Bering sea

The Bering Sea (in English: Bering Sea; in Russian: Берингово море) is a part of the Pacific Ocean that covers an area of two million square kilometers It is bordered to the north and east by Alaska, to the west by Siberia in Russia, and to the south by the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. The sea is named after its discoverer, the Danish navigator Vitus Bering, in the service of Russia.

During the last ice age, sea levels were low enough to allow people and animals to migrate from Asia to North America on foot, through what is now the northern Bering Strait from sea. This is commonly called the "Beringia Bridge" and is believed to have been the first point of entry for people to the American continent.

With a very cold climate and big waves, navigation is complicated; In addition, the north of the sea freezes during the winter. The sea is rich in fishing resources, mainly the king crab.

Geography

Islands

The islands of the Bering Sea include:

• Pribilof Islands
• Commander Islands, including Bering Island
• San Lorenzo Island
• Diomede Islands
• Island of the King
• San Mateo Island
• Karaginsky Island
• Nunivak Island
• Sledge Island
• Hagemeister Island

Regions

The regions of the Bering Sea are:

• Bering Strait
• Bristol Bay
• Gulf of Anadyr
• Norton Sound

The Bering Sea contains 16 submarine cannons including the world's largest underwater cannon, the Zhemchug cannon.

Map of the Bering Sea where you can see the larger submarine cannons that cut the edge.

History

Most scientists think that during the last glacial period, the most recent ice age, sea levels were low enough to allow humans to migrate east on foot from Asia to North America across what is now the Bering Strait. Other animals, including megafauna, migrated in both directions. This is commonly known as the "Beringian bridge" and is accepted by most scientists as the first point of entry for humans into the Americas.

There is a small portion of the Kula Plate in the Bering Sea. The Kula Plate is an ancient subducting tectonic plate under Alaska.

On December 18, 2018, a large meteor exploded over the Bering Sea. The meteorite exploded at an altitude of 25.6 km releasing 49 kilotons of energy.

Ecosystem

The continental shelf of the Bering Sea is the dominant driver of its primary productivity. This area, whose shallower continental shelf drops down to the North Aleutian Basin, is also known as the "Green Belt". Increased nutrients from the cold waters of the Aleutian Basin flowing down the slope and mixing with the shallows of the shelf provide a constant production of phytoplankton.

The second driver of productivity in the Bering Sea is seasonal sea ice that, in part, triggers the spring phytoplankton bloom. Seasonal melting of sea ice causes an influx of low-salinity water to the middle and other areas of the continental shelf, causing stratification and hydrographic effects that influence productivity. In addition to the hydrographic and productive influence of sea ice melt, the ice itself can also provide a gripping medium for the growth of algae as well as interstitial ice algae.

Some evidence suggests that major changes have already occurred in the Bering Sea ecosystem. Warm atmospheric conditions in the summer of 1997 led to a massive bloom of low-energy phytoplankton Coccolithophoridae (Stockwell et al. 2001). There is a long isotopic signature record with carbon isotopes, reflecting primary production trends from the Bering Sea, made from historical samples of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) baleen. Trends in carbon isotope ratios carbon in samples of this whale's baleen suggest that there has been a 30-40% decline in mean seasonal primary productivity over the past 50 years. The implication is that the Bering Sea Carrying Capacity is much lower now than in the past.

Biodiversity

This sea is home to many species of whales, including the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, the vulnerable sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), the endangered fin whale Balaenoptera physalus, the northern fin whale (Balaenoptera borealis) and the world's rarest, the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica). Other marine mammals include the walrus Odobenus rosmarus, Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), arctic fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), killer whale (Orcinus orca), and polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

The Bering Sea is very important to many seabirds around the world. More than 30 species of seabirds and approximately 20 million individuals breed in the Bering Sea region.^{[citation needed]} Seabird species include the puffin tufted albatross (Fratercula cirrhata), the endangered short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus), the spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri), and the short-billed gull (Rissa brevirostris). Many of these species are exclusive to the area, which constitutes a highly productive feeding habitat, particularly along the edge of the continental shelf and in other nutrient-rich regions such as Pribilof, Zhemchug and Pervenets canyons. The Bering Sea is also home to colonies of the tufted murrelet (Aethia cristatella), with more than a million individuals.^{[citation needed]}

There are two species in the Bering Sea, the Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) and the speculated cormorant (Phalacrocorax perspicillatus), which are extinct due to overexploitation by humans. Additionally, a small subspecies of Canada goose, the Canada Bering goose (Branta canadensis asiatica) is extinct due to overhunting and the introduction of rats to its breeding islands.

The Bering Sea is home to many species of fish, some of which are the basis of large and valuable commercial fisheries. Commercial fish species include Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus, various species of flatfish, sandfish, Pacific salmon, and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii). Mollusks include the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) and the snow crab (Chionoecetes).

Fish biodiversity is high and at least 419 species of fish have been recorded from the Bering Sea.

Fishing

The Bering Sea is world-renowned for its productive and profitable fisheries, including the Alaska King Crab Fishery, opilio and brown crabs, Bristol Bay salmon, pollock (Pollachius), and other groundfish. These fisheries depend on the productivity of the Bering Sea through a complicated and poorly understood food web.

Commercial fishing is a lucrative business in the Bering Sea, employing the world's largest fishing companies to catch fish and shellfish. On the US side, commercial fisheries catch approximately $1 million million fish a year, while Russia's Bering Sea fisheries are worth about $600 million a year.^{[citation needed]}

Evolution

Due to ongoing changes in the Arctic, the future evolution of the Bering Sea ecosystem is uncertain. Between 1979 and 2012, the region experienced a small increase in the extent of sea ice, which contrasts with the substantial loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to the north.

Bibliographic References