TITLE: BEST Thompson TN249 Cruise - Spring 2010 CHIEF SCIENTIST: Carin Ashjian Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 266 Woods Hole Rd. MS# 33 Woods Hole, MA 02543-1050 (508) 289 3457 cashjian@whoi.edu 1.0 DATA SET OVERVIEW The Bering Ecosystem Study (BEST) is an NSF sponsored program that will give researchers an opportunity to gain improved understanding of the linkages between variations in Bering Sea ice cover and the biology of the waters and benthos beneath. This project will require extensive measurements and analysis of water properties and chemistry, ice cover properties and biomass and related processes. A collaborating project, BSIERP (Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program), sponsored by the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), will collect data in the same region at the same time in an effort to improve understanding and prediction of ecosystem changes related to anthropogenic and natural causes. Together, these complimentary programs will provide an unprecedented amount of data that will be important in understanding the science and impacts of climate change in the Bering Sea region. 2.0 INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION See the web page at http://www.ocean.washington.edu/vessels/sssg.html for a description of the instrumentation onboard the Thompson ship. 3.0 DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING The data were collected onboard the Thompson ship during the BEST Spring 2010 cruise from May 9th through June 14th, 2010. 4.0 DATA FORMAT The data are in various formats. More information on the data formats can be obtained from the various vendor web sites referenced in the web page at http://www.ocean.washington.edu/vessels/SSSG/datasystems.html More information about the ADCP data can be obtained from http://currents.soest.hawaii.edu 5.0 DATA REMARKS The data were collected by the University of Washington - School of Oceanography onboard the Thompson ship. For more information on the data, please contact: Jim Postel Manager, SSSG (206) 616-3998 postel@ocean.washington.edu 6.0 REFERENCES Thompson Web Site: http://www.ocean.washington.edu/vessels/sssg.html ADCP instrument information: http://currents.soest.hawaii.edu