Metadata record for data from AAS (ASAC) project 3134. This metadata record deals specifically with the objectives relating to "Effects of Ocean Warming and Ocean Acidification on the Echinoderm Sterechinus neumayeri". These data are published in the following paper: Ericson, JA and Ho, MA and Miskelly, A and King, CK and Virtue, P and Tilbrook, BD and Byrne, M, Combined effects of two ocean change stressors, warming and acidification, on fertilization and early development of the Antarctic echinoid Sterechinus neumayeri, Polar Biology, online, (online) pp. 1-8. ISSN 0722-4060 (2011) The study examined the effects of decreased seawater pH and increased seawater temperature on Sterechinus neumayeri fertilisation and embryology. Experiments were carried out in the laboratories at Davis Station, Antarctica during the 2010/2011 summer season as part of a wider research programme looking at the effects of climate change and human impacts on Antarctic marine invertebrates. The research was conducted under project 3134 'Vulnerability of Antarctic marine benthos to increased temperatures and ocean acidification associated with climate change'. Public Ocean acidification and warming are global phenomena that will impact marine biota through the 21st century. This project will provide urgently needed predictive information on the likely survivorship of benthic invertebrates in near shore Antarctic environments that is crucial for risk assessment of potential future changes to oceans. As oceans acidify carbonate saturation decreases, reducing the material required to produce marine skeletons. By examining the effects of increased ocean temperature and acidification on planktonic and benthic life stages of both calcifying and non-calcifying ecologically important organisms, predictions can be made on the potential vulnerability of marine biota to climatic change.

Metadata record for data from AAS (ASAC) project 3134. Data from this project will be available via the child records. Public Ocean acidification and warming are global phenomena that will impact marine biota through the 21st century. This project will provide urgently needed predictive information on the likely survivorship of benthic invertebrates in near shore Antarctic environments that is crucial for risk assessment of potential future changes to oceans. As oceans acidify carbonate saturation decreases, reducing the material required to produce marine skeletons. By examining the effects of increased ocean temperature and acidification on planktonic and benthic life stages of both calcifying and non-calcifying ecologically important organisms, predictions can be made on the potential vulnerability of marine biota to climatic change. Project Objectives: This project aims to deliver one of the first assessments of the impacts that ocean warming and acidification through rising CO2 levels will have on Antarctic benthic marine invertebrates and of the adaptive capacity of common Antarctic biota to climate change. The developmental success of species that have a skeleton will be compared to those that do not under controlled conditions of increased sea water temperature and CO2. A comparison of the responses and sensitivity of developmental stages of calcifiers (echinoids, bivalves) and non-calcifiers (asteroids) to elevated CO2 and temperature will generate much needed empirical data for assessment of risk and adaptive capacity of Antarctica's marine biota and will enable predictions of how benthic invertebrates will fare with respect to climate change scenarios. The specific aims of the project are to: 1 - examine the impacts of predicted future elevated ocean temperatures and CO2 on fertilisation success, embryonic and larval development of Antarctic molluscs and echinoderms 2 - document skeletal calcification and morphology and growth in larvae under controlled conditions of increased sea water temperature and CO2. 3 - compare the dynamics of biomineralisation with respect to the elemental composition in response to increased temperature and CO2 in species with aragonite and calcite exoskeletons (bivalves) and porous high magnesium calcite endoskeletons (echinoids) to assess the potential for an in-built adaptive response in calcification 4 - used as a biomarker measure of stress and impaired calcification. 5 - compare biomineralisation and elemental signatures in skeletons in larvae of Antarctic molluscs and echinoderms under climate change scenarios with that determined for related species at lower latitudes to assess the relative sensitivity and vulnerability of Antarctic biota. Taken from the 2009-2010 Progress Report: Progress against objectives: 1. Unsuccessful as target species, Sterechinus neumayeri had already passed its spawning period, and attempts to spawn and fertilise the Antarctic bivalve, Laternula ellipticaskeleta failed. 2. Skeletal calcification and morphology of juveniles of Abatus nimrodi were successfully documented under controlled conditions of ocean warming and acidification. 3. Juveniles of A. nimrodi were preserved and returned to Australia in order to compare the dynamics of biomineralisation and skeletal mineralogy. 