Discrete water samples collected from the Conductivity-Temperature-Depth rosette at specific depths, CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Northern Bering Sea to Chukchi Sea, 2018

The Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean is experiencing major reductions in seasonal sea ice extent and increases in sea surface temperatures. One of the key uncertainties in this region is how the marine ecosystem will respond to seasonal shifts in the timing of spring sea ice retreat and/or delays in fall sea ice formation. Variations in upper ocean water hydrography, planktonic production, pelagic-benthic coupling and sediment carbon cycling are all influenced by sea ice and temperature change. To more systematically track the broad biological response to sea ice retreat and associated environmental change, an international consortium of scientists have developed a coordinated Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) that includes selected biological measurements at multiple trophic levels, along with satellite and mooring measurements. The DBO currently focuses on five regional biological "hotspot" locations along a latitudinal gradient that allows for consistent sampling and monitoring at five biologically productive locations across a latitudinal gradient: DBO 1 (SLIP)-south of St. Lawrence Island (SLI), DBO2 (Chirikov)-north of SLI, DBO3 (southern Chukchi Sea), DBO4-NE Chukchi Sea,and DBO5-Barrow Canyon.

北冰洋太平洋扇区正经历季节性海冰范围的大幅缩减与海表温度的持续升高。该区域的核心不确定性之一，在于海洋生态系统将如何响应春季海冰消融时间的季节性偏移，以及秋季海冰形成时间的延迟（或二者兼具）。上层海洋水文特征、浮游生物生产力、水层-底栖耦合过程以及沉积物碳循环的变化，均受海冰与温度变化的影响。为更系统地追踪海冰消融及相关环境变化引发的整体生物响应，一个由多国科学家组成的国际科研联盟开发了一套协同式分布式生物观测站（Distributed Biological Observatory, DBO），该观测站涵盖多营养级生物测量项目，同时配套卫星与锚系观测数据。当前该分布式生物观测站聚焦沿纬度梯度分布的5处区域性生物“热点”点位，其布局可实现横跨纬度梯度的5个生物高生产力区域的标准化采样与监测：DBO 1（SLIP）——圣劳伦斯岛（St. Lawrence Island, SLI）以南海域，DBO 2（Chirikov）——圣劳伦斯岛以北海域，DBO 3（楚科奇海南部），DBO 4——楚科奇海东北部，DBO 5——巴罗峡谷。