Current Research

National Science Foundation: Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research

Map of NGA LTER sampling sites

Map of NGA LTER sampling stations in the northern Gulf of Alaska. 

Start date: October 2017

  • R. Hopcroft  (Principal Investigator)
  • S. Strom (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • A. Aguilar-Islas (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • J. Fiechter (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • S. Danielson (Co-Principal Investigator)

We are part of the Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research program. Please explore the NGA LTER website for more information.

North Pacific Research Board: Measuring the pulse of the Gulf of Alaska: Oceanographic observations along the Seward Line

Image of Neocalanus flemingeri

Neocalanus flemingeri, a species of Calanidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) from the subarctic Pacific Ocean.

Start date: July 2014

Beginning in Fall 2014 we have joined the long-term monitoring effort (1998-present) focused on the Seward Line in the northern coastal Gulf of Alaska. Spring and fall cruises sample a transect extending from nearshore onto the continental slope, as well as various areas of Prince William Sound. The highly productive coastal Gulf shows large interannual variability in plankton stocks at all trophic levels. Through measurements of physics, chemistry, and lower trophic level biology, we seek to understand how changes in short- and long-term climatology influence the composition and quantity of planktonic life. Our group will be adding study of microzooplankton, as well as more detailed examination of phytoplankton communities, to this on-going effort. The planktonic communities of the deep Alaska shelf directly or indirectly support the fish, seabirds and marine mammals that are of profound economic and spiritual importance for the region.