary were used to estimate accretion rates. A modification of the Callaway and others (1996) model, the Wetland Accretion Rate Model for Ecosystem Resilience (WARMER), was utilized to run sea-level rise response models for all sites. With a mean sea level rise of 1.24 m by 2100, WARMER projected that the vast majority, 95.8 percent (1,942 hectares), of marsh area in our study will lose marsh plant communities by 2100 and to transition to a relative elevation range consistent with mudflat habitat. Three marshes were projected to maintain marsh vegetation to 2100, but they only composed 4.2 percent (85 hectares) of the total marsh area surveyed.
-
How attractive is the North Sea to the financial community?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Arnott, R.
1992-01-01
How attractive is the North Sea to the financial community? This question is answered by discussing the type of investment opportunity that the North Sea offers the investor. It is shown how North Sea investments have performed and some of the methods used to measure that performance are discussed. Finally, some thoughts on the future importance of the North Sea to the financial community reach the conclusion that it will remain important for some years to come. (author)
-
The influence of regional Arctic sea-ice decline on stratospheric and tropospheric circulation
McKenna, Christine; Bracegirdle, Thomas; Shuckburgh, Emily; Haynes, Peter
2016-04-01
region (one perturbation experiment combines all regions). These regions correspond to sea-ice loss hotspots such as the Barents-Kara Seas and the Bering Sea. The differences between the control and perturbation runs yields the effects of the imposed sea-ice loss on the polar vortex. To detect and count SSWs for each run, we use the World Meteorological Organisation's definition of an SSW (a reversal in zonal mean zonal wind at 10 hPa and 60° N, and a reversal in zonal mean meridional temperature gradient at 10 hPa between 60° N and 90° N). The poster will present and discuss the initial results of this study. Implications of the results for future change in the lower latitude mid-troposphere will be discussed. References Sun, L., C. Deser, and R. A. Tomas, 2015: Mechanisms of Stratospheric and Tropospheric Circulation Response to Projected Arctic Sea Ice Loss. J. Climate, 28, 7824-7845, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0169.1.
-
Yu, P. S.; Liao, C. J.; Chen, M. T.; Zou, J. J.; Shi, X.; Bosin, A. A.; Gorbarenko, S. A.
2017-12-01
Sea surface temperature (SST) records from the subarctic Northwestern (NW) Pacific are ideal for reconstructing regional paleoceanographic changes sensitive to global climate change. Core LV 63-41-2 (52.56°N, 160.00° E; water depth 1924 m) retrieved from a high sedimentation site, in which the interactions of the Bering Sea and the warm water mass from the NW Pacific are highly dynamic. Here we reported high-resolution last glacial alkenone-based records from Core LV 63-41-2. Prior to 27-16 ka BP high glacial C37:4 alkenone concentrations indicate large amount of fresh water influencing the surface water of the NW Pacific with a reaching to the Site LV 63-41-2. We further inferred that during the last glacial the low salinity water may be formed from the ice-melting water on site and/or brought by the surface current from the Bering Sea, and are efficient in producing strong water stratification condition. The stratification weakens vertical mixing of the upper water column, that in turn decreases the nutrients upwelled from deep to the surface therefore causes low productivity of coccolithophorids. During the early Bølling-Allerød (B/A) period, a gradual increasing alkenone-SST and associated with high C37:4 alkenone concentrations, implying that a weakened stratification and much stronger nutrient upwelling of the early B/A period than that of the glacial. The late B/A period is characterized by an abrupt warming with possibly more melting sea ices in the Bering Sea and the coast near the Kamchatka Peninsula. The large amount of fresh water lens formed during the ice melting might have ceased vertical mixing and upwelling in the upper water column as evidenced by a decline of biological productivity of both calcerous and soliceous organism during late B/A. We suggest an early warming and low productivity in the NW Pacific that is coincident with a rapid cooling in most of the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes during the Younger Dryas.
-
2013-12-03
... listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or... Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects under... Bering Sea culture.'' The excavation was done by, or under authority of, Dr. Otto Geist, who was...
-
75 FR 52306 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
2010-08-25
... Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP), primarily allocates BSAI non-pollock trawl groundfish fisheries among fishing sectors and facilitates the formation of... Amendment 80 cooperative formation) are restricted from being used outside of the Amendment 80 sector...
-
2010-03-09
... to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area... facilitates the formation of harvesting cooperatives in the head-and-gut trawl catcher/processor sector... non-AFA trawl catcher/processor sector or to be used in Amendment 80 cooperative formation) are...
-
36 CFR 242.3 - Applicability and scope.
2010-07-01
... and the Yukon Territory; Canada, and extending westerly, along the line of extreme low water across... the western bank of the Colville River following the highest highwater mark westerly, extending across... together with the adjacent waters of the Bering Sea extending, for Federal Subsistence Management purposes...
-
Reconstruction of historic sea ice conditions in a sub-Arctic lagoon
Petrich, Chris; Tivy, Adrienne C.; Ward, David H.
2014-01-01
Historical sea ice conditions were reconstructed for Izembek Lagoon, Bering Sea, Alaska. This lagoon is a crucial staging area during migration for numerous species of avian migrants and a major eelgrass (Zostera marina) area important to a variety of marine and terrestrial organisms, especially Pacific Flyway black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans). Ice cover is a common feature of the lagoon in winter, but appears to be declining, which has implications for eelgrass distribution and abundance, and its use by wildlife. We evaluated ice conditions from a model based on degree days, calibrated to satellite observations, to estimate distribution and long-term trends in ice conditions in Izembek Lagoon. Model results compared favorably with ground observations and 26 years of satellite data, allowing ice conditions to be reconstructed back to 1943. Specifically, periods of significant (limited access to eelgrass areas) and severe (almost complete ice coverage of the lagoon) ice conditions could be identified. The number of days of severe ice within a single season ranged from 0 (e.g., 2001) to ≥ 67 (e.g., 2000). We detected a slight long-term negative trend in ice conditions, superimposed on high inter-annual variability in seasonal aggregate ice conditions. Based on reconstructed ice conditions, the seasonally cumulative number of significant or severe ice days correlated linearly with mean air temperature from January until March. Further, air temperature at Izembek Lagoon was correlated with wind direction, suggesting that ice conditions in Izembek Lagoon were associated with synoptic-scale weather patterns. Methods employed in this analysis may be transferable to other coastal locations in the Arctic.
-
1985-06-01
I- * I 4 ?2 7- /’PT L0~ *70 BATRIS. K ERSCHIE I 158 158 154 152 1SO 148 146 144 142 140 138 9EAUFORT SEA 72 D 71 70 - -BRE i" isI ISO 154 152... ISO 146 146 144 142 140 136 Figure 19. (Continued). 51 Sp In October, 99 bowheads were sighted in the Beaufort Sea along and seaward of the 20-m isobath...04501T 51% 2% 43% 3% 27001 09001 27001 09001 21% 19% 4% 22501 9% 13501 22501 4% 3% 13501 18001 18001 n 47, R :226 0T n - 10, R 211 IT z2740,pɘD01 z -39.86
-
Trantow, T.; Herzfeld, U. C.
2016-12-01
During a surge, sections of a glacier will accelerate 10-100 times their normal flow velocity resulting in sudden changes in the local stress regime. A glacier surface can fracture when a critical stress threshold is exceeded resulting in surface deformation, i.e. crevassing. During a recent field campaign to Bering Glacier, Alaska, in 2011 (and later in 2012, 2013), large scale deformation of the glacier surface was observed, indicating a major surge phase had recently occurred (Herzfeld et al. 2013). In the current study, geostatistical analysis is applied to satellite imagery to characterize the surge-induced crevasses that were present during the surge phase that began in early 2011. Results are compared to a three-dimensional, isothermal, full-Stokes model of Bering Glacier implemented in the open-source finite element software Elmer/Ice, which predicts locations and orientations of crevassing based on a failure criterion involving the magnitude(s) of the principal stress(es). Since most of the movement during a surge is due to basal sliding from decreased friction at the ice-bedrock interface, a relatively accurate representation of the the basal conditions is required to accurately model the ice dynamics and hence its stress regime. To achieve this, we invert velocity data derived from image correlation to attain estimations of the basal friction coefficient that governs basal sliding in the model. The methods employed here provide a procedure to identify discrepancies between observations and models of ice-flow during acceleration events.
-
Use of X-ray computed tomography in core analysis of tight North Sea Chalk. Final report
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mogensen, K.; Stenby, E.H.
1997-12-01
This EFP-95 final report summarizes work performed at the Engineering Research Center (IVC-SEP) on the use of CT scanning in core analysis of tight core material from the North Sea. In this work, CT scanning has been applied to chalk material from Danish North Sea oil reservoirs. Results indicate that CT is fast and reliable for prediction of porosity. Typical errors lie within 2-3%. Calculation of fluid saturations requires considerable care from the experimentalists. Saturating a core ought to be performed by pulling vacuum to avoid trapped air bubbles. These bubbles may be produced after subsequent water and gas flooding, thereby ruining the mass balance calculations. Results performed at Stanford University show that if these simple precautions are taken, fluid saturations calculated from CT scanning are generally very accurate. Moreover, it appears that contrast agents need not be added to either phase. Regarding three-phase measurements the results are somewhat disappointing. Previous work using the dual-energy technique has indicated that the accuracy is less than satisfactory, due to an increased noise level at the low-energy setting. More work needs to be done in the future to develop the necessary expertise. The image analysis of the residual oil saturation after a gas flood can be simplified if water is assumed to be immobile during the injection. In that case, the resulting prediction of residual oil saturation is in excellent agreement with measured values. The general conclusion is that CT scanning holds a great potential as an assisting tool in modern core analysis, despite its limitations and the numerous implementation-related problems encountered during this work. (au) EFP-95. 57 refs.
-
2013-07-09
...), Commerce. ACTION: Notification of a determination of overfishing or an overfished condition. SUMMARY: This... that the following stocks are subject to overfishing or are in an overfished state: Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder is subject to overfishing and continues to be in an overfished condition; Bering Sea and...
-
2011-03-28
... development and testing of a salmon excluder device for the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery. This activity is... salmon bycatch by the pollock trawl industry during the EFP period could potentially approach or exceed... experimental design requires this quantity of salmon to ensure statistically valid results. The applicant also...
-
2010-06-03
.... 0910131363-0087-02] RIN 0648-XW74 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Rock Sole, Flathead... participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area... the trawl rock sole, flathead sole, and ``other flatfish'' fishery category by vessels participating...
