Shelfbreak Upwelling in the Western Beaufort Sea, Zooplankton Morphometrics data for August-September 2018

Atmospherically-forced wind-induced upwelling along the shelf break leads to enhanced feeding opportunities for intermediate links in the pelagic ecosystem that in turn sustain the exploitation of this environment by animals such as beluga, seabirds, and seals. The Beaufort Sea shelf break is a hotspot for upper trophic level animals because elevated numbers and biomass of large, high-energy zooplankton (e.g., lipid-rich copepods, euphausiids) are regularly upwelled from deeper water onto the shelf during winds from the east, retained there by frontal features when upwelling relaxes, and exploited by bowhead whales, seabirds, and forage fish that in turn are prey for piscivorous marine mammals, such as beluga whales. The zooplankton morphometric measurements were determined for dominant copepods and euphausiids collected with a MOCNESS (Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System). Data were acquired as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project "The Importance of Shelf Break Upwelling to Upper Trophic Level Ecology in the Western Beaufort Sea". Net samples were collected within the box 165 West (W) - 145 W, 69 North (N) - 72N between 6 August and 24 August 2018. PIs: Carin Ashjian (WHOI), Robert Campbell (URI), Michael Jech (NOAA), Joel Llopiz (WHOI), Michael Lowe (WHOI), Stephen Okkonen (UAF), Kathleen Stafford (APL-UW), Jinlun Zhang (APL-UW)