Video products collected during the Russian-American Long Term Census of the Arctic 2009 (RUSALCA2009L1) expedition on NOAA Ship Ferrel from 2009-08-22 to 2009-08-31

Due to the alarming trend in the reduction of Arctic sea ice cover, particularly in the Chukchi Sea located between the Russian Federation (Chukotka) and the United States (Alaska) and northwards into the High Arctic, the Pacific Arctic is arguably the fastest changing region in the world's fastest changing ocean. Unfortunately, without baseline information about Pacific Arctic oceanographic and ecosystem conditions, accurately documenting the extent of fundamental ecosystem changes is impossible. The collection and integration of biological, physical, and chemical information during the RUSALCA expeditions were designed to gather information where the summer ice edge is rapidly advancing northwards and these observations will provide a major step toward obtaining the foundation of information necessary for detecting ongoing and future change in this delicate ecosystem.