Topographic contours of Signy Island with 10 m intervals, derived from a digital elevation model originally created using stereoscopic photogrammetry from VHR (very high resolution) In-Track stereo satellite imagery collected during March 2015. The topographic contours were created to support the updated release of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Signy Island map (BAS, 2024). The dataset is available as a polyline shapefile and a GeoPackage. WorldView-3 satellite images (c) 2015 Maxar Technologies.

Spot heights of Signy Island, derived using stereoscopic photogrammetry from VHR (very high resolution) In-Track stereo satellite imagery collected during March 2015. The spot heights were created to support the updated release of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Signy Island map (BAS, 2024) and represent a series of points containing x, y and z values of high points and peaks. The dataset is available as a 3D point shapefile and a GeoPackage. WorldView-3 satellite images (c) 2015 Maxar Technologies.

These are light level and activity data collected from BAS geolocators that were deployed on 4 Leopard Seals hauled out on Bird Island, South Georgia. Tags were deployed between May 2003 and June 2013. One seal Y5282(B4942) was tracked during two non-consecutive years using two different identification flipper tags. There are three data types for each seal a) the unprocessed light sensor data b) the unprocessed activity (wet/dry) data and c) The estimated positions estimated using the BAStag and SGAT packages in R. All files are in the CSV format and each folder has a readme.txt file describing the data structure of the files within. The data are reported in detail in Staniland et al. 2018 'Long Term Movements and Activity Patterns of an Antarctic Marine Apex Predator: The Leopard Seal' PLOSone

Land cover of Signy Island, consisting of rock outcrop, moraine, lakes, permanent ice and streams. All data were manually digitised from a VHR (very high resolution) satellite image acquired on the 10th February 2020. WorldView-2 satellite image (c) 2020 Maxar Technologies. The datasets are available as polygon and point shapefiles and GeoPackages. The data were created to support the updated release of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Signy Island map (BAS, 2024)

We present a new bathymetric compilation around the South Orkney Islands here defined by the following bounding box: 47 to 37 W, 63 to 59 S. This bathymetry grid was compiled from a variety of multibeam swath bathymetry data acquired during 46 different cruises (see lineage). The data is available as a grid of approximately 100 m resolution in a GMT-compatible (2-D) NetCDF format using geographic coordinates on the WGS84 datum. Three versions of the grid are available: the first one shows only swath bathymetry data while the second and third have been merged with the global compilations from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), GEBCO_2014 (version 20150318) and GEBCO_2019, respectively. Quick views are also available in the corresponding folder. Funding was provided by the NERC grants NE/K012843/1 and NE/N018095/1 as well as national capability

Three plant species, the leafy liverwort Cephaloziella varians and the angiosperms Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis, were sampled from 12 islands across a 1480 km latitudinal gradient from South Georgia through to Adelaide Island. Samples were collected to determine the abundance of dark septate fungi in Antarctic plant and soil communities and the effects of these organisms on plant growth. Where the target species were found in sufficient numbers to allow sampling, it proved possible to collect at least 10 samples of each species. At least 10 soil samples were collected from each site where Deschampsia was found. Plants, with intact roots and soil, were transported back to the UK using cool and frozen stowage. Additionally, intact live plants were transported to the UK in an illuminated cabinet. Seeds of the two key species (Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis) were also collected at Bird Island and South Georgia. 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.

This study investigated the status of dark septate (DS) fungi in Antarctic plant and soil communities, with the aim of determining the abundance of DS fungi in plant roots and rhizoids, their taxonomic affinities and their symbiotic status. Abundances of fungal hyphae were recorded in roots and rhizoids, and fungi were isolated and identified. Sequencing of ITS (internal transcribed spacer) regions of rDNA indicated that some isolates share taxonomic affinities with fungi of known symbiotic status. Synthesis experiments assessed the effects of DS fungal isolates, including H. ericae, on the growth and nutrient balance of their host plants. Seeds of Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis were collected for use in ecophysiological experiments.