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Abstract In recent years, blooms of the neurotoxic dinoflagellateAlexandrium catenellahave been documented in Pacific Arctic waters, and the paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) that this species produces have been detected throughout the food web. These observations have raised significant concerns about the role that harmful algal blooms (HABs) will play in a rapidly changing Arctic. During a research cruise in summer 2022, a massive bloom ofA. catenellawas detected in real time as it was advected through the Bering Strait region. The bloom was exceptional in both spatial scale and density, extending > 600 km latitudinally, reaching concentrations > 174,000 cells L−1, and producing high‐potency PST congeners. Throughout the event, coastal stakeholders in the region were engaged and a multi‐faceted community response was mobilized. This unprecedented bloom highlighted the urgent need for response capabilities to ensure safe utilization of critical marine resources in a region that has little experience with HABs.
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Infrastructure Investments for Improving Arctic Emergency Response across Multiple Man-Made Hazards
The Arctic has been experiencing significant changes to its climate, thus allowing the emergence of new tourism and industrial activities. Underdeveloped emergency response capabilities in the region raise concerns regarding managing man-made hazards; i.e., oil spill and mass rescue incidents. We propose a mathematical optimization model that considers new infrastructure investments within a limited budget to optimally allocate shared response resources across these different emergency response events. Our case study focuses on response in Arctic Alaska and helps answer policy questions that could aid decision-makers in the region.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2106726
- PAR ID:
- 10555684
- Editor(s):
- Brown_Greer, A; Contardo, C; Frayret, J-M
- Publisher / Repository:
- Proceedings of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference 2024
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
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