Workshop to Assess Research Priorities in the Bering Sea

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Bering Sea supports some of the world's most productive fisheries, and acts as a chemostat, modifying water, heat and salt concentrations as they flow from the North Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean. In recent years, it has become evident that this seasonally ice-covered sub-arctic sea is subject to decadal-scale and secular changes in climate. Thus, there is a need to assess how global change may affect the marine ecosystem of the Bering Sea and its ability to support productive fisheries. To assess the potential for developing a major research initiative that could focus on the most profitable approaches to these questions, it is proposed to conduct an international workshop, to be held in early September 2002. The goal of the workshop would be to identify and prioritize the most important research questions concerning the potential effects of global change on the sub-arctic marine ecosystem of the Bering Sea and to discuss innovative approaches to answering these questions. An important product of the workshop will be the development of an outline for the structure of a major research initiative to address these questions. This outline would provide the basis for inclusion of the wider sub-arctic research community in the development and implementation of a new Bering Sea research program.