Research projects in the Bering Sea

Research efforts

PMEL has been conducting research on physical oceanography and fisheries processes in the Bering Sea region since the early 1970's. Projects have included PROBES , OCSEAP, Fox and Bering Sea FOCI. Currently the Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity project is conducting research in the ares to study fisheries processes and the carrying capacity of the region.

Access to data

On-line data access is available. Data available include CTD casts collected since 1917, current meter data collected since the 1970's and additional CTD casts rescued as part of PMEL's data rescue efforts.

An additional, multi-disciplinary collection of data from the Bering Sea is available at the Bering Sea Climate and Ecosystem website.

About the Bering Sea

The Bering Sea named after Vitus Bering who explored the area in 1720's and 30's is approximately 878,000 square mile in area. Though the Bering Sea consists of the a wide shallow shelf and deeper slope. The Slope leads to canyons that are up to 13,422 feet deep. The Bering Sea serves as an northern extension of Pacific with the Aleutian chain to the South and the Bering Strait to the North. The Bering Sea receives freshwater infow from the Yukon and Anadyr rivers and is bordered by Bristol Bay and Norton Sound. Northern area of the Bering Sea that connect to the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea is often frozen from October toJune. Bering Sea dynamics play an important role in the North Pacific Marine Ecosystem.

Information extracted from the Standard Encyclopedia of the World's Oceans and Islands edited by Anthony Huxley. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1962