Topic 4A: Coastal Effects of a Diminished-Ice Arctic Ocean

Episodic Upwelling of Zooplankton within a Bowhead Whale Feeding Area near Barrow, A

Lead PI: Dr. Carin Ashjian, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The proposed work will address aspects of both Topics 4A and 4B of the NOPP solicitation: Coastal Effects of a Diminished-Ice Arctic Ocean and Marine Mammals (specifically Investigations of Marine Mammals in their Ecosystem) by expanding upon the 2005-2006 field studies to explicitly identify and document the occurrence, frequency, and persistence of wind-driven shelf-slope exchange events at the Barrow Canyon and the Beaufort shelf breaks during the summer and early fall in association with the presence of ice cover, water column stratification, and the presence of bowhead whales. We will employ a combination of moorings, field validation using boat-based oceanographic sampling, and analyses of whale prey based on stomach contents from harvested whales. In so doing, the proposed work will lead to a greater understanding of the shelf environment, of the bowhead whale feeding environment, and of the potential impact of climate change on this Arctic shelf ecosystem.

Number of Years: 3

Requested Funds: $732,683

Partners:

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
University of Rhode Island

Comprehensive Modeling Approach Towards Understanding and Prediction of the Alaskan Coastal System Response to Changes in an Ice diminished Arctic

Lead PI: Dr. Wieslaw Maslowski, Naval Postgraduate School

The proposed research combines state-of-the-art regional modeling of sea ice, ocean, atmosphere and ecosystem to provide a system approach to advance the knowledge and predictive capability of the diverse impacts of changing sea ice cover on the bio-physical marine environment of coastal Alaska and over the larger region of the western Arctic Ocean. The focus of this project on seasonally ice-free Alaskan coasts and shelves is in direct support of the Topic 4A: ‘Coastal Effects of a Diminished-ice Arctic Ocean’ and of littoral studies of interest to the U.S. Navy.

Number of Years: 3

Requested Funds: $1,200,366

Partners:

Naval Postgraduate School
University of Colorado
University of South Florida

Circulation, Cross-Shelf Exchange, Sea Ice, and Marine Mammal Habitates on the Alaskan Beufort Sea Shelf

Lead PI: Dr. Thomas Weingartner, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

The team proposes to carry out a joint physical/biological program to enhance the understanding of how the ABS atmosphere/ice/ocean/marine-mammal system works and what some of the consequences of a warming climate might be. They will focus on the related problems of how the wind-forced response due to storms and the cross-shelf exchange, including that due to rivers, will change under variable and changing ice conditions, and to understand the seasonal variations in marine mammal utilization of the ABS. The approach involves a retrospective examination of historical data, the synergistic application of recently developed technologies for measuring the ocean, ice, and marine mammal habitat utilization, and the use of novel techniques for interpreting satellite observations.

Number of Years: 3

Requested Funds: $2,948,455

Partners:

University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
University of Washington, APL

Toward a predictive model of Arctic coastal retreat in a warming climate, Beaufort Sea, Alaska

Lead PI: Dr. Cameron Wobus, University of Colorado, Boulder

The team proposes a three-year project to develop predictive models of coastal erosion and sediment transport along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast. This project has three distinct but complementary goals that include monitoring and modeling: 1) to quantify the rates and drivers of shoreline retreat through the past ~50 years using retrospective analyses of remotely sensed imagery, sea surface temperatures, ground temperatures, and meteorological records; 2) to characterize the processes driving coastal change in the Arctic via comprehensive monitoring of wave and thermal energy inputs, substrate properties, and inputs of water and sediment from fluvial systems; 3) to develop both descriptive and predictive models for coastal erosion in Alaska using both simplified physical models of individual processes, and models of suites of interrelated physical processes and hydrodynamics using DELFT3D.

Number of Years: 3

Requested Funds: $577,586

Partners: