Posts Tagged ‘Chukchi Sea’
Scientists Study Spring Transition in Bering Strait Waters
The Bering Sea is getting warmer, and sea ice coverage is more unreliable. A team of scientists is trying to understand the details of how that affects the diverse marine life in these waters.
Read MoreAlaska Delegation to Zinke: Exclude Bering Strait from OCS Proposal
Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and Congressman Young say they support oil and gas leases in both the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. However, their letter asks Interior Secretary Zinke to remove 11 regions of offshore Alaska from the draft OCS proposal, including Bering Strait waters previously requested for protection by Kawerak.
Read MoreBOEM Proposes Oil and Gas Lease Sale of Almost All Outer Continental Shelf; Kawerak and Others Not In Favor
In a reversal of Obama-era policy, a new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposal would open nearly all the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States to oil and gas exploration. The draft proposal recommends 19 lease sales be held in Alaska, 11 of them in areas not considered for oil and gas leasing in decades or ever before. That doesn’t sit well with regional organizations like Kawerak.
Read MoreKivalina and Chukchi Coast Communities Prepped for Flooding, Erosion, Possible Evacuation
The National Weather Service recently issued a coastal flood warning for Kivalina, Shishmaref, and Point Hope, which is in effect until 6pm Wednesday evening. One Kivalina resident says if evacuation becomes necessary, then all willing members will be brought to the school.
Read MoreClimate and Weather Data Show Significant Changes In Nome, Bering Sea, and Alaska
National Weather Service observations show that, since 1900, water temperatures in the Bering Sea between June and August have been gradually rising. With that in mind, NWS says a weak to moderate La Niña is possible in Alaskan waters this winter.
Read MoreEcological Atlas of Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi Seas Conveys Years’ Worth of Data
Audubon Alaska has released a new, free and publicly-accessible ecological atlas of the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi Seas. It’s driven by years of careful measurements: “we… let the data do the talking,” says an Audubon representative who visited Nome last week.
Read MoreMarine Scientists Depart Nome to Study Chukchi Sea Biodiversity
Changes occurring in Arctic waters — including diminishing sea ice and warming seas — have brought up many questions about how marine life will respond. A team of scientists departing from Nome hopes to answer at least a few of those questions during a 23-day research cruise.
Read MoreUAF Research Vessel Begins Ecosystem Study in Bering and Chukchi Seas
“We are trying to get a handle on what our ocean looks like out here, what the ecosystem looks like: how it’s working, how it’s functioning,” says Dr. Seth Danielson from the UAF research vessel Sikuliaq.
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