The winter of 2017/2018 saw a composite of weather events that delayed sea ice formation in the northern Bering Sea (NBS) into early 2018. Residual warmth in the water column and strong southerly (i.e., warm) winds in February resulted in the lowest ice extent on record. Salinity has historically driven vertical stratification of the water column in the NBS, but with little sea ice formation and rejection of salty brine, there was a greatly diminished contribution of salinity to the stratification of the water column. The reduction of sea ice extent and duration likely resulted in a reduction in the amount of ice algae, which is an important subsidy for both the pelagic and benthic food webs. In 2018, the NBS had low abundances of large, lipid-rich copepods, while there were above average numbers of small, lipid-poor copepods. Shifts in the distribution of crab and fish populations over the eastern Bering Sea shelf occurred in response to the unusually warm sea temperatures in winter and spring 2018. More than 50% of Pacific cod biomass in the eastern Bering Sea was found over the northern shelf in 2018 concurrent with unexpectedly high abundance of snow crab in the NBS. A seabird die-off event in summer 2018 was unprecedented in terms of spatial and temporal scale and widespread reproductive failures also occurred. High numbers of dead marine mammals were found along the shorelines of the NBS and an Unusual Mortality Event, an official designation for marine mammals, was declared for bearded, ringed, and spotted seals in September 2019. The 2018 events indicate that when climate warming results in extended periods of reduced sea ice cover in the NBS, there may be long-term changes in energy flow and ecosystem structure. Following the low sea ice conditions of 2018, winter 2018/2019 brought a second year of low sea ice. Although it is clear that the climate perturbations experienced in 2018 and 2019 had acute impacts on many components of the NBS marine ecosystem, it is less clear what the long term impacts of this event will be if there is a return to “normal” sea ice cover in future years.

2017/2018年冬季，天气事件综合导致白令海北部（NBS）的海冰形成推迟到2018年初。水柱中的残余温暖和2月的强南风（即温暖）导致了最低的记录的冰冻程度。从历史上看，盐度推动了NBS中水柱的垂直分层，但是几乎没有海冰的形成和咸盐水的排出，盐度对水柱分层的贡献大大降低。海冰范围和持续时间的减少很可能导致冰藻数量的减少，这对中上层和底栖食物网都是重要的补贴。在2018年，国家统计局的大型，富含脂质的co足类动物的丰度较低，而小型，富含脂质的co足类动物的数量高于平均水平。响应于2018年冬季和春季异常温暖的海水温度，白令海东部海域的蟹和鱼种群分布发生了变化。白令海东部的50％以上的太平洋鳕鱼生物量被发现于白令海北部海域。 2018年，国家统计局的雪蟹数量异常之高。就空间和时间规模而言，2018年夏季的海鸟死亡事件是史无前例的，而且还发生了广泛的生殖衰竭。在国家统计局的海岸线上发现了大量的死海哺乳动物，并于2019年9月宣布了一种异常死亡率事件，即海洋哺乳动物的正式称呼，即有胡子，有环纹和有斑点的海豹。2018年的事件表明气候变暖的结果在国家统计局长期减少海冰覆盖的情况下，能量流和生态系统结构可能会发生长期变化。继2018年的低海冰条件之后，2018/2019年冬季带来了第二年的低海冰。尽管很明显，2018年和2019年经历的气候扰动对国家统计局海洋生态系统的许多组成部分都产生了严重影响，但还不清楚如果恢复到“正常”海冰状态，该事件的长期影响是什么覆盖未来的几年。