COMIDA CAB

COMIDA CAB is a comprehensive program funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) that is designed to establish an integrated knowledge of this biologically productive and diverse ecosystem.

The Chemical and Benthos (CAB) component addresses the benthic system with a particular emphasis on sediment chemical characteristics and the benthic biota, both infaunal and epifaunal. Objectives include:

1. To establish baseline data set for benthic infauna and epifauna, organic carbon and sediment grain size, radioisotopes for down core dating, as well as measure trace metals in sediments, biota and suspended particles
2. To determine the sources, cycles and fate of carbon, selected trace metals and the role of trace metals on organic carbon dynamics and food web dynamics on the inner shelf of the Chukchi Sea

Data from sampling efforts in 2009 and 2010 reveal that sediments contain low or background values for metals and aliphatic hydrocarbons (except for a few notable exceptions), and that the northern whelk, Neptunea heros, is a potentially valuable indicator for metals and organic contaminants. The northeastern Chukchi Sea is a productive and highly complex system that is characterized by significant spatial heterogeneity in both benthic infaunal and epifaunal populations. For more details, please see the final report.

Building from the success of the COMIDA CAB project, a new study began in 2012 with a focus on the Hanna Shoal region. Results from that study will be posted on the Hanna Shoal Ecosystem Study website.