ADEC team collects Chukchi water samples

As part of an Environmental Protection Agency assessment of U.S. coastal waters a team of scientists, led by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, has completed the sampling of seawater from 30 sites along the Chukchi Sea coast from Point Lay to Barrow, ADEC said Sept. 27. In addition to ADEC scientists, the 13-member team included researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Status and Trends Program. The Chukchi Sea sampling program, conducted by boat, took 12 days to complete.

“With the good weather we were able to collect data at three sites most days,” said Doug Dasher, DEC’s lead scientist for the survey. “This research will help establish baseline conditions and assist environmental managers in evaluating potential changes in the future. In the near-term, it will help environmental managers protect coastal marine environments, mitigate damage to the marine ecosystem and establish wastewater discharge requirements in state and federal permits.”

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will analyze the bulk of the water samples collected during the survey, with some samples going to the Texas A&M Geological Environment Research Group Laboratory. The coastal survey and subsequent sample analyses will generate water quality data, including pH values, chemical content, water temperatures, salinity and dissolved oxygen levels, as well as documenting some water quality indicators such as fish abundance.

—Alan Bailey