Bowhead Whale Feeding Ecology Study (BOWFEST): Aerial Survey in Chukchi and Beaufort Seas conducted from 2007-08-23 to 2011-09-16 (NCEI Accession 0131425)

This was a multi-disciplinary study involving oceanography, acoustics, tagging, stomach sampling and aerial surveys and included scientists from a wide range of institutions (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), University of Rhode Island (URI), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), University of Washington (UW), Oregon State University (OSU), North Slope Borough (NSB), and NMML.

The data described and presented here are only from the aerial survey component of this larger study. The focus of the aerial survey was to document patterns and variability in the timing and locations of bowhead whales. Using a NOAA Twin Otter, scientists from NMML conducted aerial surveys from mid-August to mid-September during this five year study between years 2007-2011.