This dataset is a sequential list of all the terrestrial snow and ice samples taken at Robert Island, Antarctica from January 2023 to March 2023. Sample date, location, bloom colour and what the sample was subsequently used for (metabolomics, pigment, DNA, DOC, FTIR, CN), along with cell counts is provided. Cell counts and biometric measurements of Ancylonema are included in the dataset. The samples were taken by small 15ml or 50ml plastic tube sampling in the snow pack or on the icecap hard ice. This was to study the habitat and ecosystem progression over the season and linking this to other satellite or drone or vegetation data. A remote sensing output (red snow algae vector for Robert Island) was also produced. The expedition and sampling was carried out by Matthew Davey (PI), Alex Thomson, Andrew Gray, Hannah Moulton, Charlotte Walshaw with support from INACH, Chile and BAS. This was part of a wider project with Claudia Colesie, Naomi Thomas, Peter Convey, Alison G. Smith, Peter Fretwell, Lloyd Peck. Samples were transferred to UK (SAMS) for further analysis.

This project was funded by Standard NERC References: NE/V000764/1 and NE/V000896/1. The past, present and future of snow algae in Antarctica: a threatened terrestrial ecosystem?