These are phytoplankton pigment datasets collected on the BROKE voyage of the Aurora Australis during the 1995-1996 summer season. The readme file in the data download states: Data supplied by Dr Simon Wright. Details phytoplankton pigment data from BROKE. "BROKEPIGDBase.xls Contains 5 worksheets. 'Notes' repeats the information presented here. 'Key' describes the column headings, chemical names. 'Raw_Data' is the exact spreadsheet receieved from Dr Wright. 'Standard_sample_source' contains all the phyto-chemical data as taken from the CTD programme. 'Non_standard_sample_source' contains phyto-chemical data that seems to have been collected opportunistically, to test some assumptions. The details of the locations of the opportunistic samples are detailed in the column 'Sample_source'. Note- it is unsure whether the numbers in the CTD column describe the Station Number. This has to be verified. Converted into a MS Access database- 'BROKE_phytoplankton.mdb' by Natalie Kelly. This database contains 3 tables. One is a description of the column names, chemical etc. The other two contain both the Standard and Non-Standard Sample source phytochemical data. Natalie Kelly 19 November 2005"

This dataset contains chlorophyll a data collected by the Aurora Australis on Voyage 6, 1997-1998 - the SAZ (Subantarctic Zone) cruise. Samples were collected in March of 1998. These data were collected as part of ASAC project 40 (The role of antarctic marine protists in trophodynamics and global change and the impact of UV-B on these organisms).

Processed CTD instrument data - Corrected fluorescence profiles at the Southern Kerguelen Plateau, Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean. The fluorometer was calibrated through the regression of burst measurements against in situ chlorophyll a measured at the same depths and sites using high performance liquid chromatography (Wright et al. 2010). Zero chlorophyll a reference points were included in the regression and were obtained through averaging fluorometry data over 200-300 m bins. The resulting linear equation used to convert flourometry data was: chlorophyll = 0.262*fluorescence + 0.101. Column measurements (µg L-1) and integrated data (0-150 m, mg m-2) for each CTD station are provided.

At each CTD station the Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometer (FRRF) was carried out onto the trawl deck and shackled (+ cable tie) to the winch cable. When the crew in the aft control room were ready the PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) cap was removed and the FRRF activated with the magnet. It was deployed at a rate of 0.3m/sec to 10m, stopped for 30sec, then the descent was continued to 100m at same rate where it was stopped for another 30 sec. The FRRF was then brought back up at 0.3m/sec to deck. Once on deck the FRRF was turned off, it was hosed down with hot fresh water and the PAR cap replaced. Underway data were collected from the flow-through system in the lab on all South/North transects. West to East legs were not surveyed. The FRRF data were downloaded after every Vertical Drop and at the end of the Underway legs. The post-processing and analysis of data will be carried out after the voyage. The Final dataset is in the form of a Binary file for each drop and Underway leg. This work was completed as part of ASAC projects 2655 and 2679 (ASAC_2655, ASAC_2679).

This dataset contains chlorophyll a data collected by the Aurora Australis on Voyage 7, 1992-1993 - the WOES (Wildlife Oceanography Ecosystem Survey) cruise. Samples were collected from March-May of 1993. These data were collected as part of ASAC project 40 (The role of antarctic marine protists in trophodynamics and global change and the impact of UV-B on these organisms).

Chloropyll a data were collected along the WOCE transect on voyage 1 of the Aurora Australis, during October of 1991. These data were collected as part of ASAC project 40 (The role of antarctic marine protists in trophodynamics and global change and the impact of UV-B on these organisms).

This dataset contains chlorophyll a data collected by the Aurora Australis on Voyage 2, 1997-1998 - the ONICE cruise. Samples were collected from September-November of 1997. These data were collected as part of ASAC project 40 (The role of antarctic marine protists in trophodynamics and global change and the impact of UV-B on these organisms).

