Niskin rosette recovery on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. Credit: Han Weinrich
In May, CICOES and OME researcher Han Weinrich sailed aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson for the annual Spring Mooring Cruise with Ecosystem and Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (EcoFOCI), traveling from Kodiak through the eastern Bering Sea to the edge of the seasonal ice sheet. The trip was a major success, with Han collecting over 130 environmental DNA samples from the water column via a CTD Niskin rosette to expand the molecular time series NOAA has maintained here since 2020.
To complement this core dataset, Han also gathered sediment, harmful algal bloom (HAB) samples, and collected sea ice samples for the second consecutive year. Using long poles and nets to scoop ice chunks directly from the floes, the team is investigating how ice-associated algae (like diatoms) fuel the base of the Arctic food web as it melts. Together, these diverse sample types allow the team to track emerging biological threats and establish critical baselines that support sustainable fisheries management as regional waters rapidly warm.
