Bering Strait 2018-2022: Quantifying the changing Pacific inflow to the Arctic Ocean- a critical component of the Arctic Observing Network

A部分：这项工作的核心将是在白令海峡安装和每年维修三个海洋系泊设施，地点(全部在美国水域)已被证明提供了通过该海峡的海洋通量的有效量化。这些系泊设备测量(每小时、全年)水流速度、水温和盐度，以及该地区季节性海冰的厚度和运动。这些装置也可用于支持其他研究的仪器，例如海洋哺乳动物研究。该项目将在不同的时间尺度(包括每小时、每月和每年)提供海洋通量和水性质的数据产品，与利益攸关方互动，以提供最相关的产品。将这些数据与卫星数据集、建模结果和本土知识相结合，研究人员将量化长期变化和流入特性变化的驱动因素。该项目还培训学生海洋技术；通过为期5年的科学之旅，将西方科学带到课堂上。与阿拉斯加的原住民社区和西雅图的西班牙裔/拉丁裔占主导地位的学校的外联项目；并通过大学课堂、各种公开演讲和西雅图？S主要科学博物馆一年一度的极地科学周末，将北极与公众联系起来。B部分：太平洋流入北冰洋(通过白令海峡)对阿拉斯加海和北冰洋西部的海洋系统至关重要。近年来，这种流入呈现出戏剧性的增长和早期变暖。这会在地区、北极以及(模型显示的)全球范围内产生影响。考虑一些例子。这一流入影响了对全国至关重要的白令海的营养供应，白令海是美国约50%渔获量的来源。流入的热量(近年来不断增加)是早期北冰洋海冰消退的导火索。流入的水的特性控制着北冰洋大约一半地区的海洋与海冰的相互作用。流入的营养物质为北冰洋以及美国和加拿大北部沿海地区的北极生态系统提供了营养。因此，至关重要的是评估太平洋流入北极的变化--对当地土著社区；对泛北极通道、全球航运和资源开发的新关注；以及了解(和预测)北极正在如何变化及其影响。到目前为止，进行这一评估的唯一有效方法是通过全年的水中测量。美国从1990年开始进行这种衡量，使我们现在能够在背景下量化目前正在进行的显著转型。这项新的研究将把这些测量持续到2022年，并寻求对最近变化的驱动因素的理解。至关重要的是，这项工作将以有用的形式向许多利益攸关方提供海洋信息，包括当地和全球科学、当地土著社区、公众和工业(例如石油/天然气勘探、航运、旅游业)。在国际上，该项目是美国对北极全球合作的重大贡献。在教育方面，该项目将科学和北极带给学校和公共社区，包括STEM领域多样性的成功榜样。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Part A: The core of this work will be the installation and annual servicing of three oceanographic moorings in the Bering Strait, at sites (all in US waters) which have been shown to provide an effective quantification of the oceanic fluxes through the strait. These moorings measure (hourly, year-round) water velocity, water temperature and salinity, and the thickness and motion of the seasonal sea ice in the region. The installations are available also to support instrumentation from other studies, e.g., marine mammal research. The project will provide data products of oceanic fluxes and water properties at various timescales (including hourly, monthly, and annual), interacting with stakeholders to provide the most relevant products. Combining these data with satellite data sets, modeling results, and indigenous knowledge, the researchers will quantify long-term change and the changing drivers of the properties of the inflow. The project also trains students in oceanographic techniques; brings western science to the classroom through a ?5-year journey in science? outreach project to native communities in Alaska and Hispanic/Latino-dominated schools in Seattle; and connects the Arctic and the public through university classes, various public talks, and the annual Polar Science Weekend at Seattle?s major Science museum. Part B: The Pacific inflow to the Arctic Ocean (which is via the Bering Strait) is critical to the oceanic systems of the Alaskan seas and western Arctic Ocean. Recent years are showing dramatic increase and early warming in this inflow. This has consequences regionally, in the Arctic, and (models suggest) also globally. Consider some examples. The inflow impacts nutrient supply to the nationally crucial Bering Sea, source of ~ 50% of the US fish catch. Heat carried by the inflow (increasing in recent years) is a trigger of early Arctic sea-ice retreat. Water properties of the inflow control how the ocean interacts with sea ice over roughly half the Arctic Ocean. Nutrients carried by the inflow feed Arctic ecosystems, both in the Arctic Ocean and in the US and Canadian northern coastal regions. It is thus vital to assess the changing Pacific inflow to the Arctic - for local native communities; for the new focus on pan-Arctic access, global shipping and resource exploitation; and for understanding (and predicting) how the Arctic is changing and the impacts of that change. To date, the only effective way of making this assessment is through year-round in-water measurements. The US started such measurements in 1990, allowing us now to quantify in context the remarkable transitions currently in progress. This new research will continue these measurements to 2022, also seeking understanding of the drivers of recent change. Crucially, the work will provide oceanic information in useful forms to the many stakeholders, including local and global science, local native communities, the public, and industry (e.g., oil/gas exploration, shipping, tourism). Internationally, the project is a substantial US contribution to global cooperation in the Arctic. Educationally, the project brings science and the Arctic to school and public communities, including role modeling success of diversity in STEM fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.