Impacts of Sea Ice Variability and Polynya Formation on Biological Productivity in the Northern Bering Sea

来自威廉和玛丽弗吉尼亚海洋科学研究所的一名研究人员得到了资助，以调查气候变化导致的海冰覆盖减少对白令海海洋生态系统的影响。将利用海冰和初级生产力的卫星图像调查海冰覆盖、冰穴和生物生产力之间的关系。卫星测量的海冰覆盖和融化日期将与卫星测量的浮游植物测量相结合，并在研究航行中得到验证。研究结果将用于预测气候变暖对白令海生产力的未来影响，白令海是一个支持土著自给性收获的生态系统，美国一半以上的商业渔业上岸量以及濒危海洋鸟类和哺乳动物的种群。

A researcher from the College of William and Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science has been funded to investigate the effects of reduced sea ice cover - resulting from climate change - on the marine ecosystem of the Bering Sea. The relationships between sea ice cover, polynyas, and biological productivity will be investigated using satellite imaging of sea ice and primary productivity. Satellite measurements of sea ice cover and melt dates will be integrated with measurements of phytoplankton also measured by satellites and validated on research cruises. The results will be used to predict future impacts of climate warming on the productivity of the Bering Sea, an ecosystem that supports Native subsistence harvests, over half of the United States' commercial fisheries landings, and populations of endangered marine birds and mammals.