These data relate to a large-scale early-autumn phytoplankton bloom that occurred off Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, in March 2012. The bloom was detected by Dr Jan Lieser (Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, ACE-CRC) through MODIS satellite and was opportunistically sampled from RSV Aurora Australis using the uncontaminated seawater line. Samples were analysed for protist species and abundances using light and scanning electron microscopy, and pigment analyses were conducted using high performance liquid chromatography. Additional water samples were taken for dissolved nutrient analyses. Specific details of the files are: Cape Darnley Protist Counts Samples were preserved with 1 % vol:vol Lugols iodine and stored in glass bottles in the dark at 4 degrees C. Protists were identified and counted using phase and Nomarski interference optics using Olympus IX71 and IX81 inverted microscopes at 400X to 640X magnification. Bright field optics were also used to discriminate taxa that contained chloroplasts. Protistan taxa were counted in 20 randomly chosen fields of view, except for highly abundant taxa that were counted in a subset of the field of view defined by an ocular quadrant (Whipple grid). Cell biovolumes and carbon conversion statistics were used to calculate the cell biomass of protistan taxa/groups. Cape Darnley Fluorometer Calibration Fluorometer measurements from the ships underway system were calibrated using chlorophyll a readings determined through high performance liquid chromatography. A linear relationship was established between fluorometer v HPLC chlorophyll a measurements at the same sites. The linear equation was then used to convert all underway fluorometry data from the voyage. Cape Darnley Bloom HPLC Pigments CHEMTAX summary Major phytoplankton groups at each site determined through analysis of pigments using high performance liquid chromatography and CHEMTAX. Methods were according to that of Wright et al. (2010). Cape Darnley Bloom Nutrients Dissolved nutrient concentrations. Samples were analysed by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, 18 St. Johns Avenue, Newtown, Tasmania 7008. Cape Darnley Underway Data VOYAGE_04_0_201112 Raw underway data from Aurora Australis in the bloom region Cape Darnley Underway Data Maps Maps of the underway data in the bloom region

The Antarctic Fast Ice Algae Chlorophyll-a (AFIAC) dataset is a compilation of currently available sea ice chlorophyll-a data from land-fast sea ice (i.e., excluding pack ice (see ASPeCt-Bio, Meiners et al. 2012)) cores collected at circum-Antarctic locations during the period 1970 to 2015. Data come from peer-reviewed publications, field-reports, data repositories and direct contributions by field-research teams. During all campaigns the chlorophyll-a concentration (in micrograms per litre) was measured from melted ice-core sections, using standard procedures, e.g., by melting the ice at less than 5 degrees C in the dark; filtering samples onto glassfibre filters; and fluorometric analysis according to standard protocols [Holm-Hansen et al., 1965; Evans et al., 1987]. Ice samples were melted either directly or in filtered sea water, which does not yield significant differences in chlorophyll-a concentration [Dieckmann et al., 1998]. The dataset consists of 888 geo-referenced ice cores, consisting of 5718 individual ice core sections, and including 404 full vertical profiles with a minimum of three sections. Samples/sections from the remaining cores represent: i) bottom 0.05 m only (n= 32), ii) bottom 0.1 m only (n = 301), complete cores (n = 66), as well as intermittent profiles (n = 85) with at least 3 sections but gaps in-between them. For questions about this dataset please contact: Klaus Meiners and Martin Vancoppenolle This data compilation was carried out under the auspices of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research - ASPeCt program and the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR) working group on Biogeochemical Exchange Processes at the Sea-Ice Interfaces (WG-140). It also contributes to SCOR WG-152 on Measuring Essential Climate Variables in Sea Ice (ECV-Ice). An update to this dataset was submitted in September, 2018.

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2702 See the link below for public details on this project. Sea-ice algae are the basis of the Antarctic food web and are essential for healthy functioning of the Antarctic ecosystem. These algae exploit a unique niche within this extreme environment. Using advanced photosynthetic analysis we will examine the mechanisms which influence the productivity of sea-ice algae. The objective of this project is to understand the processes of light acclimation and photo-protection employed by sea-ice algae under extremely low temperature conditions. Several new hypotheses have been proposed in a recent review of low temperature acclimation of higher plants (Oquist and Huner, 2003). To further understand the remarkable tolerance of sea-ice algae to photoinhibition, we propose to test several of these hypotheses. Sea-ice algae fix inorganic carbon that forms the basis of the Southern Ocean food web. Sea ice covers up to 20 million km2 of the Southern Ocean each year. Global climate change will decrease the sea-ice thickness and distribution (IPCC, 2001); however subtle changes in temperature and light penetration will also have profound negative impacts on the photosynthetic efficiency of the sea-ice microalgae before any macroscale changes take place. Sea-ice algae are essentially the only food source for invertebrates and fish for up to nine months of the year. During winter and spring, krill (Euphausia sp.) have been observed feeding directly on sea-ice algae. Further, changes in sea-ice productivity will have a cascade effect further up the food web. Therefore, understanding how physical driving forces (temperature and light) affect sea-ice algae productivity will be critical to our ability to predict the effects of climate change and sustainably manage this unique and vulnerable ecosystem. Our primary objective is: To understand the processes of light acclimation and photo-protection employed by sea-ice algae under extremely low temperature conditions, with an aim to better understanding the potential implications of global climate change on the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem.