Bering Ecosystem Study Program (BEST)

PI: George Hunt,

Abstract
The Bering Ecosystem Study (BEST) Program addresses the need to understand how climate change will affect the marine ecosystems of the eastern Bering Sea and their sustainability. The eastern Bering Sea supports extraordinarily rich marine resources.

1) What are the external forcing functions that link global and regional climate processes to the physical oceanography of the eastern Bering Sea?

2) How does variability in the physical aspects of the marine system affect ecosystem processes and structure?

3) How can spatial and temporal scales be integrated to permit forecasting how changes in climate will affect the productivity and sustainability of the marine ecosystems
of the eastern Bering Sea?

This renamed program was called Bering Sea Program in the Implementation Strategy.

• poster (3 MB pdf)
• draft science plan