< p>ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says it has found no misconduct in research by an Alaska scientist who wrote a 2006 paper on drowned polar bears and was subsequently investigated.

Scientific integrity officer Bradley Blythe says in a memo to BOEM (beem) Director Tommy Beaudreau (BOH'-droh) that he considers the review of Charles Monnett closed.

Monnett's peer-reviewed paper reported four dead polar bears floating in Arctic Ocean waters after a storm.

Monnett and a co-author suggested that polar bear drowning could increase if pack ice continued to diminish. The paper received widespread media coverage as a negative effect of global warming.

Monnett has been represented by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Executive Director Jeff Ruch (rook) says the motivation for the investigation was retaliation by a pro-drilling federal agency.