Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research (BLE-LTER) shotgun metagenome sequences
The Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystems (BLE) LTER program is an NSF-funded project based out of three nodes along the U.S. Beaufort Sea coast: Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Deadhorse, and Kaktovik. At each node, we deploy instruments and collect samples in nearby lagoon systems, each with their own unique characteristics. This research provides a much needed mechanism for tracking and understanding 1) how natural climate cycles influence coastal ecosystems in the Arctic, and 2) climate change effects such as permafrost thaw, shifting precipitation regimes, and losses of sea ice alter coastal ecosystems thorough effects on inputs, nutrient cycling, and ocean mixing.