Abstract
We created a new, 100 m horizontal resolution bathymetry raster and used it to define 29 canyons of the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) slope area off of Alaska, USA. To create this bathymetry surface we proofed, edited, and digitized 18 million soundings from over 200 individual sources. Despite the vast size (~1250 km long by ~3000 m high) and ecological significance of the EBS slope, there have been few hydrographic-quality charting cruises conducted in this area, so we relied mostly on uncalibrated underway files from cruises of convenience. The lack of hydrographic quality surveys, anecdotal reports of features such as pinnacles, and reliance on satellite altimetry data has created confusion in previous bathymetric compilations about the details along the slope, such as the shape and location of canyons along the edge of the slope, and hills and valleys on the adjacent shelf area. A better model of the EBS slope will be useful for geologists, oceanographers, and biologists studying the seafloor geomorphology and the unusually high productivity along this poorly understood seafloor feature.
Highlights
The eastern Bering Sea (EBS) slope is an abrupt, sinuous seafloor feature, ranging approximately km in length from Bering Canyon in US waters to the Vityaz Sea Valley in Russian waters (Figure 1)
While the Aleutian Islands (AI) portion of this area was well-charted with smooth sheets mostly in the late 1930’s [3], the waters surrounding islands in the Bering Sea such as St
Imagery of the bathymetry is provided as Supplementary Material with this manuscript (EBS Slope Bathymetry.zip)
Summary
The eastern Bering Sea (EBS) slope is an abrupt, sinuous seafloor feature, ranging approximately km in length from Bering Canyon in US waters to the Vityaz Sea Valley in Russian waters (Figure 1). Depths to the east of the slope on the Bering Sea shelf are shallow (~130 m), depths to the west of the slope in the Aleutian Basin are deep (>3000 m), and numerous canyons, some of which are the largest in the world [1], scallop the edge of the shelf. This vast vertical and horizontal expanse of seafloor has been only partially explored and charted.
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