AHERC Â鶹¹ÙÍøers Prepare For Spring Fieldwork
The recent increase in daylight and temperatures signal the approaching 2018 field
season for the AHERC team. As field season nears, the team is working hard testing
instruments and getting equipment ready to start four exciting summer projects. In
May, researchers will be in Yakutat, AK to deploy moorings and conduct a multi-beam
bathymetry survey as part of a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Wave Energy
Converter Study. This project supports AHERC's continued work in assessing the possibility
of wave energy in Alaska. Additionally, while in Yakutat, AHERC will deploy moorings
funded by the US Office of Naval Â鶹¹ÙÍø to help characterize the wave energy resource
off of Yakutat's shores.
During the second half of the summer, researchers will change gears and head to Alaska's
North Slope for two additional projects. These BOEM funded projects will study wave,
sediment and coastal characteristics of the nearshore Beaufort Sea outside Prudhoe
Bay, Alaska. AHERC researchers will deploy moorings, conduct a bathymetric survey,
and take coastal measurements to help understand coastal and wave conditions on Alaska's
North Slope. The fourth project of AHERC's busy field season, will stretch from Barrow
to Kaktovik, Alaska as AHERC takes the oceanographic lead for the new Beaufort Lagoon
Ecosystem LTER (Long Term Ecological Â鶹¹ÙÍø) Network. The project will involve the
deployment of moorings across the Beaufort Lagoons to collect oceanographic data to
study long-term changes.
Image above: Moorings used in 2017 field work. Photo courtesy N.Konefal/ ACEP.