4. No heat shock protein experiments were carried out. 5. Air-dried tests of S. neumayeri and A. nimrodi were RTA'd in order to compare the dynamics of biomineralisation and skeletal mineralogy. Taken from some project abstracts written by two students working on the project: Impacts of ocean acidification and increasing seawater temperature on the early life history of the Antarctic echinoderm Sterechinus neumayeri. Simultaneous effects of ocean acidification and temperature change in Antarctic environments warrant investigation as little is known about the synergistic consequences of these parameters on Antarctic benthic species. Fertilisation success, embryo cleavage, blastulation and gastrulation were documented in the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri, reared for up to 12 days under experimental pCO2 and elevated temperature scenarios predicted by the IPCC (2007) over the next century. Experimental treatments included controls (-1 degrees C, pH 8.0), elevated temperature (1 degrees C, 3 degrees C) and decreased pH (7.8, 7.6) in all combinations in a multi-factorial design. Preliminary results suggest that fertilisation and development up to the gastrula stages are robust to increases in pCO2 and temperature predicted by the year 2100. Percentages of normally developing blastula and gastrula were also slightly higher in temperatures 2 degrees C above ambient. Impacts of ocean acidification and increasing seawater temperature on juveniles of two Antarctic heart urchins, Abatus ingens and Abatus shackletoni. Simultaneous effects of ocean acidification and temperature change in Antarctic environments warrant investigation as little is known about the synergistic consequences of these factors on Antarctic benthic species. Juvenile Abatus ingens and Abatus shackletoni were incubated under experimental pCO2 and elevated temperature scenarios reflective of those predicted by the IPCC (2007). Direct development from embryos to juveniles occurs in these species without a pelagic larval phase and the developing young are lecithotrophic for an extended period. Adult urchins were collected near Davis Station during the Austral summer season (January-February 2011). Juveniles were extracted from the parental brood pouch and reared in flow-through experimental treatments for 4 weeks. CO2-enriched air was supplied to seawater in which pCO2 was regulated at the target levels of 448 plus or minus 6.51 (pH 8.01 plus or minus 0.005), 846 plus or minus 6.58 (pH 7.83 plus or minus 0.005) and 1371 plus or minus 7.34 (pH 7.63 plus or minus 0.007) ppm and seawater temperature was set at -1 plus or minus 0.03 degrees C (Control) and 1 plus or minus 0.32 degrees C. Preliminary results from this investigation showed significant increases in spine growth in juveniles of both A.ingens and A. shackletoni over the experimental period. However, juveniles reared in 1 degrees C significantly exhibited more incidences of epithelial separation in the spines compared to those reared in -1 degrees C. This suggests that, although there is an inherent capacity for tolerance of varying levels of pH in seawater in the absence of the protection afforded by the maternal brood pouch, these juveniles are still at risk from increasing temperatures.

NOTE - to access these data, please contact the AADC. The data can only be made available on request. This record provides a listing of meteorological data collected in the Australian Antarctic Territory by members of the Australian Antarctic program (and it's predecessors) and the Bureau of Meteorology. The data have been obtained by manual observations and by automatic weather stations. All data are available from the Bureau of Meteorology, and are considered to be the authoritative source of weather data in the Australian Antarctic Territory (as they have been quality checked). Raw data directly from the automatic weather stations at the stations is available at https://data.aad.gov.au/aws. The data available here includes: - Automatic Weather Station data from 7 sites - Casey, Davis, Macquarie Island, Mawson, Wilkins, Davis Whoop Whoop, and Casey Skiway South. Data resolution varies, but is approximately every 30 minutes. - Daily weather data from 48 sites. Note - not all of these sites are still operational. - Synoptic weather data from 53 sites. Note - not all of these sites are still operational. - Terrestrial soil data from 4 sites. Note - not all of these sites are still operational. - Upper air data from 5 sites. Note - not all of these sites are still operational. - High resolution, 1 minute automatic weather station data from 7 sites - Casey, Davis, Macquarie Island, Mawson, Wilkins, Davis Whoop Whoop, and Casey Skiway South. - Daily and Synoptic data from a number of decommissioned sites. Site details of 24 sites. For full site listings, seeing the file for station details within each dataset ("HM01X_StnDet"). Meteorology data from Wilkes Station, Antarctica 1960 - 1968 - data collected include: temperature (maximum and minimum; dry bulb; wet bulb; dew point), air pressure, wind (direction,speed and maximum gust; run (greater than 3 m)), phenomena, sunshine, cloud. Meteorology data from Casey Station (current) (300017), Antarctica 1989 ongoing, surface measurements - location 66.2792 S, 110.5356 E, with a barometric height of 42.3m. Data collected include the following: temperature (maximum and minimum; dry bulb), air pressure, wind (direction;speed), humidity, rainfall, sunshine, cloud, visibility. An AWS is now in operation at Casey station. Meteorology data from Davis Station (300000), Antarctica 1957 ongoing, surface measurements - location 68.5772 S, 77.9725 E, with a station height of 16.0m and a barometric height of 22.3m. - location 66.2792 S, 110.5356 E, with a barometric height of 42.3m. Data collected include the following: temperature (maximum and minimum; dry bulb; terrestrial minimum, soil temperature), air pressure, wind (direction, speed; run), rainfall, sunshine, cloud, humidity, visibility. An AWS is now in operation at Davis station. Meteorology data from Mawson Station (300001), Antarctica 1954 ongoing, surface measurements - location 67.6014 S, 62.8731 E, with a station height of 9.9m and a barometric height of 16.0m. Data collected include the following: temperature (maximum and minimum; dry bulb), air pressure, wind (direction,speed), humidity, cloud, rainfall, sunshine. An AWS is now in operation at Mawson station. Meteorology data from Macquarie Island Station (300004), 1948 ongoing, surface measurements - location 54.4997 S, 158.9522 E, with a station height of 6.0m, a barometric height of 8.3m and an aerodrome height of 6.0m. Data collected include the following: temperature (maximum and minimum; dry bulb; wet bulb; terrestrial minimum; soil 10cm,20cm,50cm,100cm), air pressure, wind (direction; speed; run), rainfall, sunshine, cloud, visibility, humidity, sea state, radiation. An AWS is now in operation at Macquarie Island station. Meteorology data from Heard Island (Atlas Cove) Station (300005), first installed 1948 - location 53.02 S, 73.39 E, with a station height of 3.0m, and a barometric height of 3.5m. Data collected include the following: temperature, air pressure, rainfall. Meteorology data from Heard Island (The Spit) Station (300028), installed 1992 - location 53.1069 S, 73.7211 E, with a station height of 12.0m and a barometric height of 12.5m. Data collected include the following: temperature (air and minimum terrestrial), air pressure, humidity, wind direction, sunshine, cloud. Meteorology data from Casey Station (current) (300017), Antarctica 1989 ongoing, upper atmosphere measurements - location 66.2792 S, 110.5356 E, with a barometric height of 42.3m. Data collected include the following: upper atmospheric temperature (via a radiosonde), upper atmospheric wind (using a wind find radar). Meteorology data from Davis Station (300000), Antarctica 1957 ongoing, upper atmosphere measurements - location 68.5772 S, 77.9725 E, with a station height of 16.0m and a barometric height of 22.3m. Data collected include the following: upper atmospheric temperature (using radiosonde), upper atmosphere wind (using wind find radar). Meteorology data from Mawson Station (300001), Antarctica 1954 ongoing, upper atmosphere measurements - location 67.6014 S, 62.8731 E, with a station height of 9.9m and a barometric height of 16.0m. Data collected include the following: upper atmosphere temperature and wind (using sounding processor and GPS). Meteorology data from Macquarie Island Station (300004), 1948 ongoing, upper atmosphere measurements - location 54.4997 S, 158.9522 E, with a station height of 6.0m, a barometric height of 8.3m and an aerodrome height of 6.0m. Data collected include the following: upper atmosphere temperature and wind (collected using wind find radar and radiosondes). Meteorology data from Knuckey Peaks Station (300009), 1975 - 1984 - location 67.8 S, 53.5 E. Meteorology data from Heard Island (Atlas Cove) Station (300005), first installed 1948, upper atmosphere measurements - location 53.02 S, 73.39 E, with a station height of 3.0m, and a barometric height of 3.5m. Data recorded include: upper atmosphere temperature, upper atmosphere wind. Meteorology data from Mount King Satellite of Mawson Station (300010), Antarctica, 1975 - 1984 - location 67.1 S, 52.5 E, with a station height of 112.5m. Data recorded include: temperature (dry bulb), air pressure, humidity, visibility, and some upper atmosphere measurements. Meteorology data from Lanyon Junction Station (300011), Antarctica 1983 to 1987 - location 66.3 S, 110.8667 E, with a station height of 470.0m. Observational records include: humidity charts, thermograph charts, pilot balloon flights, and surface observations. Meteorology data from Haupt Nunatak (Casey) Automatic Weather Station (site 300012), installed 1994 - located at 66.5819 S, 110.6939 E near Casey station, with a station height of 81.4m and a barometer height of 83.4m. Data recorded include: barometric pressure, wind direction, speed and gust, and air temperature. Meteorology data from Depot Peak site (300013), Antarctica, installed 1990 - location 69.05 S, 164.6 E, and has a station height of 1600 m. Instruments at the site include: barometer, cup anemometer and humicap (temperature and humidity). Meteorology data from Edgeworth David (Bunger Hills) Station (300014), Antarctica, 1986 to 1989 - location 66.25 S, 100.6036 E, with a station height of 6.0m and a barometric height of 7.0m. Meteorology data from Law Base Station (300015),Antarctica, 1989 - 1992 - location 69.4167 S, 76.5 E, with a station height of 77.0m. Meteorology data from Dovers Station (300016), Antarctica, 1988 to 1992 - located at 70.2333 S, 65.85 E, with a station height of 1058.0m and a barometric height of 1059.0m. Data recorded include: Air pressure, air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, cloud, visibility and upper atmosphere data. Meteorology data from Balaena Island Automatic Weather Station (300032), installed 1994 - location 66.017 S, 111.0833 E, 22.21 Nm NE of Casey, with a station height of 8.0m and a barometric height of 10m. Data collected from this AWS include: Wind speed and direction, wind gust, air temperature and barometric pressure. Meteorology data from Snyder Rocks Automatic Weather Station (300033), Antarctica, installed 1994 - located at 66.55 S, 107.75 E, with a station height of 40m and a barometric height of 42m. Data collected include: air temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, direction and gust. Meteorology data from Law Dome Summit South Automatic Weather Station (300034), Antarctica, installed 1995 - location 66.717 S, 112.9333 E, with a station height of 1375.0 m. Data collected include: air pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction. Meteorology data from Casey(old) Station, Antarctica 1969 - 1989. Data collected include: temperature (maximum and minimum; dry bulb; wet bulb; dew point), air pressure, wind (direction,speed and maximum gust; run (greater than 3 m)), phenomena, sunshine, cloud, radiation (global,diffuse).