NERC Data Catalogue Service
NERC Data Catalogue Service (Natural Environment Research Council)
Continents, countries, sea regions of the world.
Stable isotope data from chick feathers of 11 South Georgian bird species
During several austral summers covering a 13 year period, we collected a random sample of body feathers from chicks of 11 sympatric species of Procellariiform (wandering albatross Diomedea exulans -79 individuals in total-, black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris - 51-, grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma - 58 -, light-mantled sooty albatross Phoebetria palpebrata - 34 -, northern giant petrel Macronectes halli - 59 -, southern giant petrel M. giganteus - 60 -, white-chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis - 39 -, blue petrel Halobaena caerulea - 19 - , Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata - 19 -, South Georgian diving petrel Pelecanoides georgicus - 2 - and common diving petrel P. urinatrix - 6 -) to analyse Delta15N and Delta13C.
This data is released under a UK Open Government Licence V3.0 : http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3
Annual population counts of multiple species of seal, Signy Island, 1974-2024
The seal population on Signy Island has been monitored since 1974. The total number of adult seals were counted in February each year. The island was divided into 6 zones, and the number of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella), elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) and other seal species in each zone were counted, typically over several days. For fur seals the number of pups, white seals and entangled seals were also recorded. The first recorded count was conducted in 1974 and counts have been done annually since 1985. This work is carried out to support the conservation of higher predators at Signy. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
This data is governed by the NERC data policy (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/) and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).
Annual surveys followed consistent methodology led by experienced biologists. All personnel were familiar with identifying the three species of seal and care was always taken to examine all areas on the surveys, in order to ensure no seals were missed. Surveys took place in dry and calm weather conditions as high levels of precipitation and strong winds are known to drive large numbers of Antarctic fur seals into the sea for the duration of a storm at Signy Island. Years with no data indicate personnel had not arrived on Signy in time to carry out this activity. For additional information see Waluda et al 2010.
Trophic marker composition of Calanus hyperboreus (Copepoda) sampled under sea ice and throughout the water column of the Central Arctic Ocean during the MOSAiC expedition (2019/2020)
Calanus hyperboreus dominates the copepod biomass in the high Arctic. It forms an important intermediate trophic level in the Central Arctic food web, grazing on algae and protists and serving as prey for a large range of other zooplankton, fish and seabirds. Their unique lipids (20:1, 22:1 fatty acids and fatty alcohols) can be traced within the Arctic megafauna from seals to whales and polar bears, as these energy-rich lipids are crucial body reserves for the dark season. During the MOSAiC expedition in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO, 2019-2020), C. hyperboreus adult females (AF) and subadult copepodites stages (CV) were sampled weekly to fortnightly. A range of nets were used to sample either horizontally underneath the sea ice or vertically from maximum 2000 m through the water column. Onboard, ~10 AF and ~20 CV of C. hyperboreus were sorted from each catch, photographed, rinsed with freshwater to remove salt and frozen at -80C for subsequent analysis of their total dry mass (DM), lipid content and a suite of trophic markers, including bulk stable isotopes (BSI), phytosterols (PS), total fatty acids (TFA), total fatty alcohols (TFAlc), and highly-branched isoprenoids (HBI). During the time of their seasonal descent at the end of summer, vertical sampling of C. hyperboreus was intensified and additional parameters were analysed, e.g. the FA and FAlc composition of their storage lipids (neutral lipids, NLFA, NLFAlc) and membrane lipids (polar lipids, PLFA, PLFAlc), the carbon isotopic composition of key FA and FAlc (CSIA-FA; CSIA-FAlc), and the tissue density. By combining this array of trophic markers, valuable information about the body conditions and feeding history of these copepods can be linked to their life cycle and vertical distribution. The initial separation of the various trophic markers was carried out at the University of Plymouth. After estimating the total DM, subsamples for BSI were sent to the Littoral, Environment and Societies Joint Research Unit stable isotope facility (CNRS - University of La Rochelle, France) for analysis. Three internal standards were added to the samples used for lipid analysis to quantify the TFA, TFAlc, PS and HBI content. As a first step, the total lipid content of the animals was extracted in dichloromethane : methanol. The lipid samples were split into two equal subsamples, one was sent to the Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven/Germany for FA and FAlc analyses and the second was used for PS and HBI analyses in Plymouth. This dataset is linked to a manuscript that compares the trophic marker composition of C. hyperboreus from the surface vs. deep ocean to understand drivers, benefits, and risks of their seasonal migration in the CAO. The manuscript focusses mainly on the copepod descent in late summer and the changes in body conditions and trophic marker composition over the winter months. Contributions by KS were funded by the UK''s Natural Environment Research Council MOSAiC Thematic project SYM-PEL: "Quantifying the contribution of sympagic versus pelagic diatoms to Arctic food webs and biogeochemical fluxes: application of source-specific highly branched isoprenoid biomarkers" (NE/S002502/1). CJA, RGC, CEG, KMS and RJ were funded by the US National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs (OPP-1824447 and OPP-1824414).
