The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announces the availability of a special issue of the oceanography journal Deep-Sea Research II devoted to BOEM-funded research of the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Published in spring 2014, the 13 articles in this volume present results from major field expeditions in the northern Chukchi Sea during open-water periods in the summers of 2009 and 2010. The special issue focuses on the biological and chemical characteristics of the benthos, or sea floor community, with the goal of establishing a strong benchmark for assessing future changes that may occur in response to (1) impacts from oil and gas activities, and (2) variations in hydrography, circulation or ice retreat associated with climate change.
The research was funded by BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program, with some supplemental industry-sponsored research, to inform future energy-development decisions in the Chukchi Sea. Guest editors were Kenneth H. Dunton, University of Texas at Austin; Jacqueline M. Grebmeier, University of Maryland; and John H. Trefry, Florida Institute of Technology, with substantial involvement of Heather Crowley and Richard Prentki of BOEM’s Alaska region.
Northern Chukchi Sea Benthic Ecosystem: Characterization, Biogeochemistry and Trophic Linkages, Volume 102, 1014. Open online access to this journal edition, published by Elsevier, is available until September 19, 2014.