Ground truth measurements in the form of snow/ice cores were obtained from three sites in 2006: Rothschild Island, Latady Island and Smyley Island. The sites selected corresponded to the position of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) deployed during the previous season. At both the Rothschild Island and Smyley Island sites the AWS - due to an unprecedented amount of snowfall - had been buried. Therefore, two cores, 8m and 12m in length, were obtained from the approximate position of the AWS, in addition to the sampling of a snow pit. At the Latady Island site, the top 60cm of the 5m AWS was protruding above the surface - again, due to an unprecedented amount of snowfall. A diagonally descending trench was dug to recover the AWS and two cores were collected at this site. This work was carried out as part of a project to understand how air mass origin and meteorology affect the mass accumulation of snow in areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, and how the atmosphere''s properties are preserved in the snow, Photographs of the expedition showing the ground layout, the situation of the cores and what was done when they were gathered are available and stored with the data.

The long term monitoring of water chemistry in Signy Island lakes is unique in polar limnology, in its duration (30+ years), detail, and range of sites. It details seasonal patterns of snow and ice cover, inorganic nutrient status and chlorophyll-a and includes vertical profiles of various physical chemical parameters. There are detailed data for several study lakes and twice/thrice yearly analyses for all the Signy Island lakes. Temperature and light climate has been studied in certain lakes using automatic data loggers. Micrometeorological monitoring with additional data loggers provided data on solar radiation (PAR, UVR), air temperature, humidity and wind conditions. Data are collected by chemical analysis, use of temperature, pH light probes and observation. The ''grand prix'' was the sampling of 16 lakes in a short period (approx. one week), this was carried out perhaps two or three times a year. Approximately three to five lakes were sampled monthly or fortnightly in more detail, these were representative of the 16 lakes. Comparative studies were also undertaken in the Arctic. The long-term programme was established in 1971, although some observations were made in 1963/1964 and 1969/1970. The programme finished in 2004. As the exact months of the data collection were not provided, and the metadata standard requires a YYYY-MM-DD format, this dataset has been dated as 1st January for start date, and 31st December for stop date.