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type: Concept

BERING LAND BRIDGE
type: Concept
in scheme: projects
definition: The Bering Strait connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans via the Arctic Ocean. The Strait is currently only 50 meters deep. During low sea level stands produced by continental glaciation it was emergent, forming the Bering Land Bridge connection between North America and Asia. This is the only area on Earth where the circulation between ocean basins has been blocked and a migration corridor between continental landmasses has been opened by falling sea levels of the Pleistocene epoch. Scientific drilling to recover a proximal record of the region can be most promisingly recovered in the thick (> 3 km) basinal sequences of the Norton and Hope basins immediately to the south and north of the Strait. The sedimentary record of marine transgressions and regressions within the Bering Strait region that includes intercalated terrestrial lacustrine sediments would have the potential to resolve crucial questions regarding Bering Land Bridge paleoecology and climate change. Funds to conduct a workshop to identify, select and prioritize drilling sites in Bering Sea Shelf basins with the potential to contain thick sequences of alternating marine and terrestrial sediments was approved by Joint Oceanographic Institutions/United States Science Support Program (JOI/USSSP) . Workshop to be held 21-222 June, 2005. The workshop focused on key scientific questions, identification of drilling sites with the potential to answer these questions, discussing the most appropriate platform or platforms, proposal submissions, and multi-proxy analyses. Products of this workshop will include a discussion of the potential scientific gains, a list of recommended drilling sites, and, ultimately, proposals submitted to the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Scientific issues included: Studies of global freshwater transport have demonstrated a net flux of water from the North Pacific to the North Atlantic through the Bering Strait at a rate of 0.8 Sverdrups per year which accounts for nearly one-thi…