-
Lovvorn, James R.; Rocha, Aariel R.; Jewett, Stephen C.; Dasher, Douglas; Oppel, Steffen; Powell, Abby
2015-01-01
Four species of threatened or declining eider ducks that nest in the Arctic migrate through the northeast Chukchi Sea, where anticipated industrial development may require prioritizing areas for conservation. In this nearshore corridor (10–40 m depth), the eiders’ access to benthic prey during the spring is restricted to variable areas of open water within sea ice. For the most abundant species, the king eider (Somateria spectabilis), stable isotopes in blood cells, muscle, and potential prey indicate that these eiders ate mainly bivalves when traversing this corridor. Bivalves there were much smaller than the same taxa in deeper areas of the northern Bering Sea, possibly due to higher mortality rates caused by ice scour in shallow water; future decrease in seasonal duration of fast ice may increase this effect. Computer simulations suggested that if these eiders forage for >15 h/day, they can feed profitably at bivalve densities >200 m−2 regardless of water depth or availability of ice for resting. Sampling in 2010–2012 showed that large areas of profitable prey densities occurred only in certain locations throughout the migration corridor. Satellite data in April–May over 13 years (2001–2013) indicated that access to major feeding areas through sea ice in different segments of the corridor can vary from 0% to 100% between months and years. In a warming and increasingly variable climate, unpredictability of access may be enhanced by greater effects of shifting winds on unconsolidated ice. Our results indicate the importance of having a range of potential feeding areas throughout the migration corridor to ensure prey availability in all years. Spatial planning of nearshore industrial development in the Arctic, including commercial shipping, pipeline construction, and the risk of released oil, should consider these effects of high environmental variability on the adequacy of habitats targeted for conservation.
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Estrella Olmedo
2018-03-01
Full Text Available A new methodology using a combination of debiased non-Bayesian retrieval, DINEOF (Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions and multifractal fusion has been used to obtain Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS Sea Surface Salinity (SSS fields over the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The debiased non-Bayesian retrieval mitigates the systematic errors produced by the contamination of the land over the sea. In addition, this retrieval improves the coverage by means of multiyear statistical filtering criteria. This methodology allows obtaining SMOS SSS fields in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the resulting SSS suffers from a seasonal (and other time-dependent bias. This time-dependent bias has been characterized by means of specific Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs. Finally, high resolution Sea Surface Temperature (OSTIA SST maps have been used for improving the spatial and temporal resolution of the SMOS SSS maps. The presented methodology practically reduces the error of the SMOS SSS in the Mediterranean Sea by half. As a result, the SSS dynamics described by the new SMOS maps in the Algerian Basin and the Balearic Front agrees with the one described by in situ SSS, and the mesoscale structures described by SMOS in the Alboran Sea and in the Gulf of Lion coincide with the ones described by the high resolution remotely-sensed SST images (AVHRR.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from US moorings deployed in the Russian Channel of the Bering Strait from summer 2010 to summer 2012. The deployments were designed to be...
-
Pacific walrus coastal haulout database, 1852-2016— Background report
Fischbach, Anthony S.; Kochnev, Anatoly A.; Garlich-Miller, Joel L.; Jay, Chadwick V.
2016-01-01
Walruses are large benthic predators that rest out of water between foraging bouts. Coastal “haulouts” (places where walruses rest) are formed by adult males in summer and sometimes by females and young when sea ice is absent, and are often used repeatedly across seasons and years. Understanding the geography and historical use of haulouts provides a context for conservation efforts. We summarize information on Pacific walrus haulouts from available reports (n =151), interviews with coastal residents and aviators, and personal observations of the authors. We provide this in the form of a georeferenced database that can be queried and displayed with standard geographic information system and database management software. The database contains 150 records of Pacific walrus haulouts, with a summary of basic characteristics on maximum haulout aggregation size, age-sex composition, season of use, and decade of most recent use. Citations to reports are provided in the appendix and as a bibliographic database. Haulouts were distributed across the coasts of the Pacific walrus range; however, the largest (maximum >10,000 walruses) of the haulouts reported in the recent 4 decades (n=19) were concentrated on the Russian shores in regions near the Bering Strait and northward into the western Chukchi Sea (n=17). Haulouts of adult female and young walruses primarily occurred in the Bering Strait region and areas northward, with others occurring in the central Bering Sea, Gulf of Anadyr, and Saint Lawrence Island regions. The Gulf of Anadyr was the only region to contain female and young walrus haulouts, which formed after the northward spring migration and prior to autumn ice formation.
-
Response of Antarctic sea surface temperature and sea ice to ozone depletion
Ferreira, D.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Kostov, Y.; Marshall, J.; Seviour, W.; Waugh, D.
2017-12-01
The influence of the Antarctic ozone hole extends all the way from the stratosphere through the troposphere down to the surface, with clear signatures on surface winds, and SST during summer. In this talk we discuss the impact of these changes on the ocean circulation and sea ice state. We are notably motivated by the observed cooling of the surface Southern Ocean and associated increase in Antarctic sea ice extent since the 1970s. These trends are not reproduced by CMIP5 climate models, and the underlying mechanism at work in nature and the models remain unexplained. Did the ozone hole contribute to the observed trends?Here, we review recent advances toward answering these issues using "abrupt ozone depletion" experiments. The ocean and sea ice response is rather complex, comprising two timescales: a fast ( 1-2y) cooling of the surface ocean and sea ice cover increase, followed by a slower warming trend, which, depending on models, flip the sign of the SST and sea ice responses on decadal timescale. Although the basic mechanism seems robust, comparison across climate models reveal large uncertainties in the timescales and amplitude of the response to the extent that even the sign of the ocean and sea ice response to ozone hole and recovery remains unconstrained. After briefly describing the dynamics and thermodynamics behind the two-timescale response, we will discuss the main sources of uncertainties in the modeled response, namely cloud effects and air-sea heat exchanges, surface wind stress response and ocean eddy transports. Finally, we will consider the implications of our results on the ability of coupled climate models to reproduce observed Southern Ocean changes.
-
Sea level trends in South East Asian Seas (SEAS)
Strassburg, M. W.; Hamlington, B. D.; Leben, R. R.; Manurung, P.; Lumban Gaol, J.; Nababan, B.; Vignudelli, S.; Kim, K.-Y.
2014-10-01
Southeast Asian Seas (SEAS) span the largest archipelago in the global ocean and provide a complex oceanic pathway connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The SEAS regional sea level trends are some of the highest observed in the modern satellite altimeter record that now spans almost two decades. Initial comparisons of global sea level reconstructions find that 17 year sea level trends over the past 60 years exhibit good agreement in areas and at times of strong signal to noise associated decadal variability forced by low frequency variations in Pacific trade winds. The SEAS region exhibits sea level trends that vary dramatically over the studied time period. This historical variation suggests that the strong regional sea level trends observed during the modern satellite altimeter record will abate as trade winds fluctuate on decadal and longer time scales. Furthermore, after removing the contribution of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) to sea level trends in the past twenty years, the rate of sea level rise is greatly reduced in the SEAS region. As a result of the influence of the PDO, the SEAS regional sea level trends during 2010s and 2020s are likely to be less than the global mean sea level (GMSL) trend if the observed oscillations in wind forcing and sea level persist. Nevertheless, long-term sea level trends in the SEAS will continue to be affected by GMSL rise occurring now and in the future.
-
Gaglioti, Benjamin V.; Mann, Daniel H.; Wooller, Matthew J.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Wiles, Gregory C.; Groves, Pamela; Kunz, Michael L.; Baughman, Carson A.; Reanier, Richard E.
2017-08-01
Declining sea-ice extent is currently amplifying climate warming in the Arctic. Instrumental records at high latitudes are too short-term to provide sufficient historical context for these trends, so paleoclimate archives are needed to better understand the functioning of the sea ice-albedo feedback. Here we use the oxygen isotope values of wood cellulose in living and sub-fossil willow shrubs (δ18Owc) (Salix spp.) that have been radiocarbon-dated (14C) to produce a multi-millennial record of climatic change on Alaska's North Slope during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (13,500-7500 calibrated 14C years before present; 13.5-7.5 ka). We first analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of δ18Owc in living willows growing at upland sites and found that over the last 30 years δ18Owc values in individual growth rings correlate with local summer temperature and inter-annual variations in summer sea-ice extent. Deglacial δ18Owc values from 145 samples of subfossil willows clearly record the Allerød warm period (∼13.2 ka), the Younger Dryas cold period (12.9-11.7 ka), and the Holocene Thermal Maximum (11.7-9.0 ka). The magnitudes of isotopic changes over these rapid climate oscillations were ∼4.5‰, which is about 60% of the differences in δ18Owc between those willows growing during the last glacial period and today. Modeling of isotope-precipitation relationships based on Rayleigh distillation processes suggests that during the Younger Dryas these large shifts in δ18Owc values were caused by interactions between local temperature and changes in evaporative moisture sources, the latter controlled by sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. Based on these results and on the effects that sea-ice have on climate today, we infer that ocean-derived feedbacks amplified temperature changes and enhanced precipitation in coastal regions of Arctic Alaska during warm times in the past. Today, isotope values in willows on the North Slope of Alaska are similar
-
2011-03-01
.... Based on 2010 survey data, Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) abundance is estimated at 379 million... was derived using 2010 survey data and an age-structured biomass projection model developed by the...
-
2012-02-23
... developing an age-structured model for the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod stock assessment that will be.... This is due to model changes for the calculation of octopuses OFL and ABC, and recommendations by the... the Council's recommendation. Based on 2011 survey data, Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) abundance...
-
2010-03-12
... near future. For 2011, the model produces an ABC 15,000 mt higher than the proposed ABC. The SSC...,110,000 815,000 295,000 AI 19,000 19,000 0 19,000 19,000 0 Bogoslof 50 10 40 50 10 40 Pacific cod BSAI 168,780 193,030 -24,250 207,580 193,030 14,550 Sablefish BS 2,790 2,520 270 2,500 2,520 -20 AI 2,070 2...
-
2010-02-03
...\\ BSAI trawl limited access fisheries Red king crab C. opilio C. bairdi (animals) Halibut mortality (mt..., skates, and octopus. Classification This action is authorized under 50 CFR 679.20 and is exempt from...
-
2011-03-28
... Islands Management Area (BSAI). Two tables within the document contained errors. DATES: Effective from... listed an incidental catch allowance (ICA) of rock sole at ``10,000'' metric tons (mt), instead of the... Federal Register listed the phrase ``ICA rock sole'' in the ``sector'' column rather than the ``species...
-
2010-07-23
...: The Bering Sea (BS), Aleutian Islands (AI); Southeast Outside District (SEO); Central Gulf of Alaska... holders of latent fixed-gear endorsed LLP licenses could resume fishing under the licenses in the future... how fishery effort may shift in the future, but a large number of latent LLP licenses do exist, and...
-
75 FR 35443 - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
2010-06-22
... may not reflect the productive capacity of these stocks. The teleconference will review existing methods for determining ACLs for these stocks and also consider methods being proposed in other regions of the U.S. to evaluate if these can be applied to groundfish stocks of the Bering Sea and [[Page 35444...
