This project is intended to utilize the Arctic Inventory and Monitoring baseline data collected through the Lagoon Communities Monitoring Vital Sign to more fully develop an understanding of the functioning of the lagoon systems of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument.
The
establishment of the Beaufort Lagoon Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, and other developing lagoon assessment research external to NPS managed lands, is giving the National Park Service an extremely valuable opportunity to examine the functioning of the their managed lagoons in the context of a broader Arctic lagoon scope.
This context will provide the NPS with the an understanding of the implications of ongoing environmental changes, in particular increasing oceanic temperatures, on the flora and fauna of the lagoons, and the nature of the lagoons in regards to ecological functioning and subsistence opportunities.