NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration PMEL (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory) EcoFOCI (NOAA PMEL, Ecosystems Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations) FOCI (NOAA, PMEL, Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations)

NPCREP
North Pacific Climate Regimes and Ecosystem Productivity

Our Mission:    To conduct research on climate variability and ecosystem response in the North Pacific, focusing on the productive waters of the eastern Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and most recently, the Chukchi Sea.

NPCREP is a unique joint program of the NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and the NOAA/Alaska Fisheries Science Center, created to investigate impacts of climate fluctuation on ecosystems in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. NPCREP is part of EcoFOCI (Ecosystems and Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations) along with its companion program, FOCI (Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations). The intent of this research is to improve scientific understanding and provide guidance for resource managers on climate adaptation.

NPCREP has two long-term goals:
  1. To observe, understand and predict relationships between climate and ecosystems, and
  2. To help society plan for and mitigate potential impacts of climate change on our marine resources.
NPCREP monitors changes in ecosystems through a network of in-situ and remote observing systems such as biophysical moorings and satellite-tracked drifters (link to drifter animation).

We maintain four long-term (>10 year duration) mooring sites in the Bering Sea and two in the Gulf of Alaska. The primary biophysical mooring in the Bering Sea (M2) was recently deployed for the 19th year. In partnership with BOEM, several mooring sites are maintained in the Chukchi Sea with one site (C2) now in its fourth year. Our biophysical moorings measure a suite of variables such as temperature, salinity, currents, O2, PAR, chlorophyll fluorescence, nitrate, zooplankton biovolume, marine mammal vocalizations, and ice thickness.

PRODUCTS
NPCREP contributes information on ecosystem status and trends to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC). Significant relationships between climate forcing and ecosystem response, observed and predicted, are published annually in the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Stock Assessment and Fisheries Evaluation.

Bering Sea Ecosystem Report Card

View our image with link to NPCREP Science Plan(PDF)

NPCREP(PDF) image of words "Progress and Accomplishments" followed by links to NPCREP annual report PDFs: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012

Summary report from the Eastern Bering Sea Synthesis Team (first meeting, 08/2010)

NPCREP-sponsored Bering Sea shelf ice-edge expeditions: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009


NOAA logo and link EcoFOCI Project Office
NOAA/PMEL and NOAA/AFSC
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, Washington 98115
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