This data set was collected as part of the Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program (CSESP), a multi-year, interdisciplinary ecological study focused on areas in outer continental shelf oil and gas leases in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. In 2008 when the program began, two 30 x 30 nautical mile study area boxes were developed around areas of interest to ConocoPhillips and Shell. The ConocoPhillips study area (named Klondike), and the Shell study area (named Burger) became the focus of data collection. Data were collected from these two study areas again in 2009. Then, in 2010, Statoil joined the program, and a third study area, Statoil, was created and sampled as well as Klondike and Burger. This dataset is part of the Pacific Marine Arctic Regional Synthesis (PacMARS) Project.

The objectives of the Chukchi Sea Environmental Baseline Studies Program are:
1. To provide data for pre-exploration and development-related activities
2. To provide data for permit applications
3. To provide input to planning of future operations and associated mitigation
4. To provide additional baseline data that can be used to assess and measure the potential environmental effects of offshore oil and gas exploration and development in the northeastern Chukchi Sea

This dataset contains the original CSV files, metadata files, shapefiles, and geodatabase files in ZIP files.