Data supplied under Open Government Licence v3.0 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.
Due to restrictions on ship-time, replicate net tows were not feasible. The same is true for the sorting of animals onboard: to cover all the selected target species and parameters in a timely manner, only one sample per species and developmental stage was prepared for trophic marker analysis. From the dried material only one sample was prepared for each BSI and lipid analysis, but a small back-up of dried material was kept in case one of the analyses failed. A very few BSI samples had to be repeated due to problems with the autosampler, while all lipid analyses were carried out successfully at first attempt. Therefore, the back-up material was subsequently used for tissue density analysis. The FA and FAlc profiles were compared to both commercial- (Supelco 37 Component FAME mix, Supelco, Germany) and self-produced standards (e.g. Arctic algae standard, bacteria standard, Calanus spp. standard), and were identified accordingly. In a few cases, samples were also analysed with the mass spectrometer and peaks were identified via (1) the mass of the compound, (2) the retention time of the compound and (3) the equivalent chain length method. For sterols, cultured algae of known sterol composition were used to clarify the identity of the four phytosterol peaks. Therefore, the mass spectra of their trimethylsilylethers were compared with published data. For several samples, parallel analysis of the extracts was carried out at the AWI, benefitting from the long-term experience in sterol identification by our colleague Dr. Kirsten Fahl. The uncertainty of the reported isotope-delta values (BSI) was evaluated as the standard deviation of repeated measurements (n = 5) for the reference material, USGS61 and USGS63 (Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA), based on their assigned carbon and nitrogen isotope-delta values and standard uncertainties. For our measurements the uncertainty did not exceed 0.10? for both d13C and d15N values. The &#948;13C values of the individual FAMEs were calibrated by analysing the certified standard FAMEs 14:0 (certified d13C value: -29.98 ppt, measured d13C value: -29.54 ppt) and 18:0 (certified d13C value: -23.24 ppt, measured d13C value: -23.29 ppt) at regular intervals (~ every five samples). The analytical error was +/- 0.3 ppt for both 14:0 and 18:0 (representing 1 standard deviation of 10 analyses each). Furthermore, for quality assurance and analytical precision of the determined carbon stable isotope composition, the laboratory standard 23:0 was measured intermittently during the sample runs with an analytical error of +/- 0.4 ppt (representing the standard deviation of 10 analyses). The pycnometers'' measuring accuracy can be as high as +/- 0.02% (BELSORP, Instruction Manual Ver.1.3.4), but generally drops with lower sample mass. To accumulate sufficient mass (usually 15-38 mg dry mass), samples had to be compiled based on species, developmental stage, and sampling depth. Between 5 and 18 subsamples from the trophic marker samples contributed to one sample for density measurements, representing 50 to several hundred specimens. For each temperature between -2 and 3C, four measurements were taken, each based on 12 individual runs. Then the temperature was increased by 1C, with a 70-minute pause to allow for stabilisation of the new temperature within the sample cell. These ''blank'' measurements were carried out three times, at the beginning, middle and end of the lab working period. The standard deviation for the three blank measurements varied between 0.003 and 0.008% for the six temperatures.
Ground-based ice-penetrating radar surveys of ice rises in the Ronne Ice Shelf region
This dataset was collected during two Antarctic field seasons (2013-14, 2014-15) using the DEep LOoking Radio-Echo Sounder (DELORES), a ground-based ice-penetrating radar system that was designed and built by the British Antarctic Survey. It is an updated version of the radar used by Hindmarsh and others (2011). The system emits 2500 radio-wave pulses per second with a centre frequency of 4 MHz and samples the return at 250 MHz. Vertical resolution is approximately 30 cm. The radar is towed across the ice-sheet surface behind a skidoo at approximately 15 km h -1 and 512 complete traces are staked for each stored record, resulting in stacked traces approximately every 85 cm.
