Ice Seal Tracking Maps Archive
08/223/2020 – 08/237/2020
From 10 to 24 August 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 3 ringed and 4 spotted seals, all were in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) was on the edge of the marginal ice zone, north of the continental shelf, in water deeper than 200 m, in the western Beaufort Sea. Two ringed seals, RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) and RS19-05-M (purple arrow), were in the marginal ice zone, north of the shelf break. The remaining ringed seal, RS19-04-M (blue arrow), was in the northern Chukchi Sea near the 100 m isopleth. Three spotted seals were resting in Dease Inlet. The remaining spotted seal, SS19-05-M (purple circle), was near Icy Cape in the Chukchi Sea.
These seals were tagged during the summer and fall of 2019. As expected, the primary tags we epoxied to their backs have since fallen off during the annual molt this spring. The locations we are currently receiving are from the SPOT tags we attached to their flippers. Because SPOT tags are attached to their flippers we only receive locations when the seal has hauled out of the water, either on sea ice or land. Sea ice data are courtesy of the U.S. National Ice Center, dated 24 August 2020 (http://www.natice.noaa.gov/products/daily_products.html).
These seals were tagged during the summer and fall of 2019. As expected, the primary tags we epoxied to their backs have since fallen off during the annual molt this spring. The locations we are currently receiving are from the SPOT tags we attached to their flippers. Because SPOT tags are attached to their flippers we only receive locations when the seal has hauled out of the water, either on sea ice or land. Sea ice data are courtesy of the U.S. National Ice Center, dated 24 August 2020 (http://www.natice.noaa.gov/products/daily_products.html).