-
2011-08-30
... Flatfish, Sharks, and Skates in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area AGENCY: National Marine...-specified reserve to the initial total allowable catch of other rockfish, other flatfish, sharks, and skates..., BSAI other flatfish, BSAI sharks, and BSAI skates was established as 425 metric tons (mt), 2,550 mt, 43...
-
Sea otter population structure and ecology in Alaska
Bodkin, James L.; Monson, Daniel H.
2002-01-01
Sea otters are the only fully marine otter. They share a common ancestry with the Old World land otters, but their route of dispersal to the New World is uncertain. The historic range of the species is along the northern Pacific Ocean rim, between central Baja California and the islands of northern Japan. Because they forage almost exclusively on bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates such as clams, snails, crabs, and sea urchins, they predominantly occur near shore. Their offshore distribution is limited by their diving ability; although they are capable of diving to more than 100 meters deep, most of their feeding takes place between the shoreline and depths of 40 meters. They are social animals, generally resting in protected bays or kelp forests in groups, commonly referred to as rafts. Because they are gregarious, possess a fine fur, and occur primarily near shore, they have been exploited by humans for as long as they have co-occupied coastal marine communities.During the late Pleistocene, glacial advances and retreats in the northern latitudes likely influenced genetic exchange within the sea otter’s northern range. When the glaciers were at their maximum, ice sheets extended over large coastal areas, isolating sea otter populations and causing local extinctions. During periods of glacial retreat, sea otters likely recolonized the newly available habitats, allowing exchange of individuals and gene flow between populations.Beginning in about 1750, sea otter populations underwent dramatic declines as a direct result of commercial harvest for their furs. Explorations by Vitus Bering led to the discovery of abundant sea otter populations in the Aleutian Islands. The early harvest, conducted by Russians with enslaved Aleut hunters, began in the eastern Aleutians. Eventually the harvest became multinational and contributed significantly to the exploration and settlement of the North Pacific coastline by Europeans. There were two distinct periods of harvest
-
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maribeth S. Murray
2015-02-01
Full Text Available Deglaciation at the end of the Pleistocene initiated major changes in ocean circulation and distribution. Within a brief geological time, large areas of land were inundated by sea-level rise and today global sea level is 120 m above its minimum stand during the last glacial maximum. This was the era of modern sea shelf formation; climate change caused coastal plain flooding and created broad continental shelves with innumerable consequences to marine and terrestrial ecosystems and human populations. In Alaska, the Bering Sea nearly doubled in size and stretches of coastline to the south were flooded, with regional variability in the timing and extent of submergence. Here we suggest how past climate change and coastal flooding are linked to mercury bioaccumulation that could have had profound impacts on past human populations and that, under conditions of continued climate warming, may have future impacts. Biogeochemical analysis of total mercury (tHg and 13C/15N ratios in the bone collagen of archaeologically recovered Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus bone shows high levels of tHg during early/mid-Holocene. This pattern cannot be linked to anthropogenic activity or to food web trophic changes, but may result from natural phenomena such as increases in productivity, carbon supply and coastal flooding driven by glacial melting and sea-level rise. The coastal flooding could have led to increased methylation of Hg in newly submerged terrestrial land and vegetation. Methylmercury is bioaccumulated through aquatic food webs with attendant consequences for the health of fish and their consumers, including people. This is the first study of tHg levels in a marine species from the Gulf of Alaska to provide a time series spanning nearly the entire Holocene and we propose that past coastal flooding resulting from climate change had the potential to input significant quantities of Hg into marine food webs and subsequently to human consumers.
-
Monitoring Beaufort Sea waterfowl and marine birds. Final report
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Johnson, S.R.
1990-01-01
The purpose of the project was to design and implement a monitoring protocol for marine waterbirds in the Jones-Return Islands area of the central Alaska Beaufort Sea. Because of its overwhelming and widespread abundance, relatively sedentary behavior, ease in counting, and the extensive historical database, the oldsquaw duck (Clangula hyemalis) was selected as the focal species for the study. Two null hypotheses were formulated concerning potential changes in the numbers and distribution of oldsquaws in relation to OCS development in the industrial area, compared to a control area (Stockton-Maguire-Flaxman Islands area) located about 50 km to the east. A 9-year historical database (1977 through 1984, and 1989) was analyzed using multivariate techniques to determine which of several predictor variables recorded during past aerial surveys significantly influenced oldsquaw density in the central Alaska Beaufort Sea. Separate analyses were conducted for the complete open-water period, and for the molt period of oldsquaws, when they are flightless and relatively sedentary in the study areas. The results of the two multiple regression analyses indicated that only about 57% and 68%, respectively, of the total amount of variation in oldsquaw density during the two periods could be explained by predictor variables recorded during aerial surveys. Candidate predictor variables were year of study, day of year, time of day, wind speed and direction, habitat, east-west position (study area) of the transect, distance of the transect from a barrier island, water depth beneath the transect, wave height and amount of ice recorded on the transect. Predictor variables associated with habitat, day of the year, time of day of the survey, amount of ice, and wave height recorded on transect during the survey had the most significant effect on oldsquaw density
-
AFSC/RACE/EcoFOCI: 2011 Chukchi Sea Cruise MB11-01/1MB11
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A total of 64 stations were occupied along onshore-offshore transect lines from the Bering Strait to Barrow Canyon. At each station we sampled zooplankton using a...
-
Late mid-Holocene sea-level oscillation: A possible cause
Scott, D. B.; Collins, E. S.
Sea level oscillated between 5500 and 3500 years ago at Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, Chezzetcook and Baie Verte, Nova Scotia and Montmagny, Quebec. The oscillation is well constrained by foraminiferal marsh zonations in three locations and by diatoms in the fourth one. The implications are: (1) there was a eustatic sea-level oscillation of about 2-10 m in the late mid-Holocene on the southeast coast of North America (South Carolina to Quebec) that is not predicted by present geophysical models of relative sea-level change; (2) this oscillation coincides with oceanographic cooling on the east coast of Canada that we associate with melting ice; and (3) this sea- level oscillation/climatic event coincides exactly with the end of pyramid building in Egypt which is suggested to have resulted from a climate change (i.e. drought, cooling). This sea-level/climatic change is a prime example of feedback where climatic warming in the mid-Holocene promoted ice melt in the Arctic which subsequently caused climatic cooling by opening up Arctic channels releasing cold water into the Inner Labrador Current that continued to intensify until 4000 years ago. This sea-level event may also be the best way of measuring when the final ice melted since most estimates of the ages of the last melting are based on end moraine dates in the Arctic which may not coincide with when the last ice actually melted out, since there is no way of dating the final ice positions.
-
Inventory and sensitivity mapping in the German Wadden Sea. June 1987 - June 1993. Final report
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bernem, K.H. van; Knuepling, J.; Ramm, G.; Neugebohrn, L.
1994-01-01
The project 'Thematische Kartierung und Sensitivitaetsraster des Deutschen Wattenmeeres' includes a methodically uniform inventory of the whole German Wadden Sea performed between 1987 and 1992. The inventory is based on quantitative and descriptive data and contains a documentation of temporary aspects. The project acts as a nucleus for the development of the Wadden Sea information System WATiS. The project forms the basis for direct applications for nature protection and oil-spill measures; in addition, a procedure to deliminate representative areals is demonstrated which can be used for example in the 'Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Program' for the Wadden Sea. With the coupling to the computerbased maritime environmental management system 'REMUS' (presently developed) the prerequisites are generated to combine logistical, technical and scientific techniques for provision and combat measures. (orig.) [de
-
Doyle, Thomas W.
2015-01-01
Coastal wetlands of the Southeastern United States are undergoing retreat and migration from increasing tidal inundation and saltwater intrusion attributed to climate variability and sea-level rise. Much of the literature describing potential sea-level rise projections and modeling predictions are found in peer-reviewed academic journals or government technical reports largely suited to reading by other Ph.D. scientists who are more familiar or engaged in the climate change debate. Various sea-level rise and coastal wetland models have been developed and applied of different designs and scales of spatial and temporal complexity for predicting habitat and environmental change that have not heretofore been synthesized to aid natural resource managers of their utility and limitations. Training sessions were conducted with Federal land managers with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserves as well as state partners and nongovernmental organizations across the northern Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas to educate and to evaluate user needs and understanding of concepts, data, and modeling tools for projecting sea-level rise and its impact on coastal habitats and wildlife. As a result, this handbook was constructed from these training and feedback sessions with coastal managers and biologists of published decision-support tools and simulation models for sea-level rise and climate change assessments. A simplified tabular context was developed listing the various kinds of decision-support tools and ecological models along with criteria to distinguish the source, scale, and quality of information input and geographic data sets, physical and biological constraints and relationships, datum characteristics of water and land elevation components, utility options for setting sea-level rise and climate change scenarios, and ease or difficulty of storing, displaying, or interpreting model output. The handbook is designed
-
50 CFR Table 7 to Part 680 - Initial Issuance of Crab QS by Crab QS Fishery
2010-10-01
... June 10, 2002 in the Eastern Aleutian Island golden (brown) king crab, Western Aleutian Island golden... through February 8, 2002. 4 years 3. Eastern Aleutian Islands golden king crab (EAG) 5 years of the 5-year... through September 24, 2000. (3) August 15, 2001 through September 10, 2001. 5 years 4. Eastern Bering Sea...
-
Climate of the Arctic marine environment.
Walsh, John E
2008-03-01
The climate of the Arctic marine environment is characterized by strong seasonality in the incoming solar radiation and by tremendous spatial variations arising from a variety of surface types, including open ocean, sea ice, large islands, and proximity to major landmasses. Interannual and decadal-scale variations are prominent features of Arctic climate, complicating the distinction between natural and anthropogenically driven variations. Nevertheless, climate models consistently indicate that the Arctic is the most climatically sensitive region of the Northern Hemisphere, especially near the sea ice margins. The Arctic marine environment has shown changes over the past several decades, and these changes are part of a broader global warming that exceeds the range of natural variability over the past 1000 years. Record minima of sea ice coverage during the past few summers and increased melt from Greenland have important implications for the hydrographic regime of the Arctic marine environment. The recent changes in the atmosphere (temperature, precipitation, pressure), sea ice, and ocean appear to be a coordinated response to systematic variations of the large-scale atmospheric circulation, superimposed on a general warming that is likely associated with increasing greenhouse gases. The changes have been sufficiently large in some sectors (e.g., the Bering/Chukchi Seas) that consequences for marine ecosystems appear to be underway. Global climate models indicate an additional warming of several degrees Celsius in much of the Arctic marine environment by 2050. However, the warming is seasonal (largest in autumn and winter), spatially variable, and closely associated with further retreat of sea ice. Additional changes predicted for 2050 are a general decrease of sea level pressure (largest in the Bering sector) and an increase of precipitation. While predictions of changes in storminess cannot be made with confidence, the predicted reduction of sea ice cover will
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from US moorings deployed in the Bering Strait from summer 2010 to summer 2011. Moorings were also deployed for this period in Russian...
