Samples collected for HPLC pigments, microscopy and flow cytometry for the SAZ-SENSE project

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2720 See the link below for public details on this project. The overall objective is to characterize Southern Ocean marine ecosystems, their influence on carbon dioxide exchange with the atmosphere and the deep ocean, and their sensitivity to past and future global change including climate warming, ocean stratification, and ocean acidification from anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In particular we plan to take advantage of naturally-occurring, persistent, zonal variations in Southern Ocean primary production and biomass in the Australian Sector to investigate the effects of iron addition from natural sources, and CO2 addition from anthropogenic sources, on Southern Ocean plankton communities of differing initial structure and composition. These samples were collected on the SAZ-SENSE scientific voyage of the Australian Antarctic Program (Voyage 3 of the Aurora Australis, 2006-2007 season). SAZ-SENSE is a study of the sensitivity of Sub-Antarctic Zone waters to global change. A 32-day oceanographic voyage onboard Australia's ice-breaker Aurora Australis was undertaken in mid-summer (Jan 17 - Feb. 20) 2007 to examine microbial ecosystem structure and biogeochemical processes in SAZ waters west and east of Tasmania, and also in the Polar Frontal Zone south of the SAZ. The voyage brought together research teams from Australasia, Europe, and North America, and was led by the ACE CRC, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and the Australian Antarctic Division. The overall goal is to understand the controls on Sub-Antarctic Zone productivity and carbon cycling, and to assess their sensitivity to climate change. The strategy is to compare low productivity waters west of Tasmania (areas with little phytoplankton) with higher productivity waters to the east, with a focus on the role of iron as a limiting micro-nutrient. The study also seeks to examine the effect of rising CO2 levels on phytoplankton - both via regional intercomparisons and incubation experiments. The data described in this metadata record are for seawater samples collected for HPLC pigments, microscopy and flow cytometry. Samples were collected either by Niskin Bottles (on a CTD), from the ocean surface with a bucket, or via a clean seawater line (at a depth of 7 metres), directly into the onboard laboratories. Samples for microscopy were examined either with an electron microscope, or a light microscope (lugol samples). The data are presented in an excel spreadsheet, available for download at the URL given below. The 'Notes' worksheet provides further information about the data contained in the spreadsheet, including a description of column headings, units used, etc. The fields used in this dataset are: Tube Label Site CTD Niskin bottle Depth (m) Date (UT) Start Time (UT) Stop Time (UT) Latitude Longitude Lugols Glutaraldehyde fixed samples Flow Coccolithophorids Volume HPLC Volume Turner Fluorometer reading (PAR) Photosynthetically Active Radiation Temperature (degrees C) Comment