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Biophysical Moorings on the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf: 15 Years of Observations

Biophysical Moorings on the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf: 15 Years of Observations
Type: 
Poster
Phyllis J. Stabeno1, Sue Moore2, Jeff Napp3, Kate Stafford4
1Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA, Phone 206-526-6453, phyllis [dot] stabeno [at] noaa [dot] gov
2NMML, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA
3AFSC, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA
4APL, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

The southeastern Bering Sea shelf is one of the world's most productive marine ecosystems. This high latitude sea is characterized by high biological productivity and the seasonal presence of sea ice. Integrated ocean observations, from physical and atmospheric forcing to the distribution and abundance of top-level predators, is critical to investigating such marine ecosystems and the impact of climate change on them. To accomplish this, a series of biophysical moorings have been deployed at four sites along the center (approximately the 70 m isobath) of the broad (~500 km), eastern Bering shelf. They stretch ~800 km from M2 in the south to M8 in the north. The site at M2 has been instrumented for 15 years, while the other sites have been instrumented for 5-12 years. At each site, ocean temperature, salinity, nitrate, oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence and currents are measured, and listening devices for marine mammals are also deployed. At the southern site, instruments that measure zooplankton biovolume provide important information on temporal variability of zooplankton. These biophysical moorings, coupled with extensive shipboard measurements, are being used to understand how this ecosystem is changing under the influence climate variability. These data have expanded our understanding of how ice modifies this ecosystem, from physical characteristics of the ocean and the timing of spring phytoplankton bloom to the distribution of fish and marine mammals. Distinct patterns in production (chlorophyll), zooplankton biovolume (copepods and euphausiids) and the occurrence of zooplankton predators (fin and right whales) are evident in the data and related to discrete features in the annual physical cycle. These data illustrate the capability and potential of integrated ocean observing systems (IOOS) to describe seasonal variability and linkages in a remote marine ecosystem.

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National Science Foundation | Division of Arctic Sciences
National Science Foundation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
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Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Department of Energy
Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
World Wildlife Fund
WWF
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
International Study of Arctic Change
International Study of Arctic Change
ArcticNet
ArcticNet
DAMOCLES
Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the ARCUS Cooperative Agreement ARC-0618885. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.