During the MOSAiC expedition in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO, 2019-2020), POM was sampled weekly to fortnightly from surface waters and the Chlorophyll a maximum layer (Chl a max) via CTD casts and from bottom sea ice of the floe via ice coring (first- and second-year ice, two layers nearest to the water-ice interface). The POM was filtered onboard (GF/F filters) and deep frozen for the subsequent analysis of a suite of lipid biomarkers, including IP25 and other highly-branched isoprenoids (HBI), fatty acids (FA) and sterols. These biomarkers can provide valuable information about the nutritional value, the taxonomic composition (e.g. diatoms vs flagellates), and the origin of the POM that represents the basis of the Central Arctic food web. This dataset comprises the results from the HBI analysis only, while the FA dataset is already published and the sterol data will be submitted shortly. The separation of the various lipid biomarkers was carried out at the University of Plymouth. After addition of internal standards for each of the 3 components, the filters were saponified with KOH.

Thereafter, non-saponifiable lipids (HBI and sterols) were extracted with hexane and purified by open column chromatography (SiO2). Fatty acids were obtained by adding concentrated HCl to the saponified solution and re-extracted with hexane. The analysis of IP25 was carried out using an Agilent 7890A gas chromatograph (GC), coupled to an Agilent 5975 mass selective detector (mass spectrometry, MS), fitted with an Agilent HP-5ms column with auto-splitless injection and helium carrier gas. Identification of IP25 and other HBIs was achieved by comparison of their individual GC retention indices and mass spectra with those obtained from purified standards. IP25 was quantified by, first, integrating individual ion responses in selected-ion monitoring mode (m/z 350.3), second, normalising these to the corresponding peak area of the internal standard and, third, applying an instrumental response factor obtained from a purified standard. These IP25 quantities per filter can be normalised to the volume of filtered seawater or melted ice core water.

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)