Anomalies in the regional weather over the south‐eastern Bering Sea during spring and summer of 1997 resulted in significant differences in nutrient availability, phytoplankton species composition, and zooplankton abundance over the continental shelf as compared with measurements in the 1980s. Calm winds and the reduction of cloud cover in spring and summer produced a very shallow mixed layer in which nitrate and silicate were depleted after an April diatom bloom. High submarine light levels allowed subsequent phytoplankton growth below the pycnocline and eventual depletion of nitrate from the water column to depths of 70 m or more. Thus, total new production during 1997 may have exceeded that of previous years when nitrate was not depleted below the pycnocline. A bloom of the coccolithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi, was observed in early July in the warm, nutrient‐depleted waters over the middle and inner shelf. Emiliania huxleyi concentrations reached 4.5 × 106 cells L–1 by September, and the bloom persisted through the autumn. There was evidence for increased abundance of some species of copepods in 1997 as compared with data from the middle domain in June 1981. The abundance of adult and juvenile euphausiids in 1997 was statistically similar to values measured in 1980 and 1981. However, near‐surface swarms were rarely observed on the inner shelf in August–September 1997. Lack of euphausiid availability in the upper water column may partially explain the August–September mass mortality of planktivorous short‐tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) observed on the inner shelf.

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The distribution of nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, and silicic acid), chlorophyll and primary productivity were examined in the central and eastern Aleutian Archipelago. The data were collected from moorings (temperature, salinity, nitrate, and currents) and two hydrographic research cruises

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During the late summer of 1997, for the first time ever recorded, most of the continental shelf of the eastern Bering Sea was covered by aquamarine waters (Figure 1), resulting from a massive bloom of coccolithophores (Figure 2). Light reflecting off the calcium carbonate plates of the flagellated coccolithophores gave the water its anomalous color, which was first observed in July. The bloom was also clearly visible from space, as shown by some of the first images from the multispectral sea‐viewing wide‐field‐of‐ view sensor (SeaWiFS) scanner in September. Light penetration into the water column, essential for primary production by diatoms and other phytoplankton, was markedly reduced. This shift potentially altered the trophic dynamics throughout the food web of one of world's most productive ecosystems.