Continue acquisition of long-term biological and physical time series. Recover and deploy moorings at FOCI site 2 and site 3. Deploy satellite-tracked drifting buoys.

The primary objective of this cruise was to conduct bottom trawl sampling in the head of Bering Canyon to collect ripe adult arrowtooth flounder (ATF) and conduct deep 60 cm bongo plankton tows to collect their eggs and establish their appearance so they can be identified in the future with confidence in plankton samples. The secondary objective was to collect CTD data and 20 cm bongo, chlorophyll, and nutrient samples on line "D" of the "Unimak Box".

No cruise summary available

The primary purpose of this cruise is: to observe the ice-edge ecosystem of the eastern Bering Sea. This includes sampling water properties (T, S, nutrients) and structure of the water across the zone of the ice-edge, to sampling physical properties of the ice and the epontic algae and metazoan communities, sampling water column algae and zooplankton communities that are utilizing the phytoplankton bloom associated with the presence of the ice, and observing the distribution of birds and mammals that utilize the ice floes in the spring.

To conduct an ichthyoplankton survey in the Bering Sea in the vicinity of Unimak Island, Alaska. This work is needed to describe larval fish assemblages in the Bering Sea (slope, outer shelf, and middle shelf) in spring. Zooplankton data and data on physical characteristics of the water column will also be collected. The primary objective of this cruise was to examine community structure and transport of fish larvae and plankton on the continental shelf, slope, and deep water areas of the southeastern Bering Sea and Unimak Pass. Hydrographic, nutrient, and microzooplankton samples were also collected.

The primary objective was to conduct an assessment of eggs and larvae of Walleye Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) over the eastern Bering Sea shelf. The data collected will be used to examine the interactions among climate, weather, and ichthyoplankton distribution and abundance. This work is needed to describe larval fish assemblages and determine how physical and biological factors affect the transport and survival of fish larvae. The survey is a collaboration between two Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) programs, Ecosystems and Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (Eco-FOCI), and Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment (EMA). A SBE 49 was deployed synoptically with Bongo, CalVET and Tucker trawls used to sample icythoplankton and zooplankton at selected stations. Temperature and Conductivity were measured and Salinity and Sigma-T were derived from these measurements. While the SeaCAT measures values on the down and upcasts, only the upcasts are used.

To recover and deploy surface and subsurface oceanographic instrumentation moorings. To complete conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) profiler casts. To complete bongo and CalVET tows.

The late-summer FOCI cruise is designed to address biological and methodological questions regarding age-0 walleye pollock in the western Gulf of Alaska. The primary cruise objective is to map age-0 pollock density over an area of high environmental heterogeneity, and to relate variations in fish density with environmental variability to provide some insight regarding pollock habitat suitability.

We will conduct an ichthyoplankton survey in the Bering Sea in the vicinity of Pribilof Canyon, Alaska. This work is needed to describe larval fish and zooplankton assemblages in the Bering Sea - basin, slope, outer shelf - in spring. In particular, this area is a potential conduit for transport larvae of slope-spawning fishes (Greenland halibut, arrowtooth flounder, rockfish) to the continental shelf. Data on physical characteristics of the water column will also be collected. Satellite tracked drifters may be released in Bering and/or the Pribilof Canyon vicinity to study depth-discrete current trajectories.

The primary objective of this cruise will be the recovery and deployment of moorings in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.