Cruise activities in the eastern Bering Sea during

Healy 07-01 (BEST)(April 10 - May 12, 2007)

Ray Sambrotto

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Palisades, NY

sambrott@ldeo.columbia.edu

Bering Ecosystem Study

• What is the impact of the on-going decrease in seasonal sea ice on the eastern Bering Sea marine ecosystem?

• How might this environmental change affect subsistence and commercial opportunities in the Bering Sea and local communities?

Overarching BEST Questions Addressed

(Social Science) • How might environmental change affect

subsistence and commercial opportunities in the Bering Sea and the ability of groups to travel on ice and ocean?

• How will communities (families, villages,

regional organizations, boat captains and crew, cooperatives, processors, operators, managers, and policy makers) respond to these changes?

• How will these changes in human use of the Bering Sea have reciprocal impacts on the Bering Sea ecosystem itself? (local, regional, or system-wide and relate to increased or decreased catch rates, pollution, and settlement)

Who are we?Ray Sambrotto (LDEO)Dan Sigman (Princeton Univ.)Phyllis Stabeno (NOAA-PMEL)Cal Mordy (NOAA-PMEL)Jinfeng Wu (UAF)Al Devol (UW)David Shull (UWW)Jeff Napp (NOAA-PMEL)Alex DeRobertis (NOAA-AFSC)Peter Boveng (NOAA-AFSC)Carleton Ray (UVA)

What will we be studying? • Ocean temperature and salinity and nutrients (sensors and water collection) • Ocean and sea ice iron concentrations• Primary Production• Zooplankton and fish distributions using nets and fish finders• Sediment (mud) nutrient fluxes (coring)• Ice seal abundance and tracking (on ice and from helos)• Walrus distribution (on ice and from helos)

A seal with a tag

Proposed Locations of Sampling(April 10 - May 12, 2007)

Water collection and measurementswith CTD

Collection of sediment cores

Active Acoustic Activities

• Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP)• Fish acoustic sonars; 38 KHz & 120 KHz• Multibeam• Sub-bottom profiler• Sperry SRD 500 ship speed log• Pinger on hydro-wire (possible use)• Bridge sounder (possible use)

Ice Distributions (from MODIS satl.)April 21 & May 8, 2004

Major cruise components, HLY0701 Component, PIs

CTD/ water

samples

Sed. coring

Net hauls

Work on ice

Helo. surveys/

transport

Active acoustics

1) General cruise operations X

2) Hydrography & nutrients. Phyllis Stabeno & Cal Mordy – NOAA PMEL

X

X

3) Nitrogen production and budget - Ray Sambrotto, LDEO; Dan Sigman, Princeton

X

X

4) Iron distribution – Jinfeng Wu, UAF

X X

5) Sediment fluxes & denitrification - Al Devol, UW; David Shull UWW

X

X

X

6) Zooplankton & meroplankton – Jeff Napp, NOAA PMEL

X

X

7) Fish acoustics – Alex DeRobertis, NOAA AFSC

X

8) Ice Seal abundance and tracking – Peter Boveng, NOAA AFSC

X

X

9) Walrus survey – Carleton Ray, UVA

X X

Marine Mammal operations, HLY0701

Local Contacts