The Bering Sea ecosystem includes resources within the jurisdiction of theUnited States andRussia, as well asinternational waters in the middle of the sea (known as the "Donut Hole"[8]). The interaction between currents, sea ice, and weather makes for a vigorous and productive ecosystem.
Most scientists think that during themost recent ice age,sea level was low enough to allow humans to migrate east on foot fromAsia toNorth America across what is now the Bering Strait. Other animals includingmegafauna migrated in both directions. This is commonly referred to as the "Bering land bridge" and is accepted by most, though not all scientists, to be the first point of entry of humans into theAmericas.
There is a small portion of theKula Plate in the Bering Sea. The Kula Plate is an ancienttectonic plate that used tosubduct under Alaska.[9]
On 18 December 2018, a large meteor exploded above the Bering Sea. The meteor exploded at an altitude of 25.6km, releasing 49 kilotons of energy.[10][11]
The Russian "Rurik" sets anchor nearSaint Paul Island in the Bering Sea in order to load food and equipment for the expedition to the Chukchi sea in the north. Drawing byLouis Choris in 1817.Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens), hauled out on Bering Sea ice, Alaska, June 1978. (Source: NOAA)Snailfish, a non-commercial fish, caught in the eastern Bering SeaRed king crabAerial view of Tutakoke Bird Camp on the coast of the Bering Sea, south ofHooper Bay
The Bering Seashelf break is the dominant driver ofprimary productivity in the Bering Sea.[16] This zone, where the shallowercontinental shelf drops off into theNorth Aleutians Basin is also known as the "Greenbelt". Nutrient upwelling from the cold waters of the Aleutian basin flowing up the slope and mixing with shallower waters of the shelf provide for constant production ofphytoplankton.
The second driver of productivity in the Bering Sea is seasonalsea ice that, in part, triggers the spring phytoplankton bloom. Seasonal melting of sea ice causes an influx of lower salinity water into the middle and other shelf areas, causing stratification and hydrographic effects which influence productivity.[17] In addition to the hydrographic and productivity influence of melting sea ice, the ice itself also provides an attachment substrate for the growth of algae as well as interstitial ice algae.[18]
Some evidence suggests that great changes to the Bering Sea ecosystem have already occurred. Warm water conditions in the summer of 1997 resulted in a massive bloom of low energycoccolithophorid phytoplankton (Stockwell et al. 2001). A long record ofcarbon isotopes, which is reflective of primary production trends of the Bering Sea, exists from historical samples of bowhead whalebaleen.[19] Trends in carbon isotope ratios in whale baleen samples suggest that a 30–40% decline in average seasonal primary productivity has occurred over the last 50 years.[19] The implication is that thecarrying capacity of the Bering Sea is much lower now than it has been in the past.
The Bering Sea is very important to the seabirds of the world. Over 30 species of seabirds and approximately 20 million individuals breed in the Bering Sea region.[22][23][24] Seabird species includetufted puffins, the endangeredshort-tailed albatross,spectacled eider, andred-legged kittiwakes.[25][26] Many of these species are unique to the area, which provides highly productive foraging habitat, particularly along the shelf edge and in other nutrient-rich upwelling regions, such as the Pribilof,Zhemchug, and Pervenets canyons. The Bering Sea is also home to colonies ofcrested auklets, with upwards of a million individuals.[citation needed]
Two Bering Sea species, theSteller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) andspectacled cormorant (Phalacrocorax perspicillatus), are extinct because ofoverexploitation by man. In addition, a small subspecies of Canada goose, the Bering Canada goose (Branta canadensis asiatica) is extinct due to overhunting and the introduction of rats to their breeding islands.
The Bering Sea is world-renowned for its productive and profitable fisheries, such asking crab,[28] opilio and tanner crabs, Bristol Bay salmon, pollock and other groundfish.[29][30] These fisheries rely on the productivity of the Bering Sea via a complicated and little understood food web.
Commercial fishing is lucrative business in the Bering Sea, which is relied upon by the largest seafood companies in the world to produce fish and shellfish.[31] On the U.S. side, commercial fisheries catch approximately $1 billion worth of seafood annually, while Russian Bering Sea fisheries are worth approximately $600 million annually.[citation needed]
The Bering Sea also serves as the central location of the Alaskanking crab andsnow crab seasons, which are chronicled on theDiscovery Channel television programDeadliest Catch. Landings from Alaskan waters represents half the U.S. catch of fish and shellfish.[citation needed]
Because of the changes going on in the Arctic, the future evolution of the Bering Sea climate and ecosystem is uncertain.[32] Between 1979 and 2012, the region experienced small growth in sea ice extent, standing in contrast to the substantial loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to the north.[33]
'The White Seal', one of many chapters onRudyard Kipling'sThe Jungle Book, features the Bering Sea as the birthplace and homeland of Kotick, a rare whitefur seal.
The filmHarbinger Down, which was released on August 7, 2015, was about a group of grad students who booked passage on the crabbing boat Harbinger to study the effects ofglobal warming on a pod ofbeluga whales in the Bering Sea.[34]
One of the central characters in the 1949 filmDown to the Sea in Ships has the given name "Bering" due to having been born in a ship crossing the Bering Sea.[35]
The 2002 supernatural thriller,Ghost Ship, directed bySteve Beck, follows a marine salvage crew in the Bering Sea who discover the lost Italian ocean liner,Antonia Graza that disappeared in 1962.
In the top-right corner of the image is Alaska's mainland blanketed with snow, as well as Nunivak Island. At the centre of the image are the islands of Saint Paul and Saint George – part of the Pribilof Islands. Also note thevon Kármán vortex street (swirly clouds) in the middle right.
Satellite photo of the Bering Sea – Alaska is on the top right, Siberia on the top left
^Citta, John J.; Burns, John J.; Quakenbush, Lori T.; Vanek, Vicki; George, John C.; Small, Robert J.; Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter; Brower, Harry (12 June 2013). "Potential for bowhead whale entanglement in cod and crab pot gear in the Bering Sea".Marine Mammal Science.30 (2):445–459.doi:10.1111/mms.12047.
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