Fish and krill schools and regions detected from acoustic backscatter along the slope of the Central Beaufort Shelf, Aug-Sept. 2017

The goal of this study is to reveal the spatial variation of biological backscatter and the distributions of fish (assumed Arctic cod) and zooplankton (assumed euphausiids/krill or large copepods) in a region of the Beaufort Shelf known for intense upwelling. Data were collected during two cruises to the Central Beaufort Sea Shelf in 2017 (Aug. 25 – Sept. 19) and in 2018 (Aug. 3 – 27) using the Simrad EK80 bioacoustics sonar suite located on the centerboard of the Research Vessel (R/V) Sikuliaq. Fish (assumed Arctic cod or Boreogadus saida) schools and regions (portions of the water column with contiguous presence of fish) were identified using the 38 kHz data while krill (euphausiid) schools and regions were identified using the 120 kHz data. All processing and analyses were conducted in Echoview. This dataset contains the 2017 data.

本研究旨在揭示以强上升流为典型特征的波弗特海陆坡区域内，生物背散射的空间变化特征，以及鱼类（推测为北极鳕鱼（Arctic cod））和浮游动物（推测为磷虾类（euphausiids/krill）或大型桡足类（copepods））的分布格局。数据采集工作于2017年（8月25日—9月19日）与2018年（8月3日—27日）两次赴中波弗特海陆坡的科考航次中完成，使用安装在西库利亚克号科考船（R/V Sikuliaq）稳向板上的Simrad EK80生物声学声呐系统。研究人员依托38 kHz频段数据识别鱼群及其连续分布的水体区域（推测为北极鳕鱼或北鳕（Boreogadus saida）），依托120 kHz频段数据识别磷虾（euphausiid）集群及其分布区域。所有数据处理与分析工作均在Echoview软件中完成。本数据集包含2017年的采集数据。