The following research projects are funded by BREA to build upon the regional information base for the Beaufort Sea. Click on the project listings below to learn more. To view projects by topic, use the filters in the right-hand menu.
Research
Project Title/Description | Research Types |
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Active Acoustic Mapping of Fish in the Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015This cutting-edge project, led by ArcticNet, uses state-of-the-art fisheries sonar technology to map the distribution and abundance of Arctic Cod and other fish in the offshore Beaufort Sea […] |
Fish |
Baselines, Accumulation, Cycling, and Potential Effects of Hydrocarbons in Beaufort Sediments and Biota, 2012–2014The purpose of this project is threefold: (i) to establish the background levels of hydrocarbons in sediment, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and fish, (ii) to establish baseline […] |
Chemical Oceanography,Fish |
Beaufort Sea Engineering Database, 2011–2013Over the years, a significant amount of data has been collected in the Beaufort Sea, but it is widely scattered. Searching for the best available datasets is often difficult. Downloading, […] |
Ocean Circulation,Sea Ice |
Biological Data to Assess the Net Environmental Benefits and Costs of Dispersants and In Situ Burning in Oil Spill Response, 2011–2013An important part of oil spill response planning is to develop tools to assist in assessing the risks from oil spills and the benefits of countermeasures (e.g., dispersants, in-situ burning) […] |
Birds,Fish,Geohazards,Marine Mammals,Sea Ice |
Bird Usage of the Coastal Regions of the Canadian Beaufort Sea, 2011–2013The Beaufort Sea Region provides marine and coastal habitat for hundreds of thousands of migrating and breeding birds. This project is identifying important nearshore and coastal […] |
Birds,GIS |
Birds of the Offshore Canadian Beaufort Sea, 2011–2013This project is synthesizing existing information on offshore bird populations in the Beaufort Sea into a geo-referenced database. The database will include information on the offshore […] |
Birds |
CanICE: A Sea Ice Information Database and Web-Based Portal, 2011–2014Sea ice exerts important seasonal effects on weather and climate, marine ecosystems, the safety of marine transportation, northern communities and offshore resource development […] |
Sea Ice |
Characterizing Deformed Multi-Year Ice in the Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015Although there is growing evidence that the polar pack is decreasing in extent and thickness, icebergs, ice islands and thick, deformed multi-year ice continue to pose a hazard. This […] |
Climate,Sea Ice |
Delineation of Extreme Ridges in High Resolution Satellite-Based Radar Imagery, 2011–2012This project will demonstrate the feasibility of using satellite-based imagery to delineate extreme ridge features in sea ice of the Beaufort Sea. Data collected from ice profiling sonar […] |
Sea Ice |
Distribution and Thickness of Different Sea Ice Types and Extreme Ice Features in the Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015Among the most serious challenges to operating in the Beaufort Sea are widely varying sea ice types and severe ice conditions. This project is using electromagnetic surveys and drift […] |
Chemical Oceanography,Sea Ice |
Fishes, Habitats, and Ecosystem Linkages to Oil and Gas Development in the Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in collaboration with six Inuvialuit communities, are conducting a four year study that will include a fishing survey in deeper waters (100–1000 m) of the […] |
Fish |
Forecasting Extreme Weather and Ocean Conditions in the Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015Drilling operations in the Beaufort Sea are increasingly focused on the shelf break between the deep and shallow parts of the Sea – an area characterized by extreme weather events, ocean […] |
Climate,Ocean Circulation,Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Models,Sea Ice |
Modeling of Freshwater Flows to the Beaufort Sea for Improved Offshore Prediction by the Metarea Ocean Forecast System, 2012–2015With potential development in the Beaufort Sea offshore, there is a need to implement an operational ocean-ice-atmosphere (OIA) model that includes the Beaufort Sea in order to plan […] |
Ocean Circulation,Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Models |
Overwintering in the Beaufort: Assessing Damage Potential to Vessels, 2011–2013Vessels containing and/or storing fuel are frozen into ice that is anchored to the shoreline (land-fast ice) throughout the Beaufort region over the winter months. The practice, called […] |
Sea Ice,Vessels |
Polar Bears in the Deep Offshore Regions of the Beaufort Sea: A Preliminary Study to Estimate Distribution and Density in Previously Under-Surveyed Areas, 2011–2012The potential presence of polar bears in the deep waters of the offshore region of the Beaufort Sea has been a longstanding interest of Inuvialuit communities, but scientific surveys for bears […] |
Marine Mammals |
Quantifying Sea Ice Dynamics in the Beaufort Sea, 2012–2015Sea ice within the Beaufort Sea region circulates according to the predominantly anti-cyclonic Beaufort Gyre, but very little quantitative information about sea ice motion exists. This […] |
Ocean Circulation,Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Models,Sea Ice |
RADARSAT Mapping of Extreme Ice Features in the Southern Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015There is growing global interest in marine shipping and oil and gas development in the Southern Beaufort Sea as ice cover in Arctic waters diminishes over the summer months […] |
Sea Ice |
Regional Assessment of Deep Water Seabed Geohazards for Oil Spill Prevention, 2011–2015Oil and gas exploration in the deep waters of the Beaufort Sea requires knowledge of seabed stability conditions to ensure safe drilling practices. Under this initiative, the Geological […] |
Geohazards |
Regional Coastal Monitoring in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Ecosystem Indicators, 2012–2015This project is building a baseline understanding of ecosystem structure and function of the Beaufort Sea coastal food web. The project uses food-web biomarkers at a regional scale that […] |
Birds,Fish,Marine Mammals |
Regional Synthesis of Coastal Geoscience for Management of Beaufort Oil and Gas Activity, 2012–2014The purpose of this project is to provide an inventory of existing knowledge pertaining to regional scale coastal processes affecting the siting, planning and management of coastal […] |
Coastal Geoscience |
Seasonal Forecasting of Ocean and Ice Conditions in the Beaufort Sea, 2011–2015Predicting the weather days in advance is standard fare in most parts of the country. But for oil and gas companies considering exploration and drilling activities in the Arctic, anticipating […] |
Climate,Ocean Circulation,Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Models,Sea Ice |
Southern and Northeastern Beaufort Sea Marine Observatories, 2011–2014This initiative is establishing three oceanographic observatories, each composed of two moorings, to collect year-round marine observations of the Beaufort Sea using state-of-the-art […] |
Biogeochemical Flux,Ocean Circulation,Sea Ice |
Web-Based Geospatial Analysis Tool, 2012–2013The BREA Toolkit GIS applications are universal to record baseline information and for map production. However, advanced GIS capabilities such as scenario analysis and cumulative […] |
GIS |