Synoptic measurements of subsurface phytoplankton layers collected from Fish Lidar, Oceanic, Experimental (FLOE) Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) from aircraft in Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea from 2014-07-17 to 2014-07-29 (NCEI Accession 0128217)

In July 2014, Fish Lidar, Oceanic, Experimental (FLOE) Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) was installed in a NOAA Twin Otter to make the first synoptic measurements of subsurface phytoplankton layers associated with the retreating ice in the Arctic Ocean. We made a series of flights out of Barrow, Alaska over the Chukchi Sea to the west or the Beaufort Sea to the East. Our objectives were to see if thin plankton layers exist below the surface in the Arctic and how they might be affected by retreating ice. We have observed layers associated with stratification in other parts of the ocean [Churnside and Donaghay, 2009], and expected to find them in the Marginal Ice Zone as well. The LIDAR was able to measure the layer characteristics and the fractional ice cover simultaneously. These layers, which are not adequately captured in satellite data, will influence primary productivity, secondary productivity, fisheries recruitment, and carbon export to the benthos.