Images

Arctic smelt (Osmerus dentex) captured along the Beaufort Sea coastline in Alaska. This species is a close relative of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax)

Scientists Sarah Laske (USGS ASC), Daniel Fraser (University of Texas and Beaufort Lagoons LTER), and Ashley Stanek (USGS ASC), empty the daily catch of nearshore fishes from a fyke net to a floating net pen in Jago Lagoon in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Note the slumping tundra right along that coastline.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Geologists climb a slope above Larsen Bay, Nagai Island, Alaska. Geologists studying coastal evidence of past Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone earthquakes and high tsunamis climb a slope above Larsen Bay on Nagai Island in the Shumagin seismic gap, Alaska.

Humpback whitefish (Coregonus pidschian) captured along the Beaufort Sea coastline in Alaska. Humpback whitefish are part of subsistence fisheries in Alaska.

Broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus) captured along the Beaufort Sea coastline in Alaska. Broad whitefish are part of subsistence fisheries in Alaska.

Least cisco (Coregonus sardinella) captured along the Beaufort Sea coastline in Alaska. Least cisco are part of subsistence fisheries in Alaska.

Two Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) captured along the Beaufort Sea coastline in Alaska. Arctic cod are the primary forage fish and a key prey item for predators in the Pacific Arctic.

USGS Alaska Science Center scientists Sarah Laske, Vanessa von Biela, and Ashley Stanek near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska departing for a day of field work in the nearshore Beaufort Sea, to study fish community response to environmental conditions including sea ice, water temperature and salinity.

Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) student Tatiana Korthuis recording fish catch data on board the USGS research vessel Alaskan Gyre in Herring Bay, Alaska. This was part of a USGS study to monitor forage fish and seabirds in Prince William Sound, Alaska.