Arctic Spring

Something surprising is happening in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska. In 2011 a team of scientists aboard the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy discovered a massive springtime plankton bloom–one of the largest ever observed in the world’s ocean. But what was really startling is that the bloom occurred beneath one meter of ice, in conditions previously thought to be unconducive to plankton growth. In 2014, scientists returned to the region to study the phenomenon more closely and to better understand how rapidly changing conditions in the region might affect the delicately balanced ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean. Learn more about the cruise here. (Video by Amanda Kowalski; Music by David Pickart)