ACEP Researcher Jeremy Kasper on Beaufort Sea Research Cruise

Jeremy Kasper, the Alaska Hydrokinetic Energy Research Center Director, is co-investigator on a Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management (BOEM) funded study ANIMIDAIII. ANIMIDA stands for Arctic Nearshore Impact Monitoring in Development Areas. The current ANIMIDA project is a continuation of work that began in the late 90s. Jeremy has been participating in research related to ANIMIDA for the last 15 years. Jeremy is the physical oceanography lead on the project. This summer Jeremy and School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences mooring technician Peter Shipton will be making measurements of salinity, and temperature along the coast of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. At the beginning of the week long research cruise, they installed an oceanographic mooring funded in part by the Alaska Ocean Observing System (www.aoos.org). The mooring will record water temperature and salinity as well as ocean waves and current velocities. The mooring will sit on the seafloor for the next year in 12 meters of water in the ice infested waters of the Beaufort Sea off Oliktok Point. In addition to being the first ever mooring to record the nearshore wave climate during the fall storm season, this is testing out a new technique for surveying in moorings. This new GPS based technique should allow measurements of total water level using the mooring's bottom mounted pressure sensor. Improved techniques for measuring total water level improve the ability to predict how far storm driven waves will inundate coastal zones.

Photo: Jeremy Kasper.  Courtesy of Todd Paris, UAF.