Data Type: Boundaries; ADF&G game management units and subunits in the Chugach National Forest; at a scale of 1:250,000. Game management units and subunits described as major, minor, special, state region, status and/or version. This layer is a subset of State Game Management Units ADF&G, ID.NO=114.

Data Type: Oceans/Coasts; NOAA developed thematic maps including the Gulf of Alaska, west coast North America, the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. These maps are grouped as to physical and biotic environments, living marine resources, and economic activities. Attribute layers are based on infor\mation synthesized from literature and other mapped information. The automated depiction of these maps is referred to as CMAS (Computer Mapping and Analysis System). This system is a Macintosh based interactive system that allows a wide range of users access and information contained in this map series. Queries can be made pertaining to any combination of species, species characteristics, life history, stage, time period or spatial unit to produce a map, table or report summary. This data reflects 1980's and earlier data depending on the particular theme.

Data Type: Subsistence/Traditional Knowledge; Automation of the Ahtna native routes as provided by James Kari in Tatl'ahwt'aenn nenn, the headwaters People's Country. This is a layer in the Copper River Native Association Subsistence Database 1995. (Record#061)

Spatial distribution, biomass, feeding habits, and size composition of catches of the smooth lumpsucker Aptocyclus ventricosus (Pallas) are investigated on the basis of four trawl surveys in the pelagic zone of the western and central parts of Bering Sea in 1986-1989 and material stored in archives derived from 32 expeditions in 1976-1989. There are always markedly high concentrations of fish in the northern part of the Aleutian Basin. During foraging excursions, the species is encountered in deep-sea waters from the surface to depths of more than 500 m, most often in the 100-200 m layer. Their minimal length on reaching sexual maturity is 20 cm. Spawning migration to the coastal region starts in November-December. In the eastern part of the sea, spawning extends from December through April and through June in the western part. The young remain at the coast until they reach 2-3 cm. A basic scheme of migration showing the known spawning regions is presented.

First comprehensive cataloguing of the marine benthic algae (seaweeds) occurring along Alaska coast. (By Sandra Lindstrom, UBC and Gayle Hansen, OSU)

Urea determination data along 5 sections in the Bering Sea perpendicular to the coastline show that the distribution of urea is similar to that of ammonium nitrogen. Accumulation of urea and ammonium was generally observed under the thermocline but the absolute concentration of urea was slightly higher. With the total urea and ammonium content of 7-10 mu g-at N/l in the euphotic layer, 8-10g C/m super(2) organic matter per day may be produced in the process of photosynthesis due to nitrogen recycling.

The paper presents the first illustrated description of cases when ascidians were observed on pointed cheliped digits of the crabs Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio. This phenomenon was most often observed in the eastern Olutorsk Bay and the western Bering Sea. The digits entered the ascidian bodies through their siphon openings. C. bairdi with ascidians accounted for about 0.25% of the crabs caught by commercial crab pots whereas C. opilio with ascidians occurred much more rarely, which may be due to the fact that the digits in the former are more curved than in the latter.

A program initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has produced a number of multichannel common depth point (CDP) seismic reflection lines from the Alaskan coastal areas. The National Geophysical Data Center of NOAA is making these data available to the public as they are released by USGS. This is to announce the availability of CDP seismic sections for several survey lines in the southeast Bering Sea, Alaska.

Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) pass near or through offshore oil and gas lease areas in the northeastern Chukchi Sea during their westward migration each autumn. Results of aerial surveys conducted from mid-September through October 1982-1990 indicate that whale distribution overlapped lease area boundaries north and east of Point Barrow, Alaska. Bowhead relative abundance was high throughout the fall in nearshore sub-blocks east, north, and southwest of Point Barrow, with somewhat lower indices in offshore sub-blocks northwest of Point Barrow.

A new method for the physical retrieval of rain rates from satellite microwave radiometers is presented. The method is part of a unified ocean parameter retrieval algorithm that is based on the fundamental principles of radioactive transfer. The algorithm simultaneously finds near-surface wind speed W, columnar water vapor V, columnar cloud liquid water L, rain rate R, and effective radiating temperature TU for the upwelling radiation. Comparisons with radiosondes demonstrate that the algorithm is able to retrieve water vapor when rain is present. For rain rates from 1 to 15 mm h1, the rms difference between the retrieved water vapor and the radiosonde value is 5 mm. A novel feature of the rain retrieval method is a beamfilling correction that is based upon the ratio of the retrieved liquid water absorption coefficients at 37 and 19 GHz. This spectral ratio decreases by about 40% when heavy and light rain coexist within the SSM/I footprint as compared to the case of uniform rain. This correction increases the rain rate when the spectral ratio is small. However, even with this beamfilling correction, tropical rainfall is still unrealistically low when the freezing level in the Tropics (5 km) is used to specify the rain layer thickness. Realism is restored by reducing the assumed tropical rain-layer thickness to 3 km. This adjustment is probably compensating for two processes: 1) the existence of warm rain for which the rain layer does not extend to the freezing level and 2) very heavy rain for which the 19-GHz channels saturate. Global rain rates are produced for the 1991ﾖ94 period from two SSM/Is. The authors find that approximately 6% of the SSM/I observations detect measurable rain rates (R > 0.2 mm h1). The global rain maps show features that are, in general, similar to those reported in previously published rain climatologies. However, some differences that seem to be related to nonprecipitating cloud water are apparent.