A critical mapping effort took place in the Chukchi Sea, an ice-covered region of the Arctic where hydrographers and scientists do not have a lot of data about the sea floor. A team of scientists from NOAA and the University of New Hampshire led an expedition August 14 to September 5 on board the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to collect data to better understand sea floor processes, fish habitat mapping, and climate and circulations models.

This year’s cruise follows up on last year’s discovery that the continental slope may be 100 miles farther from the U.S. coast than previously assumed. Data collected by the Healy will play a key role in helping decision-makers determine the potential for including this area within the U.S’s extended continental shelf.

This was the fourth in a series of expeditions by NOAA and partners aimed at mapping the seafloor in the northern Chukchi Sea.

To read more about Healy's arctic mapping expedition, click here.