Abstract
In response to dramatic seasonal sea ice loss and other physical changes influencing biological communities, a Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) was proposed in 2009 as a “change detection array” to measure biological responses to physical variability along a latitudinal gradient extending from the northern Bering Sea to the Beaufort Sea in the Pacific Arctic sector. In 2010, the Pacific Arctic Group (PAG) initiated a pilot program, focused on developing standardized sampling protocols in five regions of high productivity, biodiversity, and rates of change. In 2012, an academic team received funding to sample all five DBO regions, with collateral support from the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) DBO Collaboration Team. The IARPC team met monthly from 2012 to 2016 and advanced the DBO from a pilot phase to an implementation phase, including 1) the addition of three new sampling regions in the Beaufort Sea, 2) the goal of linking the observatory to existing community-based observation programs, and 3) the development of a plan for a periodic Pacific Arctic Regional Marine Assessment (PARMA) beginning in 2018. The long-term future of the DBO will depend on active involvement of international and national partners focused on the common goal of improved pan-Arctic assessments of regional marine ecosystems in an era of rapid change.
Highlights
In 2009, in response to dramatic seasonal sea ice loss and other physical changes influencing biological communities, a Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) was proposed as a change detection array to measure biological responses to physical variability along a latitudinal gradient extending from the northern Bering Sea to the Beaufort Sea in the Pacific Arctic sector (Grebmeier et al, 2010)
International participation was coordinated by the Pacific Arctic Group (PAG), with national participation managed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
We summarize key partnerships, products, and science contributions achieved in support of developing the DBO as a regional ocean observatory for the Pacific Arctic
Summary
In 2009, in response to dramatic seasonal sea ice loss and other physical changes influencing biological communities, a Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) was proposed as a change detection array to measure biological responses to physical variability along a latitudinal gradient extending from the northern Bering Sea to the Beaufort Sea in the Pacific Arctic sector (Grebmeier et al, 2010). In 2012, the National Science Foundation/ Arctic Observing Network (NSF/AON) program awarded a 5-year research grant to a collaborative team from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Clark University, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to provide support for standardized sampling in all five DBO regions.
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