-
Regulation of CO2 Air Sea Fluxes by Sediments in the North Sea
Burt, William; Thomas, Helmuth; Hagens, Mathilde; Brenner, Heiko; Pätsch, Johannes; Clargo, Nicola; Salt, Lesley
2016-04-01
A multi-tracer approach is applied to assess the impact of boundary fluxes (e.g. benthic input from sediments or lateral inputs from the coastline) on the acid-base buffering capacity, and overall biogeochemistry, of the North Sea. Analyses of both basin-wide observations in the North Sea and transects through tidal basins at the North-Frisian coastline, reveal that surface distributions of the δ13C signature of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are predominantly controlled by a balance between biological production and respiration. In particular, variability in metabolic DIC throughout stations in the well-mixed southern North Sea indicates the presence of an external carbon source, which is traced to the European continental coastline using naturally-occurring radium isotopes (224Ra and 228Ra). 228Ra is also shown to be a highly effective tracer of North Sea total alkalinity (AT) compared to the more conventional use of salinity. Coastal inputs of metabolic DIC and AT are calculated on a basin-wide scale, and ratios of these inputs suggest denitrification as a primary metabolic pathway for their formation. The AT input paralleling the metabolic DIC release prevents a significant decline in pH as compared to aerobic (i.e. unbuffered) release of metabolic DIC. Finally, long-term pH trends mimic those of riverine nitrate loading, highlighting the importance of coastal AT production via denitrification in regulating pH in the southern North Sea.
-
Gaglioti, Benjamin V.; Mann, Daniel H.; Wooller, Matthew J.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Wiles, Gregory C.; Groves, Pamela; Kunz, Michael L.; Baughman, Carson; Reanier, Richard E.
2017-01-01
Declining sea-ice extent is currently amplifying climate warming in the Arctic. Instrumental records at high latitudes are too short-term to provide sufficient historical context for these trends, so paleoclimate archives are needed to better understand the functioning of the sea ice-albedo feedback. Here we use the oxygen isotope values of wood cellulose in living and sub-fossil willow shrubs (δ18Owc) (Salix spp.) that have been radiocarbon-dated (14C) to produce a multi-millennial record of climatic change on Alaska's North Slope during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (13,500–7500 calibrated 14C years before present; 13.5–7.5 ka). We first analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of δ18Owc in living willows growing at upland sites and found that over the last 30 years δ18Owc values in individual growth rings correlate with local summer temperature and inter-annual variations in summer sea-ice extent. Deglacial δ18Owcvalues from 145 samples of subfossil willows clearly record the Allerød warm period (∼13.2 ka), the Younger Dryas cold period (12.9–11.7 ka), and the Holocene Thermal Maximum (11.7–9.0 ka). The magnitudes of isotopic changes over these rapid climate oscillations were ∼4.5‰, which is about 60% of the differences in δ18Owc between those willows growing during the last glacial period and today. Modeling of isotope-precipitation relationships based on Rayleigh distillation processes suggests that during the Younger Dryas these large shifts in δ18Owc values were caused by interactions between local temperature and changes in evaporative moisture sources, the latter controlled by seaice extent in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. Based on these results and on the effects that sea-ice have on climate today, we infer that ocean-derived feedbacks amplified temperature changes and enhanced precipitation in coastal regions of Arctic Alaska during warm times in the past. Today, isotope values in willows on the North Slope of Alaska are
-
SEASAT demonstration experiments with the offshore oil, gas and mining industries
Mourad, A. G.; Robinson, A. C.; Balon, J. E.
1979-01-01
Despite its failure, SEASAT-1 acquired a reasonable volume of data that can be used by industrial participants on a non-real-time basis to prove the concept of microwave sensing of the world's oceans from a satellite platform. The amended version of 8 experimental plans are presented, along with a description of the satellite, its instruments, and the data available. Case studies are summarized for the following experiments: (1) Beaufort Sea oil, gas, and Arctic operations; (2) Labrador Sea oil, gas, and sea ice; (3) Gulf of Mexico pipelines; (4) U.S. East Coast offshore oil and gas; (5) worldwide offshore drilling and production operations; (6) Equatorial East Pacific Ocean mining; (7) Bering Sea ice project; and (8) North Sea oil and gas.
-
Sea ice inertial oscillations in the Arctic Basin
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
F. Gimbert
2012-10-01
Full Text Available An original method to quantify the amplitude of inertial motion of oceanic and ice drifters, through the introduction of a non-dimensional parameter M defined from a spectral analysis, is presented. A strong seasonal dependence of the magnitude of sea ice inertial oscillations is revealed, in agreement with the corresponding annual cycles of sea ice extent, concentration, thickness, advection velocity, and deformation rates. The spatial pattern of the magnitude of the sea ice inertial oscillations over the Arctic Basin is also in agreement with the sea ice thickness and concentration patterns. This argues for a strong interaction between the magnitude of inertial motion on one hand, the dissipation of energy through mechanical processes, and the cohesiveness of the cover on the other hand. Finally, a significant multi-annual evolution towards greater magnitudes of inertial oscillations in recent years, in both summer and winter, is reported, thus concomitant with reduced sea ice thickness, concentration and spatial extent.
-
A numerical model for the whole Wadden Sea: results on the hydrodynamics
Gräwe, Ulf; Duran-Matute, Matias; Gerkema, Theo; Flöser, Götz; Burchard, Hans
2015-04-01
A high-resolution baroclinic three-dimensional numerical model for the entire Wadden Sea of the German Bight in the southern North Sea is first validated against field data for surface elevation, current velocity, temperature and salinity at selected stations and then used to calculate fluxes of volume, heat and salt inside the Wadden Sea and the exchange between the Wadden Sea and the adjacent North Sea through the major tidal inlets. The General Estuarine Transport Model (GETM) is simulating the reference years 2009-2011. The numerical grid has a resolution of 200x200m and 30 adaptive vertical layers. It is the final stage of a multi-nested setup, starting from the North Atlantic. The atmospheric forcing is taken from the operational forecast of the German Weather Service. Additionally, the freshwater discharge of 23 local rivers and creeks are included. For validation, we use observations from a ship of opportunity measuring sea surface properties, tidal gauge stations, high frequency of salinity and volume transport estimates for the Mardiep and Spiekeroog inlet. Finally, the estuarine overturning circulation in three tidal gulleys is quantified. Regional differences between the gullies are assessed and drivers of the estuarine circulation are identified. Moreover, we will give a consistent estimate of the tidal prisms for all tidal inlets in the entire Wadden Sea.
-
Status of marine biodiversity of the China seas.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J Y Liu
Full Text Available China's seas cover nearly 5 million square kilometers extending from the tropical to the temperate climate zones and bordering on 32,000 km of coastline, including islands. Comprehensive systematic study of the marine biodiversity within this region began in the early 1950s with the establishment of the Qingdao Marine Biological Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since that time scientists have carried out intensive multidisciplinary research on marine life in the China seas and have recorded 22,629 species belonging to 46 phyla. The marine flora and fauna of the China seas are characterized by high biodiversity, including tropical and subtropical elements of the Indo-West Pacific warm-water fauna in the South and East China seas, and temperate elements of North Pacific temperate fauna mainly in the Yellow Sea. The southern South China Sea fauna is characterized by typical tropical elements paralleled with the Philippine-New Guinea-Indonesia Coral triangle typical tropical faunal center. This paper summarizes advances in studies of marine biodiversity in China's seas and discusses current research mainly on characteristics and changes in marine biodiversity, including the monitoring, assessment, and conservation of endangered species and particularly the strengthening of effective management. Studies of (1 a tidal flat in a semi-enclosed embayment, (2 the impact of global climate change on a cold-water ecosystem, (3 coral reefs of Hainan Island and Xisha-Nansha atolls, (4 mangrove forests of the South China Sea, (5 a threatened seagrass field, and (6 an example of stock enhancement practices of the Chinese shrimp fishery are briefly introduced. Besides the overexploitation of living resources (more than 12.4 million tons yielded in 2007, the major threat to the biodiversity of the China seas is environmental deterioration (pollution, coastal construction, particularly in the brackish waters of estuarine environments, which are
-
Sayol, J. M.; Marcos, M.
2018-02-01
This study presents a novel methodology to estimate the impact of local sea level rise and extreme surges and waves in coastal areas under climate change scenarios. The methodology is applied to the Ebro Delta, a valuable and vulnerable low-lying wetland located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Projections of local sea level accounting for all contributions to mean sea level changes, including thermal expansion, dynamic changes, fresh water addition and glacial isostatic adjustment, have been obtained from regionalized sea level projections during the 21st century. Particular attention has been paid to the uncertainties, which have been derived from the spread of the multi-model ensemble combined with seasonal/inter-annual sea level variability from local tide gauge observations. Besides vertical land movements have also been integrated to estimate local relative sea level rise. On the other hand, regional projections over the Mediterranean basin of storm surges and wind-waves have been used to evaluate changes in extreme events. The compound effects of surges and extreme waves have been quantified using their joint probability distributions. Finally, offshore sea level projections from extreme events superimposed to mean sea level have been propagated onto a high resolution digital elevation model of the study region in order to construct flood hazards maps for mid and end of the 21st century and under two different climate change scenarios. The effect of each contribution has been evaluated in terms of percentage of the area exposed to coastal hazards, which will help to design more efficient protection and adaptation measures.
-
Simulation and Domain Identification of Sea Ice Thermodynamic System
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bing Tan
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Based on the measured data and characteristics of sea ice temperature distribution in space and time, this study is intended to consider a parabolic partial differential equation of the thermodynamic field of sea ice (coupled by snow, ice, and sea water layers with a time-dependent domain and its parameter identification problem. An optimal model with state constraints is presented with the thicknesses of snow and sea ice as parametric variables and the deviation between the calculated and measured sea ice temperatures as the performance criterion. The unique existence of the weak solution of the thermodynamic system is proved. The properties of the identification problem and the existence of the optimal parameter are discussed, and the one-order necessary condition is derived. Finally, based on the nonoverlapping domain decomposition method and semi-implicit difference scheme, an optimization algorithm is proposed for the numerical simulation. Results show that the simulated temperature of sea ice fit well with the measured data, and the better fit is corresponding to the deeper sea ice.
-
Imaged brine inclusions in young sea ice—Shape, distribution and formation timing
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Galley, R.J.; Else, B.G.T.; Geilfus, Nicolas-Xavier
2015-01-01
Liquid inclusions in sea ice are variable and dependent on the myriad of physical conditions of the atmosphere– sea ice environment in which the sea ice was grown, and whether or not melting processes affected the sea ice. In that light, there exist relatively few observations and resultant quant...... in the context of the environment in which it grew. Finally, we show that a vertical brine volume distribution profile can be calculated using MR image data, extend- ing the (non-imaging) nuclear magnetic resonance work of others in this vein....
