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| Changes to the physical environment of the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf are driving shifts in the distribution and behavior of protected marine mammal species that inhabit those waters. These same species may be affected by oil and gas activities within Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, with a strong potential for deleterious interactions between natural and human-induced events. Environmental regulations (e.g., NEPA, ESA and MMPA), require the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to evaluate whether and how federal actions associated with oil and gas development may affect these protected species and the marine environment on which they depend. Information on ocean circulation and hydrography is imperative for these evaluations, as well as for input into models used to predict the outcome of oil spills. However, physics alone cannot predict how protected species and marine ecosystems will respond to natural and anthropogenic forcing. Interdisciplinary biological and oceanographic research in the Pacific Arctic Region has been conducted by BOEM, other federal agencies (e.g. NOAA, USGS, NSF), and the oil and gas industry. A synthesis of research results from these investments is essential to inform management decision-makers and to guide future research activities. |
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