AHERC Researchers Prepare For Spring Fieldwork

The recent increase in daylight and temperatures signal the approaching 2018 field season for the AHERC team. As field season nears, the team is working hard testing instruments and getting equipment ready to start four exciting summer projects. In May, researchers will be in Yakutat, AK to deploy moorings and conduct a multi-beam bathymetry survey as part of a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Wave Energy Converter Study. This project supports AHERC's continued work in assessing the possibility of wave energy in Alaska. Additionally, while in Yakutat, AHERC will deploy moorings funded by the US Office of Naval Research to help characterize the wave energy resource off of Yakutat's shores.

During the second half of the summer, researchers will change gears and head to Alaska's North Slope for two additional projects. These BOEM funded projects will study wave, sediment and coastal characteristics of the nearshore Beaufort Sea outside Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. AHERC researchers will deploy moorings, conduct a bathymetric survey, and take coastal measurements to help understand coastal and wave conditions on Alaska's North Slope. The fourth project of AHERC's busy field season, will stretch from Barrow to Kaktovik, Alaska as AHERC takes the oceanographic lead for the new Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystem LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Network. The project will involve the deployment of moorings across the Beaufort Lagoons to collect oceanographic data to study long-term changes.

Image above: Moorings used in 2017 field work. Photo courtesy N.Konefal/ ACEP.