-
Microwave emission measurements of sea surface roughness, soil moisture, and sea ice structure
Gloersen, P.; Wilheit, T. T.; Schmugge, T. J.
1972-01-01
In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the microwave radiometers to be carried aboard the Nimbus 5 and 6 satellites and proposed for one of the earth observatory satellites, remote measurements of microwave radiation at wavelengths ranging from 0.8 to 21 cm have been made of a variety of the earth's surfaces from the NASA CV-990 A/C. Brightness temperatures of sea water surfaces of varying roughness, of terrain with varying soil moisture, and of sea ice of varying structure were observed. In each case, around truth information was available for correlation with the microwave brightness temperature. The utility of passive microwave radiometry in determining ocean surface wind speeds, at least for values higher than 7 meters/second has been demonstrated. In addition, it was shown that radiometric signatures can be used to determine soil moisture in unvegetated terrain to within five percentage points by weight. Finally, it was demonstrated that first year thick, multi-year, and first year thin sea ice can be distinguished by observing their differing microwave emissivities at various wavelengths.
-
photodegradation and hydrol photodegradation and hydroly
African Journals Online (AJOL)
eobe
Hazardous Materials 244–245 (0), 111-120 (2013). [3] S. M. Chernyak, C. P. Rice and L. L.. Mcconnell,"Evidence of Currently-Used Pesticides in Air, Ice, Fog, Seawater and Surface Microlayer in the Bering and Chukchi Seas": Marine Pollution. Bulletin 32 (5), 410-419 (1996). [4] M. H. Hermanson, E. H. Isaksson, C. Teixeira ...
-
50 CFR Table 1 to Part 680 - Crab Rationalization (CR) Fisheries
2010-10-01
... Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) In waters of the EEZ with: (1) A western boundary the... camtshaticus) In waters of the EEZ with: (1) An eastern boundary the longitude 179° W. long., (2) A western... eastern boundary the longitude of 166° W. long., (2) A northern and western boundary of the Maritime...
-
Novel lineages of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus in the global oceans.
Huang, Sijun; Wilhelm, Steven W; Harvey, H Rodger; Taylor, Karen; Jiao, Nianzhi; Chen, Feng
2012-02-01
Picocyanobacteria represented by Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus have an important role in oceanic carbon fixation and nutrient cycling. In this study, we compared the community composition of picocyanobacteria from diverse marine ecosystems ranging from estuary to open oceans, tropical to polar oceans and surface to deep water, based on the sequences of 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS). A total of 1339 ITS sequences recovered from 20 samples unveiled diverse and several previously unknown clades of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. Six high-light (HL)-adapted Prochlorococcus clades were identified, among which clade HLVI had not been described previously. Prochlorococcus clades HLIII, HLIV and HLV, detected in the Equatorial Pacific samples, could be related to the HNLC clades recently found in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC), iron-depleted tropical oceans. At least four novel Synechococcus clades (out of six clades in total) in subcluster 5.3 were found in subtropical open oceans and the South China Sea. A niche partitioning with depth was observed in the Synechococcus subcluster 5.3. Members of Synechococcus subcluster 5.2 were dominant in the high-latitude waters (northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea), suggesting a possible cold-adaptation of some marine Synechococcus in this subcluster. A distinct shift of the picocyanobacterial community was observed from the Bering Sea to the Chukchi Sea, which reflected the change of water temperature. Our study demonstrates that oceanic systems contain a large pool of diverse picocyanobacteria, and further suggest that new genotypes or ecotypes of picocyanobacteria will continue to emerge, as microbial consortia are explored with advanced sequencing technology.
-
Parasites in the Wadden Sea food web
Thieltges, David W.; Engelsma, Marc Y.; Wendling, Carolin C.; Wegner, K. Mathias
2013-09-01
While the free-living fauna of the Wadden Sea has received much interest, little is known on the distribution and effects of parasites in the Wadden Sea food web. However, recent studies on this special type of trophic interaction indicate a high diversity of parasites in the Wadden Sea and suggest a multitude of effects on the hosts. This also includes effects on specific predator-prey relationships and the general structure of the food web. Focussing on molluscs, a major group in the Wadden Sea in terms of biomass and abundance and an important link between primary producers and predators, we review existing studies and exemplify the ecological role of parasites in the Wadden Sea food web. First, we give a brief inventory of parasites occurring in the Wadden Sea, ranging from microparasites (e.g. protozoa, bacteria) to macroparasites (e.g. helminths, parasitic copepods) and discuss the effects of spatial scale on heterogeneities in infection levels. We then demonstrate how parasites can affect host population dynamics by acting as a strong mortality factor, causing mollusc mass mortalities. In addition, we will exemplify how parasites can mediate the interaction strength of predator-prey relationships and affect the topological structure of the Wadden Sea food web as a whole. Finally, we highlight some ongoing changes regarding parasitism in the Wadden Sea in the course of global change (e.g. species introduction, climate change) and identify important future research questions to entangle the role of parasites in the Wadden Sea food web.
-
Preparing for SMOS: Sea Salinity Campaigns and Results
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Søbjærg, Sten Schmidl; Balling, Jan E.; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup
2006-01-01
Mapping of sea surface salinity, based on L-band radiometric measurements, is presently investigated as a preparation for space missions. Special concern is on correction for effects caused by the sea surface roughness, and this paper will address two campaigns, LOSAC and CoSMOS, with the aim...... of investigating these effects. Conclusions from LOSAC are presented, and open issues to be investigated during the presently ongoing CoSMOS campaign are outlined. Finally, the installation and campaign plan for CoSMOS are presented....
-
China's South China Sea Conundrum - No Easier Pass
Jash, Amrita
2016-01-01
On July 12, 2016, The Hague- based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) finally hit the hammer on the verdict of the landmark case of South China Sea arbitration. This case was unilaterally initiated by the Republic of the Philippines on January 22, 2013, on its relevant disputes in the South China Sea with the People’s Republic of China. At the very outset, this case brought China at crossroads to its international repute given Philippines’ allegations against its assertive and unlawful clai...
-
MATERIALS FOR THE FINAL COVER OF SANITARY LANDFILLS
Davorin Kovačić
1994-01-01
The paper deals with the selection of materials for the sea¬ling layer in the final cover of sanitary landfills. The sealing la¬yer is the most critical component of the final cover. Its role is to minimize percolation of water through the final cover. Ma¬terials used for the construction of the sealing layer are either of mineral origin (compacted clay) or geosynthetic (geomem¬brane). They are most often used in combination creating com¬posite liners. Recently alternative materials are also ...
-
Rode, Karyn D; Regehr, Eric V; Douglas, David C; Durner, George; Derocher, Andrew E; Thiemann, Gregory W; Budge, Suzanne M
2014-01-01
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have experienced substantial changes in the seasonal availability of sea ice habitat in parts of their range, including the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering Seas. In this study, we compared the body size, condition, and recruitment of polar bears captured in the Chukchi and Bering Seas (CS) between two periods (1986-1994 and 2008-2011) when declines in sea ice habitat occurred. In addition, we compared metrics for the CS population 2008-2011 with those of the adjacent southern Beaufort Sea (SB) population where loss in sea ice habitat has been associated with declines in body condition, size, recruitment, and survival. We evaluated how variation in body condition and recruitment were related to feeding ecology. Comparing habitat conditions between populations, there were twice as many reduced ice days over continental shelf waters per year during 2008-2011 in the SB than in the CS. CS polar bears were larger and in better condition, and appeared to have higher reproduction than SB bears. Although SB and CS bears had similar diets, twice as many bears were fasting in spring in the SB than in the CS. Between 1986-1994 and 2008-2011, body size, condition, and recruitment indices in the CS were not reduced despite a 44-day increase in the number of reduced ice days. Bears in the CS exhibited large body size, good body condition, and high indices of recruitment compared to most other populations measured to date. Higher biological productivity and prey availability in the CS relative to the SB, and a shorter recent history of reduced sea ice habitat, may explain the maintenance of condition and recruitment of CS bears. Geographic differences in the response of polar bears to climate change are relevant to range-wide forecasts for this and other ice-dependent species. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
-
Rode, Karyn D.; Regehr, Eric V.; Douglas, David C.; Durner, George M.; Derocher, Andrew E.; Thiemann, Gregory W.; Budge, Suzanne M.
2014-01-01
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have experienced substantial changes in the seasonal availability of sea ice habitat in parts of their range, including the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering Seas. In this study, we compared the body size, condition, and recruitment of polar bears captured in the Chukchi and Bering Seas (CS) between two periods (1986–1994 and 2008–2011) when declines in sea ice habitat occurred. In addition, we compared metrics for the CS population 2008–2011 with those of the adjacent southern Beaufort Sea (SB) population where loss in sea ice habitat has been associated with declines in body condition, size, recruitment, and survival. We evaluated how variation in body condition and recruitment were related to feeding ecology. Comparing habitat conditions between populations, there were twice as many reduced ice days over continental shelf waters per year during 2008–2011 in the SB than in the CS. CS polar bears were larger and in better condition, and appeared to have higher reproduction than SB bears. Although SB and CS bears had similar diets, twice as many bears were fasting in spring in the SB than in the CS. Between 1986–1994 and 2008–2011, body size, condition, and recruitment indices in the CS were not reduced despite a 44-day increase in the number of reduced ice days. Bears in the CS exhibited large body size, good body condition, and high indices of recruitment compared to most other populations measured to date. Higher biological productivity and prey availability in the CS relative to the SB, and a shorter recent history of reduced sea ice habitat, may explain the maintenance of condition and recruitment of CS bears. Geographic differences in the response of polar bears to climate change are relevant to range-wide forecasts for this and other ice-dependent species.
-
Ho, Ju-shey; Collete, Bruce B; Madinabeitia, Ione
2006-10-01
Three species of remoras--Remora brachyptera (Lowe), Remora osteochir (Cuvier), and Remora remora (Linnaeus)--were collected from 4 species of billfishes--Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw), Makaira nigricans Lacepéde, Tetrapturus albidus Poey, and Tetrapturus pfluegeri Robins and de Sylva--on board a Japanese long-liner Shoyo Maru during her cruise in 2002 across the Atlantic. However, only the marlin sucker (R. osteochir) was found to carry a parasitic copepod, Lepeophtheirus crassus (Wilson and Bere, 1936). Although 12 species of parasitic copepods have been reported from billfishes around the world ocean, none of them is L. crassus. Thus, L. crassus is considered a parasite specific to the marlin sucker.
-
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Banas, Neil; Ashjian, Carin J.; Campbell, Robert G.
Marine productivity hotspots are usually conceived of, or defined as, sources of energy and nutrients to surrounding waters (for example, in the context of marine protected areas that serve as buffers against fisheries catch elsewhere). This study considers whether Arctic hotspots for top predators...... to mesozooplankton and where it is transferred from mesozooplankton to higher predators. These results suggest that the yield of Calanus to predators in the Chukchi Sea is dependent primarily on Bering Sea phytoplankton blooms, although this complex interdependence could change as ice retreats and phytoplankton...
