Geochemical data collected during a 40 day incubation of crushed silicate minerals (quartz and alkali feldspar). Quartz and alkali were crushed separately under an oxygen-free atmosphere using a planetary ball mill. The crushed minerals where then incubated in serum vial under with oxygen-limited water, in an oxygen-free N2 atmosphere at 4 degrees C. Headspace gases were collected before the addition of water. Then, headspace gas samples and the water samples were collected 24, 48, 120, 240, 360 and 720 hours after the addition of water. Headspace gas samples were analysed for CH4, CO2 and H2 and O2. Water fraction samples were analysed for anions and organic acids (including acetate, formate, F-, Cl-, NO2-, NO3- and SO4 2-), cations (including Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+) and total dissolved iron (dFe). The research was supported by NERC grant NE/S001670/1, CRUSH2LIFE (BGO, MT, JT) and by European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant DEEP PURPLE under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Number 856416).

This dataset comprises covariables describing the seasonal sea ice cycle around Signy Island, South Orkney Islands between 1982 and 2024. The data are derived from satellite images using R-scripts which have been made available on Zenodo. Sea ice concentration was derived from satellite measurements of percent sea ice concentration. The satellite sea ice concentration data are modelled to provide derived covariates that together measure inter-annual differences in the sea ice season. The derived covariates are: 1) day of advance: first day when sea ice concentration exceeded 15% for at least five consecutive days; 2) day of retreat: first day when sea ice concentration remained less than 15% until the end of period; 3) ice season duration: total number of sea-ice days, between day of advance and retreat; 4) sea-ice persistence: percent time sea ice was present between day of advance and retreat; 5) day of minimum sea ice extent; 6) day of maximum extent; 7) day of minimum sea ice area; 8) day of maximum sea ice area; 9) minimum area of the ocean in km2 with at least 15% sea ice concentration; and 10) maximum area of the ocean with at least 15% sea ice concentration. Sea ice covariates are used as predictors of population dynamics of Antarctic seals at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.

This dataset contains spatially and temporally resolved outputs describing supraglacial hydrology on the southwest Greenland Ice Sheet for the period 2015-2019. The data include gridded fields of surface meltwater routing, supraglacial lake extent and volume, lake drainage events (rapid and slow), and associated surface water fluxes at 100 m spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution. Outputs are derived from physically based simulations driven by climate model forcing, surface elevation data, and stress fields. The dataset has been evaluated against satellite-derived supraglacial lake observations and in situ proglacial discharge measurements, showing good agreement in lake distribution, seasonal evolution, and discharge magnitude. These data support analyses of surface meltwater storage and transfer across the ice surface and provide inputs for studies of ice-sheet hydrology and dynamics.

This study took place from 12 November to 1 December 2015, at the emperor penguin colony at Rothschild Island (-69.5 S, -72.3 W) located on sea ice < 1 km from the eastern coastline of the island in Lazarev Bay. ARGOS telemetry devices were attached to adult emperor penguins en route to, or from, the colony. The last recorded positions were on 26 April 2016 when data collection was terminated; at this date six instruments were still transmitting. PTT devices were deployed as a joint operation between Philip Trathan (British Antarctic Survey), and Barbara Wienecke (Australian Antarctic Division). Catrin Thomas acted as the BAS Field General Assistant. Funding: This work was supported by the UKRI/ BAS ALI-Science project and to the Australian Antarctic Program. Philip Trathan was also supported by WWF (UK) under grant GB095701.

Incoming irradiance at the surface and transmitted through snow and sea ice was measured during a cruise to the Chukchi Sea in August 2019 with the Korean RV Araon using TriOS RAMSES planar radiometers. The data was collected to improve understanding of how the physical and optical properties of various sea ice conditions affect the solar partitioning by snow and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and how this might affect the ecosystem trophic levels relying on photosynthesis. The data is also used to improve parameterisation in models or for remote sensing applications in order to upscale to a pan-Arctic level. This dataset resulted from the NERC project (NE/R012725/1) Eco-Light, part of the Changing Arctic Ocean programme, jointly funded by the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

This dataset presents concentration of microplastics in snow from remote Antarctic camps: Union Glacier, Schanz Glacier and the South Pole. Refined automated FTIR techniques enabled interrogation of microplastics (including fibres) to a lower detection limit of 11 micrometers in Antarctic snow for the first time. Microplastics were pervasive (73 - 3099 MP L/1). The majority (95 percent) measured less than 50 micrometers, indicating that previous microplastic reports in Antarctica may be underestimated, due to analytical restrictions. Plastic polymer composition and concentration did not vary significantly between sites, with dominant polymers being polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and synthetic rubber. Results indicate that even in the earth's most remote regions, humans are leaving a plastic legacy in the snow, illustrating the importance of remote, cryospheric regions as critical study sites for determining temporal fluxes in microplastic pollution. Funding: All fieldwork was supported and financed by Airbnb.

Marine debris washing up on beaches on Bird Island has been monitored since 1989 with over 9,000 items of debris recovered up until present day. In addition to the raw data, a summary of the data by year or by debris description is available. Occasions when no debris was found, or it was not possible to carry out a survey, are recorded in the metadata. This data is submitted to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) as part of their Marine Debris Programme.

The dataset consists of 21 physico-chemical parameters (moisture concentration, pH value, electrical conductivity, the concentrations of total organic C and N, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Zn, and those of water-extractable phosphate ions, sulphate ions, chloride ion, ammonium-N ions, nitrate/nitrite-N ions and dissolved organic carbon) measured in 29 soils gathered from along a latitudinal transect between Signy Island (60 degrees South) and south-eastern Alexander Island (72 degrees South) in November 2007-February 2008. Funding was provided by NERC grants NE/D00893X/1; AFI 7/05

Marine debris washed up on beaches on Goudier Island has been recorded since 2014. Surveys are conducted on a monthly basis when the station is occupied during the summer season. This data contributes to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Marine Debris programme.

The total number of all visitors landing at Goudier Island are recorded by UKAHT staff. The annual season total is provided.