Data supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Phase-sensitive radar measurements near ice divides on ice rises in the Ronne Ice Shelf region
This dataset contains a series of point measurements made using a ground-based phase-sensitive radio-echo sounder (pRES) designed by the British Antarctic Survey. The system is configured as a step-frequency radar to sample the frequency response of the ice at 3201 equally-spaced frequency steps between 225 MHz and 385 MHz.
Released under a Open Government Licence V3.0 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M67-292, Antarctica, 2003-present
The British Antarctic Survey holds magnetic data measuring the plasmaspheric mass loading on magnetic field lines in Antarctica. The network of Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) instruments consists of permanent and temporary sites. The data is collected in 3 D fluxgate at up to 1 second and 1 nT resolution. Samples are taken once a second for 150 milliseconds at maximum power. This decreases to once a minute if power is low over the winter. Time and position is measured using an attached GPS system.
Data released under Open Government Licence V3.0: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M68-041, Antarctica, 2003-2004
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M65-297, Antarctica, 2002-2002
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M66-294, Antarctica, 2002-2003
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M74-043, Antarctica, 2004-2011
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Consumption
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Indigenous Species
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Population Dynamics
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Trophic Dynamics
EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets
EARTH SCIENCE > Sun-earth Interactions > Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Dynamics > Magnetic Fields/Magnetic Currents
UK Polar Data Centre, British Antarctic Survey - NERC
Polar Data Centre - British Antarctic Survey
Polar Data Centre; British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council; Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK.
Macrobenthic assemblages from the methane seeps in six South Georgia troughs collected in 2017
In 2017, the RV METEOR M134 expedition investigated macrobenthic assemblages associated with methane seeps on the South Georgia continental shelf. Six shelf troughs with active methane seepage were sampled to assess species richness, abundance, and environmental conditions. Data were collected from eleven shelf stations, with species richness ranging from 19 to 51 species and abundances from 3,303 to 30,326 individuals per square meter. A total of 103 species were identified, with arthropods (primarily crustaceans) and annelids comprising most of the species richness. Environmental data include methane and sulfate flux, hydrogen sulfide concentrations, and sediment geochemistry. Seep assemblage data is combined with data from non-seep benthic communities from other expeditions.The dataset provides: 1) South Georgia methane seep station locations and environmental data. 2) Macrobenthic species absolute and normalized abundances at seep sites. 3) A combination of seep assemblages with non-seep benthic communities from other expeditions. Funding: The fieldwork for this study, was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the priority programme ''Antarctic Research with comparative investigations in Arctic ice areas'' (project-id 40464014) and within the DFG-Research Center/Cluster of Excellence EXC 309 ''The Ocean in the Earth System'' (project-id 49926684). The expedition, titled ''Emissions of free gas around South Georgia: distribution, quantification, and sources for methane ebullition sites in sub-Antarctic waters,'' was supported by MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Research Faculty University of Bremen, and the University of Bremen. Additional support came from the Helmholtz Association (Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven). The cruise was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Katrin Linse is part of the British Antarctic Survey Polar Science for Planet Earth Programme (NC Science), funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Studies around South Georgia were conducted under permit RAP 129/2016 (M134) issued by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UK. Macrobenthic faunal sorting was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council through a DEI Internship for Madeline PBC Anderson (via the NERC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion engagement funding) and an IAPETUS2 PhD studentship held by Madeline PBC Anderson (grant reference NE/S007431/1).
This data is governed by the NERC data policy http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/ and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.
NA in Environmental_parameters.csv data - data were not collected Indet - the abbreviation ''indet.'' was used to denote an indeterminate specimen. Species were identified to highest taxonomic level possible, and quality checking occurred for consistency in identification. Specialists were contacted to assist in identification for specific taxa.
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M70-039, Antarctica, 2003-2003
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M72-078, Antarctica, 2009-2014
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M73-159, Antarctica, 2008-2010
Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) data at M77-040, Antarctica, 2003-2012
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates