First posted April 29, 2010 Version 2 March 8, 2011 including WETLabs data Version 3 November 20, 2014 ADCP bottom track direction corrected -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BEST Bering Shelf Project (Bering Ecosystem Study) University of Washington 2008-2009 Bottom Moored Oceanographic Data NSF Grant ARC-0732428 The enormous Bering shelf, containing one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world, has changed significantly in recent decades, both physically and biologically, and often in concert with regional climate fluctuations. Furthermore, the Bering shelf offers a physical and ecological continuum between the North Pacific and Arctic oceans, with the flow field transmitting changes to other ecosystems to the north. In a collaborative effort between UAF and UW, we address the impact of physical variability on the processes and structure of the Bering shelf ecosystem, with special emphasis on how freshwater redistributed by the shelf circulation or introduced from sea ice modifies stratification and nutrient distributions. In particular, we seek to understand how changes in sea ice affect advection and mixing; how variable fluxes of low-salinity, nutrient-deficient (but iron-rich) coastal waters affect production; how cross-shelf fluxes are established and altered; how these fluxes might respond to climate change; how the seasonal stratification cycle is controlled; and how the buoyant coastal flow evolves. We are using moored instruments and shipboard hydrography (including extensive 18O sampling) to address this problem set. The first set of UAF-UW BEST moorings, nine in all, was deployed in July 2008 from the USCGC Healy. The locations of the moorings are shown in Figure 1 as red squares, circles, and stars; the red triangles denote NOAA moorings. Depending on depth, the moorings carry various instrumentation. For example, at the outermost locations on each line (square, circle, and star), over the 55 m isobath, each mooring has an ice-avoiding modem-linked temperature/conductivity recorder at 10 m, another temperature/conductivity recorder with fluorometer at 22 m, below that a chain of 15 precision temperature recorders, and then an acoustic Doppler current profiler at 46 m and another temperature/conductivity recorder 2 m above the bottom. These moorings were recovered and replaced with similar ones in July 2009 from aboard the RV Point Sur. The data reported here are from the first deployment, 2008-2009. BEST 2008-2009 Bottom-Anchored Moorings- Mooring S55-08 Latitude 58 degrees 35.427 minutes North Longitude 168 degrees 23.639 minutes West Sounded ocean depth = 55 meters Time at depth = 2008/196/0640 UTC Time of release = 2009/191/0222 UTC BEST 2008-2009 Bottom-Anchored Mooring C55-08 Latitude 60 degrees 10.376 minutes North Longitude 170 degrees 05.374 minutes West Sounded ocean depth = 55 meters Time at depth = 2008/190/1923 UTC Time of release = 2009/193/0427 UTC General information about BEST (Bering Ecosystem Study) can be found at http://bsierp.nprb.org/index.html and BEST data are permanently archived at http://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/best/ In reports and publications that use these data, please acknowledge their source: K. Aagaard, BEST Bering Shelf NSF Grant ARC-0732428. For further information, please contact Dr. Knut Aagaard aagaard@apl.washington.edu (206) 543-8942 Roger Andersen roger@apl.washington.edu (206) 543-1258 at Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington 1013 NE 40th, Seattle, WA 98105-6698 USA FAX (206) 616-3142