-
Theory versus practice in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lobos, Víctor, E-mail: vlobosg@gmail.com [CEG-IST, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Research Group on Strategic Approaches to Environment and Sustainability (SENSU), 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo, San Crescente 551, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Partidario, Maria [CEG-IST, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Research Group on Strategic Approaches to Environment and Sustainability (SENSU), 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)
2014-09-15
Could the theory of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) be ahead of its time and decoupled from its practice? This paper evolved in search for this leading research question. Over the years the discourse on SEA experienced a gradual shift from the technocratic and rationalist thinking that supported its origin to more strategic approaches and integrated concepts, suggested since the mid 1990's. In this paper we share the results of our analysis of international thinking and practical experience with SEA. Results reveal that SEA practice changes very slowly when compared to advanced thinking supporting the noted shift. Current SEA practice shows to be still predominantly rooted in the logic of projects' environmental impact assessment (EIA). It is strongly bound to legal and regulatory requirements, and the motivation for its application persists being the delivery of environmental (or final) reports to meet legal obligations. Even though advanced SEA theoretical thinking claim its potential to help decisions to look forward, change mind-sets and the rationale of decision-making to meet sustainability challenges and enhance societal values, we note a weak relationship between the theoretical development of SEA and its practice. Why is this happening? Which factors explain this apparent inertia, resistance to change, in the SEA practice? Results appear to demonstrate the influence of assumptions, understandings, concepts, and beliefs in the use of SEA, which in turn suggest the political sensitivity of the instrument. - Highlights: • Theoretical thinking in SEA is ahead of its time. • SEA international practice reveals inertia to move out of project’ EIA comfort zone. • World current SEA practice show similar understandings of 30 years ago. • 100 world reports and survey of practitioners supported world review. • SEA great challenge is to change paradigms into new scientific complexity theories.
-
Theory versus practice in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lobos, Víctor; Partidario, Maria
2014-01-01
Could the theory of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) be ahead of its time and decoupled from its practice? This paper evolved in search for this leading research question. Over the years the discourse on SEA experienced a gradual shift from the technocratic and rationalist thinking that supported its origin to more strategic approaches and integrated concepts, suggested since the mid 1990's. In this paper we share the results of our analysis of international thinking and practical experience with SEA. Results reveal that SEA practice changes very slowly when compared to advanced thinking supporting the noted shift. Current SEA practice shows to be still predominantly rooted in the logic of projects' environmental impact assessment (EIA). It is strongly bound to legal and regulatory requirements, and the motivation for its application persists being the delivery of environmental (or final) reports to meet legal obligations. Even though advanced SEA theoretical thinking claim its potential to help decisions to look forward, change mind-sets and the rationale of decision-making to meet sustainability challenges and enhance societal values, we note a weak relationship between the theoretical development of SEA and its practice. Why is this happening? Which factors explain this apparent inertia, resistance to change, in the SEA practice? Results appear to demonstrate the influence of assumptions, understandings, concepts, and beliefs in the use of SEA, which in turn suggest the political sensitivity of the instrument. - Highlights: • Theoretical thinking in SEA is ahead of its time. • SEA international practice reveals inertia to move out of project’ EIA comfort zone. • World current SEA practice show similar understandings of 30 years ago. • 100 world reports and survey of practitioners supported world review. • SEA great challenge is to change paradigms into new scientific complexity theories
-
Sea level trends in Southeast Asian seas
Strassburg, M. W.; Hamlington, B. D.; Leben, R. R.; Manurung, P.; Lumban Gaol, J.; Nababan, B.; Vignudelli, S.; Kim, K.-Y.
2015-05-01
Southeast Asian seas span the largest archipelago in the global ocean and provide a complex oceanic pathway connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans. The Southeast Asian sea regional sea level trends are some of the highest observed in the modern satellite altimeter record that now spans almost 2 decades. Initial comparisons of global sea level reconstructions find that 17-year sea level trends over the past 60 years exhibit good agreement with decadal variability associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and related fluctuations of trade winds in the region. The Southeast Asian sea region exhibits sea level trends that vary dramatically over the studied time period. This historical variation suggests that the strong regional sea level trends observed during the modern satellite altimeter record will abate as trade winds fluctuate on decadal and longer timescales. Furthermore, after removing the contribution of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) to sea level trends in the past 20 years, the rate of sea level rise is greatly reduced in the Southeast Asian sea region. As a result of the influence of the PDO, the Southeast Asian sea regional sea level trends during the 2010s and 2020s are likely to be less than the global mean sea level (GMSL) trend if the observed oscillations in wind forcing and sea level persist. Nevertheless, long-term sea level trends in the Southeast Asian seas will continue to be affected by GMSL rise occurring now and in the future.
-
The origin of sea salt in snow on Arctic sea ice and in coastal regions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
F. Domine
2004-01-01
Full Text Available Snow, through its trace constituents, can have a major impact on lower tropospheric chemistry, as evidenced by ozone depletion events (ODEs in oceanic polar areas. These ODEs are caused by the chemistry of bromine compounds that originate from sea salt bromide. Bromide may be supplied to the snow surface by upward migration from sea ice, by frost flowers being wind-blown to the snow surface, or by wind-transported aerosol generated by sea spray. We investigate here the relative importance of these processes by analyzing ions in snow near Alert and Ny-Ålesund (Canadian and European high Arctic in winter and spring. Vertical ionic profiles in the snowpack on sea ice are measured to test upward migration of sea salt ions and to seek evidence for ion fractionation processes. Time series of the ionic composition of surface snow layers are investigated to quantify wind-transported ions. Upward migration of unfractionated sea salt to heights of at least 17cm was observed in winter snow, leading to Cl- concentration of several hundred µM. Upward migration thus has the potential to supply ions to surface snow layers. Time series show that wind can deposit aerosols to the top few cm of the snow, leading also to Cl- concentrations of several hundred µM, so that both diffusion from sea ice and wind transport can significantly contribute ions to snow. At Ny-Ålesund, sea salt transported by wind was unfractionated, implying that it comes from sea spray rather than frost flowers. Estimations based on our results suggest that the marine snowpack contains about 10 times more Na+ than the frost flowers, so that both the marine snowpack and frost flowers need to be considered as sea salt sources. Our data suggest that ozone depletion chemistry can significantly enhance the Br- content of snow. We speculate that this can also take place in coastal regions and contribute to propagate ODEs inland. Finally, we stress the need to measure snow physical parameters
-
Sea-level rise caused by climate change and its implications for society
MIMURA, Nobuo
2013-01-01
Sea-level rise is a major effect of climate change. It has drawn international attention, because higher sea levels in the future would cause serious impacts in various parts of the world. There are questions associated with sea-level rise which science needs to answer. To what extent did climate change contribute to sea-level rise in the past? How much will global mean sea level increase in the future? How serious are the impacts of the anticipated sea-level rise likely to be, and can human society respond to them? This paper aims to answer these questions through a comprehensive review of the relevant literature. First, the present status of observed sea-level rise, analyses of its causes, and future projections are summarized. Then the impacts are examined along with other consequences of climate change, from both global and Japanese perspectives. Finally, responses to adverse impacts will be discussed in order to clarify the implications of the sea-level rise issue for human society. PMID:23883609
-
Taketani, F.; Miyakawa, T.; Takigawa, M.; Yamaguchi, M.; Kanaya, Y.; Komazaki, Y.; Takashima, H.; Mordovskoi, P.; Tohjima, Y.
2017-12-01
Black carbon (BC), formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass, is a major component of light-absorbing particulate matter in the atmosphere, causing positive radiative forcing. Also, BC deposition on the surface reduces the Earth's albedo and accelerates snow/ice melting by absorbing the sunlight. Therefore, the impact of BC on the Arctic climate needs to be assessed; however, observational information has been still insufficient. Over the Arctic Ocean, we have been conducting ship-based BC observations using a single particle soot photometer (SP2) on R/V Mirai every summer since 2014. To estimate the transport pathways of BC, we have also conducted model simulations during the period of cruise using a regional transport model (WRF-Chem 3.8.1). Here we focus on observations conducted on-board the R/V Mirai from 22 August to 5 October 2016 in a round trip to the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait from a port of Hachinohe (40.52N, 141.51E), Japan. We captured relatively high BC mass concentration events in this observation. The observed average BC mass concentration during 2016 was 0.8 ± 1.4 ng/m3 in >70N, similar to the levels ( 1.0ng/m3) recorded during our previous observations in the Arctic during 2014 and 2015. The variations in the observed concentrations in 2016 were qualitatively well reproduced by the regional chemical transport model. Quantitatively, however, the model tended to overestimate the BC levels, suggesting the possibilities that the emission rates were overestimated and/or the removal rates were underestimated. We will present further analysis on the size distribution, coating, and possible sources.
-
Under Sea Ice phytoplankton bloom detection and contamination in Antarctica
Zeng, C.; Zeng, T.; Xu, H.
2017-12-01
Previous researches reported compelling sea ice phytoplankton bloom in Arctic, while seldom reports studied about Antarctic. Here, lab experiment showed sea ice increased the visible light albedo of the water leaving radiance. Even a new formed sea ice of 10cm thickness increased water leaving radiance up to 4 times of its original bare water. Given that phytoplankton preferred growing and accumulating under the sea ice with thickness of 10cm-1m, our results showed that the changing rate of OC4 estimated [Chl-a] varied from 0.01-0.5mg/m3 to 0.2-0.3mg/m3, if the water covered by 10cm sea ice. Going further, varying thickness of sea ice modulated the changing rate of estimating [Chl-a] non-linearly, thus current routine OC4 model cannot estimate under sea ice [Chl-a] appropriately. Besides, marginal sea ice zone has a large amount of mixture regions containing sea ice, water and snow, where is favorable for phytoplankton. We applied 6S model to estimate the sea ice/snow contamination on sub-pixel water leaving radiance of 4.25km spatial resolution ocean color products. Results showed that sea ice/snow scale effectiveness overestimated [Chl-a] concentration based on routine band ratio OC4 model, which contamination increased with the rising fraction of sea ice/snow within one pixel. Finally, we analyzed the under sea ice bloom in Antarctica based on the [Chl-a] concentration trends during 21 days after sea ice retreating. Regardless of those overestimation caused by sea ice/snow sub scale contamination, we still did not see significant under sea ice blooms in Antarctica in 2012-2017 compared with Arctic. This research found that Southern Ocean is not favorable for under sea ice blooms and the phytoplankton bloom preferred to occur in at least 3 weeks after sea ice retreating.
-
2013-02-06
... the threatened Steller's eider, threatened sea otter, threatened Steller sea lion, tundra swan, black... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS-R7-R-2012-N206; FXRS12650700000-134.... SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a final...
