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upcoming events

  • April 6 | BEST-BSIERP cruise on USCG icebreaker Polar Sea returns to Kodiak
  • May 2 | BEST-BSIERP cruise on UNOLS R/V Thomas G. Thompson departs Dutch Harbor

For more information about upcoming events, or if you'd like to add a relevant event, please contact Tom Van Pelt.

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bering sea right now

Data and Imagery from AOOS

  • Sea Surface Temperature is an important ingredient in climate models and weather forecasts.
  • Sea Ice movements are critical to marine mammals and humans.
  • Chlorophyll-a, used by plants to turn light energy into food, is a measure of productivity at the base of the oceanic food web.

Welcome to the
Bering Sea Project

At sea ... on the Polar Sea

with USGS biologist Matt Sexson

freight platformMarch 14: On station

After much anticipation, the Polar Sea arrived at her first sampling station yesterday.  The sampling area in the northern Bering Sea is a little over 9,000 square miles in size.  Within this area approximately 30 points, or stations, have been designated as sampling sites. 

This morning was my first full shift on the benthic sampling crew, 11:30 PM (13 March) to 11:30 AM.  The temperature was -9°F, with a -23°F wind chill ... Read the full story

2009 Bottom Trawl Survey Report

The trawl survey results for the 2009 Eastern Bering Sea Shelf Bottom Trawl Survey (PDF, 8MB) are now available. The report features distribution dotplots and size composition figures for the various EBS shelf groundfishes including the primary commercial and forage fish species.

Bering Sea Project PI Bob Lauth is lead author on the report, which is also available through the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center's publications web page.

Climate scientist Nick Bond stops by to meet the community

Bering Sea Project PI Nick Bond recently had the opportunity to visit Togiak, located at the head of Togiak Bay, 67 miles west of Dillingham. Togiak is one of the 5 communities participating in the local traditional knowledge component of the project.

Drying fishHis research has focused on the climate of the Bering Sea and Alaska as it pertains to marine ecosystems. His objectives were to share his expertise with Togiak residents -- especially regarding the future climate of the Bering Sea -- and to talk with them about the environmental changes they have observed in their lifetimes. Above: Drying fish. (Deborah Mercy, UAF Marine Advisory Program)

The entire community depends heavily on subsistence activities. Salmon, herring, seal, sea lion, whale and walrus are among the species harvested.

Bond admitted to some trepidation before the trip. How would he be received? Would there be interest in his research? But all went well.

Read the full story about Nick Bond's visit to Togiak

About the Bering Sea Project

Bering Sea Project at a Glance 2010The Bering Sea Project provides the most comprehensive investigation of the Bering Sea ecosystem to date. Field research and modeling will continue in 2009 and 2010 and will be followed by analysis and reporting in 2011 and 2012.

Ecosystem modeling will link climate, physical oceanography, lower and upper trophic levels, and economic outcomes, and attempt to predict the impacts of climatic change on the Bering Sea ecosystem.

This research would not be possible without the efforts of nearly one hundred principal scientists.