Surface sediment samples collected from the United States Coast Guard Cutter Healy (HLY1801), Northern Bering Sea to Chukchi Sea

• Main Authors: Grebmeier, Jacqueline M., Cooper, Lee W.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2019
• Subjects: sediment grain size; total organic carbon; total organic nitrogen; C/N; surface sediment chlorophyll; Distributed Biological Observatory; DBO; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Bering Sea; Chukchi Sea; Pacific; Lawrence Island; Barrow Canyon; Chukchi; Sea ice; St Lawrence Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18739/a2h12v769; https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2H12V769

The Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean is experiencing major reductions in seasonal sea ice extent and increases in sea surface temperatures. One of the key uncertainties in this region is how the marine ecosystem will respond to seasonal shifts in the timing of spring sea ice retreat and/or delays in fall sea ice formation. Variations in upper ocean water hydrography, planktonic production, pelagic-benthic coupling and sediment carbon cycling are all influenced by sea ice and temperature change. To more systematically track the broad biological response to sea ice retreat and associated environmental change, an international consortium of scientists have developed a coordinated Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) that includes selected biological measurements at multiple trophic levels, along with satellite and mooring measurements. The DBO currently focuses on five regional biological hotspot locations along a latitudinal gradient that allows for consistent sampling and monitoring at five biologically productive locations across a latitudinal gradient: DBO 1 (SLIP)-south of St. Lawrence Island (SLI), DBO2 (Chirikov)-north of SLI, DBO3 (southern Chukchi Sea), DBO4-NE Chukchi Sea, and DBO5-Barrow Canyon. This dataset contains summary measurements of surface sediment collected at each station for the identified cruise, including: sediment grain size (≤0 phi, 1 phi, 2 phi, 3 phi, 4 phi, greater than 5 phi, 1-4 phi, and modal phi size), total organic carbon (TOC), total organic nitrogen (TON), carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) and surface sediment chlorophyll (chl a). Surface sediment chlorophyll (chl a) content is scaled up to milligrams of Chl a per meter squared (mg chl a/m2).