-
MATERIALS FOR THE FINAL COVER OF SANITARY LANDFILLS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Davorin Kovačić
1994-12-01
Full Text Available The paper deals with the selection of materials for the sea¬ling layer in the final cover of sanitary landfills. The sealing la¬yer is the most critical component of the final cover. Its role is to minimize percolation of water through the final cover. Ma¬terials used for the construction of the sealing layer are either of mineral origin (compacted clay or geosynthetic (geomem¬brane. They are most often used in combination creating com¬posite liners. Recently alternative materials are also used like paper mill sludge or discarded swelling clay.
-
Piatt, John F.; Wetzel, J.; Bell, K.; DeGange, A.R.; Balogh, G.R.; Drew, G.S.; Geernaert, T.; Ladd, C.; Byrd, G.V.
2006-01-01
The short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) is a rare and endangered seabird that ranges widely over the northern North Pacific. Populations are slowly recovering but birds face several threats at sea, in particular the incidental capture of birds in long-line fisheries. Conservation efforts are hampered by a lack of information about the at-sea distribution of this species, especially knowledge of where it may predictably co-occur with long-line fishing effort. During 18 years of transiting the Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge on a research vessel, we observed short-tailed albatross on 65 occasions. They were consistently observed near Ingenstrem Rocks (Buldir Pass) in the western Aleutians and near Seguam Pass in the central Aleutians. Based on the oceanographic characteristics of the locations where we saw most of the birds, we hypothesized that short-tailed albatross “hotspots” were located where tidal currents and steep bottom topography generate strong vertical mixing along the Aleutian Archipelago. As a test of this hypothesis, we analyzed a database containing 1432 opportunistic observations of 2463 short-tailed albatross at sea in the North Pacific. These data showed that short-tailed albatross were closely associated with shelf-edge habitats throughout the northern Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. In addition to Ingenstrem Rocks and Seguam Pass, important hotspots for short-tailed albatross in the Aleutians included Near Strait, Samalga Pass, and the shelf-edge south of Umnak/Unalaska islands. In the Bering Sea, hotspots were located along margins of Zhemchug, St. Matthews and Pervenets canyons. Because these short-tailed albatross hotspots are predictable, they are also protectable by regulation of threatening activities at local spatial scales.
-
Individual variation in growth in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenck) housed individually
Liang, Miao; Dong, Shuanglin; Gao, Qinfeng; Wang, Fang; Tian, Xiangli
2010-09-01
The exceptionally large individual growth variation has been previously recognized in several sea cucumber cohorts. However, there is a lack of information regarding the mechanism of such individual differences. In this study, the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) was reared individually in order to eliminate possible effects of social interaction, stocking density, etc. The results showed that there were substantial differences in growth among the sea cucumber individuals during the 100-day experiment. The special growth rate of the sea cucumber individuals differed by up to three folds (from 0.40% to 1.01%), and the coefficient of variation in body weight increased from 12.04% to 40.51%. The final wet body weight, food intake and food conversion efficiency for each sea cucumber were generally positively correlated with their initial wet body weight ( Psea cucumber individuals, largely accounting for the individual growth variation of the cohort sea cucumber. These results will provide some basic data for promoting selective breeding and farming of the sea cucumber.
-
Hyperspectral imaging simulation of object under sea-sky background
Wang, Biao; Lin, Jia-xuan; Gao, Wei; Yue, Hui
2016-10-01
Remote sensing image simulation plays an important role in spaceborne/airborne load demonstration and algorithm development. Hyperspectral imaging is valuable in marine monitoring, search and rescue. On the demand of spectral imaging of objects under the complex sea scene, physics based simulation method of spectral image of object under sea scene is proposed. On the development of an imaging simulation model considering object, background, atmosphere conditions, sensor, it is able to examine the influence of wind speed, atmosphere conditions and other environment factors change on spectral image quality under complex sea scene. Firstly, the sea scattering model is established based on the Philips sea spectral model, the rough surface scattering theory and the water volume scattering characteristics. The measured bi directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) data of objects is fit to the statistical model. MODTRAN software is used to obtain solar illumination on the sea, sky brightness, the atmosphere transmittance from sea to sensor and atmosphere backscattered radiance, and Monte Carlo ray tracing method is used to calculate the sea surface object composite scattering and spectral image. Finally, the object spectrum is acquired by the space transformation, radiation degradation and adding the noise. The model connects the spectrum image with the environmental parameters, the object parameters, and the sensor parameters, which provide a tool for the load demonstration and algorithm development.
-
Does winter region affect spring arrival time and body mass of king eiders in northern Alaska?
Powell, Abby N.; Oppel, Steffen
2009-01-01
Events during the non-breeding season may affect the body condition of migratory birds and influence performance during the following breeding season. Migratory birds nesting in the Arctic often rely on endogenous nutrients for reproductive efforts, and are thus potentially subject to such carry-over effects. We tested whether king eider (Somateria spectabilis) arrival time and body mass upon arrival at breeding grounds in northern Alaska were affected by their choice of a winter region in the Bering Sea. We captured birds shortly after arrival on breeding grounds in early June 2002–2006 at two sites in northern Alaska and determined the region in which individuals wintered using satellite telemetry or stable isotope ratios of head feathers. We used generalized linear models to assess whether winter region explained variation in arrival body mass among individuals by accounting for sex, site, annual variation, and the date a bird was captured. We found no support for our hypothesis that either arrival time or arrival body mass of king eiders differed among winter regions. We conclude that wintering in different regions in the Bering Sea is unlikely to have reproductive consequences for king eiders in our study areas.
-
Studies of the reproductive biology of deep-sea megabenthos
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tyler, P.A.
1987-07-01
The final report describes the general biology and ecology of the 15 holothurians, 3 asteroids, 2 zoanthids and 1 crustacea species studied in Reports I-XIII, the sampling methods used and the station data. A summary of the histological, histochemical and biochemical results for the species examined is given. The data suggest that the reproductive processes in the deep-sea species examined are highly unlikely to be part of a pathway for the transfer of radionuclides from the deep-sea back to man. (author)
-
Present day sea level changes: observation and causes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lombard, A.
2005-11-01
Whereas sea level has changed little over the last 2000 years, it has risen at a rate of about 2 mm/year during the 20. century. This unexpected sea level rise has been attributed to the anthropogenic global warming, recorded over several decades. Sea level variations have been measured globally and precisely for about 12 years due to satellite altimeter missions Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1. These observations indicate a global mean sea level rise of about 3 mm/year since 1993, a value significantly larger than observed during previous decades. Recent observations have allowed us to quantify the various climatic factors contributing to observed sea level change: thermal expansion of sea water due to ocean warming, melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets, and changes in the land water reservoirs. A water budget based on these new observations allows us to partly explain the observed sea level rise. In particular, we show that the thermal expansion explains only 25% of the secular sea level rise as recorded by tide-gauges over the last 50 years, while it contributes about 50% of sea level rise observed over the last decade. Meanwhile, recent studies show that glacier and ice sheet melting could contribute the equivalent of 1 mm/year in sea level rise over the last decade. In addition, the high regional variability of sea level trends revealed by satellite altimetry is mainly due to thermal expansion. There is also an important decadal spatio-temporal variability in the ocean thermal expansion over the last 50 years, which seems to be controlled by natural climate fluctuations. We question for the first time the link between the decadal fluctuations in the ocean thermal expansion and in the land reservoirs, and indeed their climatic contribution to sea level change. Finally a preliminary analysis of GRACE spatial gravimetric observations over the oceans allows us to estimate the seasonal variations in mean sea level due to ocean water mass balance variations
-
2010-12-29
.... 101006495-0498-01] RIN 0648-BA31 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion... interim final rule pertaining to Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion... Register on December 13, 2010 (75 FR 77535), to implement Steller sea lion protection measures to ensure...
-
Sea-level rise caused by climate change and its implications for society.
Mimura, Nobuo
2013-01-01
Sea-level rise is a major effect of climate change. It has drawn international attention, because higher sea levels in the future would cause serious impacts in various parts of the world. There are questions associated with sea-level rise which science needs to answer. To what extent did climate change contribute to sea-level rise in the past? How much will global mean sea level increase in the future? How serious are the impacts of the anticipated sea-level rise likely to be, and can human society respond to them? This paper aims to answer these questions through a comprehensive review of the relevant literature. First, the present status of observed sea-level rise, analyses of its causes, and future projections are summarized. Then the impacts are examined along with other consequences of climate change, from both global and Japanese perspectives. Finally, responses to adverse impacts will be discussed in order to clarify the implications of the sea-level rise issue for human society.(Communicated by Kiyoshi HORIKAWA, M.J.A.).
-
Glacial conditions in the Red Sea
Rohling, Eelco J.
1994-10-01
In this paper, results from previous studies on planktonic foraminifera, δ18O, and global sea level are combined to discuss climatic conditions in the Red Sea during the last glacial maximum (18,000 B.P.). First, the influence of 120-m sea level lowering on the exchange transport through the strait of Bab-el-Mandab is considered. This strait is the only natural connection of the Red Sea to the open ocean. Next, glacial Red Sea outflow salinity is estimated (about 48 parts per thousand) from the foraminiferal record. Combined, these results yield an estimate of the glacial net water deficit, which appears to have been quite similar to the present (about 2 m yr-1). Finally, budget calculation of δ18O fluxes suggests that the glacial δ18O value of evaporation was about 50% of the present value. This is considered to have resulted from substantially increased mean wind speeds over the glacial Red Sea, which would have caused a rapid drop in the kinematic fractionation factor for 18O. The sensitivity of the calculated values for water deficit and isotopic fractionation to the various assumptions and estimates is evaluated in the discussion. Improvents are to be expected especially through research on the glacial salinity contrast between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. It is argued, however, that such future improvement will likely result in a worsening of the isotopic discrepancy, thus increasing the need for an additional mechanism that influenced fractionation (such as mean wind speed). This study demonstrates the need for caution when calculating paleosalinities from δ18O records under the assumption that the modern S∶δ18O relation has remained constant through time. Previously overlooked factors, such as mean wind speed, may have significantly altered that relation in the past.
-
Wilson, Robert E.; Sage, George K.; Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Gravley, Megan C.; Menning, Damian; Talbot, Sandra L.
