Long-Term Observations: An Arctic Environmental Observatory in Bering Strait

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The proposed research would test the feasibility of a long term observatory in the Bering Strait region of Alaska. The key facility would be a pumping station located on Little Diomede Island in the center of the Strait. Seawater from depth would be pumped to a laboratory on shore in which the waters' physical, biological, and chemical composition would be determined by automated instrumentation and from samples collected manually. These results would be compared to and used in relation to long-term data on water flows through the Strait, and thus could potentially supply important information about inputs of biota and seawaters into the Arctic. Additional data would be collected concerning the abundance of macrobenthic animals found in richer sediments both north and south of the Strait. Marine mammals collected by the local village would be examined and catalogued as part of the long-term records for the site.