Project Information

Title: A CPR-Based Plankton Survey Using Ships of Opportunity to Monitor the GOA 02624-BAA

Project Year and Number: 2002: 02624-BAA

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2010: 10100624, 2007: 070624, 2004: 040624, 2003: 030624

Principal Investigator (PI): Sonia Batten (Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS))

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: David Welch

Research Location: Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea

Restoration Category: Monitoring

Injured Resources Addressed: Not Specified

Abstract: This project presents the rationale for developing a plankton monitoring program for the Gulf of Alaska using ships of opportunity. Plankton are a critical link in the marine food chain whose dynamics are poorly understood, but respond rapidly and unambiguously to climate change and form the link between changes in the atmosphere and valuable upper trophic level populations, such as salmon, herring, shrimp, and groundfish. The proposal reviews the evidence that many of the most valuable marine resources in the Gulf of Alaska are strongly influenced by changes in ocean climate. Ships of opportunity are a cost effective platform for large scale monitoring and this project will build on recent experience gained with CPR (continuous plankton recorders) in the North Pacific to prepare for GEM.


Proposal: View (361 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY02: View (192 KB)
Final Report: See Project 070624

Publications from this Project: None Available