2017-01-01
The Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) is an abundant marine fish that plays a vital role in the marine food web. To better understand the population genetic structure and the role of natural selection acting on the maternally-inherited mitochondrial genome (mitogenome), a molecule often associated with adaptations to temperature, we analyzed genetic data collected from 11 biparentally-inherited nuclear microsatellite DNA loci and nucleotide sequence data from from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b (cytb) gene and, for a subset of individuals, the entire mitogenome. In addition, due to potential of species misidentification with morphologically similar Polar cod (Arctogadus glacialis), we used ddRAD-Seq data to determine the level of divergence between species and identify species-specific markers. Based on the findings presented here, Arctic cod across the Pacific Arctic (Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas) comprise a single panmictic population with high genetic diversity compared to other gadids. High genetic diversity was indicated across all 13 protein-coding genes in the mitogenome. In addition, we found moderate levels of genetic diversity in the nuclear microsatellite loci, with highest diversity found in the Chukchi Sea. Our analyses of markers from both marker classes (nuclear microsatellite fragment data and mtDNA cytb sequence data) failed to uncover a signal of microgeographic genetic structure within Arctic cod across the three regions, within the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, or between near-shore or offshore habitats. Further, data from a subset of mitogenomes revealed no genetic differentiation between Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas populations for Arctic cod, Saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis), or Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus). However, we uncovered significant differences in the distribution of microsatellite alleles between the southern Chukchi and central and eastern Beaufort Sea samples of Arctic cod. Finally, using ddRAD-Seq data, we
-
Sea-Level Allowances along the World Coastlines
Vandewal, R.; Tsitsikas, C.; Reerink, T.; Slangen, A.; de Winter, R.; Muis, S.; Hunter, J. R.
2017-12-01
Sea level changes as a result of climate change. For projections we take ocean mass changes and volume changes into account. Including gravitational and rotational fingerprints this provide regional sea level changes. Hence we can calculate sea-level rise patterns based on CMIP5 projections. In order to take the variability around the mean state, which follows from the climate models, into account we use the concept of allowances. The allowance indicates the height a coastal structure needs to be increased to maintain the likelihood of sea-level extremes. Here we use a global reanalysis of storm surges and extreme sea levels based on a global hydrodynamic model in order to calculate allowances. It is shown that the model compares in most regions favourably with tide gauge records from the GESLA data set. Combining the CMIP5 projections and the global hydrodynamical model we calculate sea-level allowances along the global coastlines and expand the number of points with a factor 50 relative to tide gauge based results. Results show that allowances increase gradually along continental margins with largest values near the equator. In general values are lower at midlatitudes both in Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Increased risk for extremes are typically 103-104 for the majority of the coastline under the RCP8.5 scenario at the end of the century. Finally we will show preliminary results of the effect of changing wave heights based on the coordinated ocean wave project.
-
Evaluating the substantive effectiveness of SEA: Towards a better understanding
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Doren, D. van; Driessen, P.P.J.; Schijf, B.; Runhaar, H.A.C.
2013-01-01
Evaluating the substantive effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is vital in order to know to what extent the tool fulfills its purposes and produces expected results. However, the studies that have evaluated the substantive effectiveness of SEA produce varying outcomes as regards the tool's contribution to decision-making and have used a variety of approaches to appraise its effectiveness. The aim of this article is to discuss the theoretical concept of SEA substantive effectiveness and to present a new approach that can be applied for evaluation studies. The SEA effectiveness evaluation framework that will be presented is composed of concepts of, and approaches to, SEA effectiveness derived from SEA literature and planning theory. Lessons for evaluation can be learned from planning theory in particular, given its long history of analyzing and understanding how sources of information and decisions affect (subsequent) decision-making. Key concepts of this new approach are ‘conformance’ and ‘performance’. In addition, this article presents a systematic overview of process and context factors that can explain SEA effectiveness, derived from SEA literature. To illustrate the practical value of our framework for the assessment and understanding of substantive effectiveness of SEA, three Dutch SEA case studies are examined. The case studies have confirmed the usefulness of the SEA effectiveness assessment framework. The framework proved helpful in order to describe the cumulative influence of the three SEAs on decision-making and the ultimate plan. - Highlights: ► A new framework to evaluate the substantive effectiveness of SEA is presented. ► The framework is based on two key concepts: ‘conformance’ and ‘performance.’ ► The practical applicability of the framework is demonstrated by three Dutch cases. ► The framework allows for a more systematic understanding of SEA effectiveness. ► Finally, this paper presents explanations
-
Analysis of the Scattering Characteristics of Sea Surface with the Influence from Internal Wave
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wei Yi-wen
2015-06-01
Full Text Available The internal wave travels beneath the sea surface and modulate the roughness of the sea surface through the wave-current interaction. This makes some dark and bright bands can be observed in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images. In this paper, we first establish the profile of the internal wave based on the KdV equations; then, the action balance equation and the wave-current interaction source function are used to modify the sea spectrum; finally, the two-scale theory based facet model is combined with the modified sea spectrum to calculate the scattering characteristics of the sea. We have simulated the scattering coefficient distribution of the sea with an internal wave traveling through. The influence on the scattering coefficients and the Doppler spectra under different internal wave parameters and sea state parameters are analyzed.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surface temperatures and salinities were collected in the Barents Sea, Sea of Japan, North Atlantic Ocean, Philippine Sea, Red Sea, and South China Sea (Nan Hai)...
-
The importance of North Sea oil to European energy supply
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bauw, R. De
1992-01-01
There is no doubt about the importance of North Sea oil to the energy supply of the European Community. One might however be used to it and forget about the nature and the size of its impact on our economies. Firstly, this paper intends to estimate this impact - past, present and future. Secondly, a more qualitative approach will explore possible consequences of the implementation of the internal market for North Sea oil. Thirdly, the assistance given by the Community to innovative technologies which enabled North Sea oil to contribute, under better economic conditions and within a safer environment, to our supply is recalled. And finally, some remarks on energy policy form an EC perspective, are offered. (author)
-
Observational analysis of air-sea fluxes and sea water temperature offshore South China Sea
Bi, X.; Huang, J.; Gao, Z.; Liu, Y.
2017-12-01
This paper investigates the air-sea fluxes (momentum flux, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux) from eddy covariance method based on data collected at an offshore observation tower in the South China Sea from January 2009 to December 2016 and sea water temperature (SWT) on six different levels based on data collected from November 2011 to June 2013. The depth of water at the tower over the sea averages about 15 m. This study presents the in-situ measurements of continuous air-sea fluxes and SWT at different depths. Seasonal and diurnal variations in air-sea fluxes and SWT on different depths are examined. Results show that air-sea fluxes and all SWT changed seasonally; sea-land breeze circulation appears all the year round. Unlike winters where SWT on different depths are fairly consistent, the difference between sea surface temperature (SST) and sea temperature at 10 m water depth fluctuates dramatically and the maximum value reaches 7 °C during summer.
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains counts of adult and juvenile (non-pup) Steller sea lions on rookeries and haul-outs in Alaska made between 1904 and 2015. Non-pup counts have...
-
Selective synthesis and characterization of sea urchin-like metallic nickel nanocrystals
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Xiaohe; Liang Xudong; Zhang Ning; Qiu Guanzhou; Yi Ran
2006-01-01
Sea urchin-like nanobelt-based and nanorod-based metallic nickel nanocrystals have been selective synthesized via a hydrothermal reduction route in which sodium hydroxide was used as alkaline reagent and aqueous hydrazine (N 2 H 4 .H 2 O) was used as reducing agent. The morphology and structure of final products could be easily controlled by adjust process parameters such as hydrothermal time, reaction temperature and alkaline concentration. Surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was also important parameter influencing the morphology of the products. The morphology and phase structure of the final products have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. The probable formation mechanism of the sea urchin-like metallic nickel nanocrystals was discussed on the basis of the experimental results
-
Zhu, Junying; Shi, Jie; Guo, Xinyu; Gao, Huiwang; Yao, Xiaohong
2018-01-01
The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM), which occurs during summer in the central Yellow Sea, plays an important role in the hydrodynamic field, nutrient cycle and biological species. Based on water temperature observations during the summer from 1978 to 1998 in the western Yellow Sea, five specific YSCWM years were identified, including two strong years (1984 and 1985), two weak years (1989 and 1995) and one normal year (1992). Using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, the YSCWM formation processes in these five years were simulated and compared with observations. In general, the YSCWM began forming in spring, matured in summer and gradually disappeared in autumn of every year. The 8 °C isotherm was used to indicate the YSCWM boundary. The modelled YSCWM areas in the two strong years were approximately two times larger than those in the two weak years. Based on the simulations in the weak year of 1995, ten numerical experiments were performed to quantify the key factors influencing the YSCWM intensity by changing the initial water condition in the previous autumn, air-sea heat flux, wind, evaporation, precipitation and sea level pressure to those in the strong year of 1984, respectively. The results showed that the air-sea heat flux was the dominant factor influencing the YSCWM intensity, which contributed about 80% of the differences of the YSCWM average water temperature at a depth of 50 m. In addition, the air-sea heat flux in the previous winter had a determining effect, contributing more than 50% of the differences between the strong and weak YSCWM years. Finally, a simple formula for predicting the YSCWM intensity was established by using the key influencing factors, i.e., the sea surface temperature before the cooling season and the air-sea heat flux during the cooling season from the previous December to the current February. With this formula, instead of a complicated numerical model, we were able to roughly predict the YSCWM intensity for the
-
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This is an archive of data from moorings deployed in Bering Strait from summer 2009 to summer 2010. Mooring deployments were funded by the NOAA RUSALCA (Russian-US...
-
Radio-active waste disposal and deep-sea biology
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rice, A.L.
1978-01-01
The deep-sea has been widely thought of as a remote, sparsely populated, and biologically inactive environment, well suited to receive the noxious products of nuclear fission processes. Much of what is known of abyssal biology tends to support this view, but there are a few disquieting contra-indications. The realisation, in recent years, that many animal groups show a previously unsuspected high species diversity in the deep-sea emphasized the paucity of our knowledge of this environment. More dramatically, the discovery of a large, active, and highly mobile abysso-bentho-pelagic fauna changed the whole concept of abyssal life. Finally, while there is little evidence for the existence of vertical migration patterns linking the deep-sea bottom communities with those of the overlying water layers, there are similarly too few negative results for the possibility of such transport mechanisms to be dismissed. In summary, biological knowledge of the abyss is insufficient to answer the questions raised in connection with deep-sea dumping, but in the absence of adequate answers it might be dangerous to ignore the questions
-
Schmith, Torben; Thejll, Peter; Johansen, Søren
2016-04-01
We analyse the statistical relationship between changes in global temperature, global steric sea level and radiative forcing in order to reveal causal relationships. There are in this, however, potential pitfalls due to the trending nature of the time series. We therefore apply a statistical method called cointegration analysis, originating from the field of econometrics, which is able to correctly handle the analysis of series with trends and other long-range dependencies. Further, we find a relationship between steric sea level and temperature and find that temperature causally depends on the steric sea level, which can be understood as a consequence of the large heat capacity of the ocean. This result is obtained both when analyzing observed data and data from a CMIP5 historical model run. Finally, we find that in the data from the historical run, the steric sea level, in turn, is driven by the external forcing. Finally, we demonstrate that combining these two results can lead to a novel estimate of radiative forcing back in time based on observations.