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Arctic Winter Cruise Research

— FrontierScientists presents an account of oceanic research aboard the USCG’s icebreaker Healy. The team goal of the Arctic Winter Cruise 2011 under Chief Scientist Carin Ashjian was to explore ocean conditions (biological, physical, and chemical) in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas to better understand what happens there during the icy winter months.

“The Arctic system is undergoing significant changes related to a warming climate, most notably decreased sea ice cover, which may have significant impacts on Arctic ecosystems. Our understanding of seasonality, and of winter conditions and biological and physical processes during that time, in the Arctic is severely limited because it has been so difficult to access these winter seas. In particular, understanding of the overwintering strategies of one of the dominant copepod genera, Calanusspp., is not well understood but is critical to ecosystem modeling efforts. This lack of knowledge has compromised our ability to model and to predict future states of Arctic ecosystems, efforts that are central to our ability to understand the potential impacts of ongoing climate change.” ~ Carin Ashjian

Explore Frontier Scientist Carin Ashjian’s account of Arctic Winter Cruise Research:

Navigate to Marine research, Carin Ashjian’s account for a list of cruise journal entries.

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