Bering Ecosystem Study (BEST)
How will climate change will affect the marine ecosystems of the eastern Bering Sea, the continued use of their resources, and the social, economic and cultural sustainability of the people who depend on them?
The Bering Sea is in the midst of significant, interrelated physical and biological change that may impact the region's carrying capacity and productivity, the sustainability of fish and shellfish stocks of great economic value for the nation, and the livelihoods of Native communities and fishers.
Overarching Questions
- What is the impact of the ongoing decrease in seasonal sea ice on the eastern Bering Sea marine ecosystem?
- How does summer stratification influence the magnitude and fate of primary and secondary production?
- What controlsl nutrient replenishment over the shelf, and are they sensitive to the observed warming?
National and International Collaboration
Related programs will allow comparisons between the eastern and western Bering Sea, the Oyashio Current System and the Sea of Okhotsk so that BEST activities will coordinate with other research plans for the Bering Sea, the North Pacific, and other subarctic seas.
Bering Sea Interagency Working Group | In 2006, the BEST Program Office worked with NPRB, NOAA, AOOS, USARC, USFWS, USGS and UAF to develop a a white paper that outlines recommendations fro developing a multi-institutional approach to climate change rsearch for the Bering Sea.
Related GLOBEC programs
Related NSF programs
- Study of Environmental Change in the Arctic
- Western Shelf-Basins Interactions Project
- Snow Science Traverse - Alaska Region
Science Planning
Natural Science: BEST Science Plan
The BEST Science Plan was developed during community workshops in 2002 and 2003. It outlines an inter-disciplinary research initiative to improve the understanding of the effects of climate variability, at multiple scales, on the marine ecosystems of the eastern Bering Sea.
Download the PDF or request a printed copy
Social Science: Sustaining the Bering Sea Ecosystem
A social science plan was developed in 2004 with support from the NSF Arctic Social Sciences program to complement the BEST natural science plan and to capitalize on interest in collaborations among resident communities and scientists.
The plan calls for research to articulate the dynamic relationship between humans and the Bering Sea ecosystem. The plan's themes are:
- Impacts on humans: How past, current, and possible future changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem affect the health and well-being of human communities living and depending on this region for subsistence, employment, and cultural survival.
- Impacts by humans: How changing human uses of the Bering Sea region affect the natural cycles of this ecosystem by moderating and/or accelerating systemic changes.
- Dynamics of human and non-human natural systems: How the human-environmental dynamic has changed and may change in the future due to internal and external opportunities and pressures.
BEST Implementation Plan
Objectives
- Develop research modules and design the field program
- Integrate the field program with parallel modeling and retrospective analyses
- Develop an end-to-end research program capable of investigating forcing mechanisms, trophic levels, and consequences of ecosystem change
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