Comparable deep-water benthos datasets collected by epibenthic sledges (EBS) with an epibenthic and a suprabenthic netsampler in the Atlantic Ocean have been gathered since 2006. They were collected during the international research expeditions: ANDEEP-SYSTCO II, BIOPEARL I, DIVA1-3, IceAGE1-3&RR, IceDIVA1,2, JR275 and Vema-TRANSIT. While EBS diversity data at high taxon level were published for ANDEEP_SYSTCO II, DIVA1-3 and Vema-TRANSIT, unpublished diversity data for BIOPEARL I, IceAGE1-3&RR, IceDIVA1, 2 and JR275 came from sample databases at DZMB Senckenberg and British Antarctic Survey, and are published here for the first time. In total, diversity data for 143 EBS deployments from 13 expeditions were available for analyses based on identification on 50 taxon levels, including phyla, subphyla, classes and orders. During all 13 expeditions EBS with an epibenthic and a suprabenthic netsampler following sampler sizes and height , enabling comparability of samples. This type of EBS was a suitable device for sampling small benthic fauna on and above the seabed, including macrofauna and small-sized megafauna. We analyse pan-Atlantic benthic data from a range (119m - 8338m) of depths. For the pan-Atlantic analyses we defined seven regions to pool EBS locations based on their position North and South of the Equator and to the mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR): East and West of the MAR, the Vema Fracture Zone as a gap in the MAR, the Southern Ocean south of the MAR and the Puerto Rico Trench as a deep-sea trench. In this study we included data for 41 higher taxa of the initially separated 50 taxa ranging from phyla to orders. The environmental parameters for this study were provided by Bio-ORACLE, which identifies mean values for different physical and chemical variables over a 14 year time period through a combination of satellite and in-situ measurements (2000 - 2014), at a resolution of 5 arcmin. 4 multivariate analyses (principal components analysis, analysis of similarities, similarity of percentages and BioEnv BEST) were carried out on standardised abundances using PRIMER software, the results and parameters of which are presented in this dataset. Funding over the years for the sample collection and analyses was provided by multiple NERC grants and international grants. Katrin Linse, Peter Enderlein and Huw J. Griffiths were part of the British Antarctic Survey Polar Science for Planet Earth Programme funded by The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [NC-Science] and included the funding for the RSS James Clark Ross expeditions BIOPEARL I and JR275. This study was directly funded by the IceAGE_RR and IceDIVA grants by the German Science Foundation (DFG) and Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) under grant numbers MSM75 (MerMet17-5), SO280 and SO286 to PIs Saskia Brix, James Taylor and Katrin Linse. Funding for previous expeditions that provided data were: IceAGE1-3, BR3843-3-1& 4-1, & SO276 (MerMet17-6). James Taylor and Karlotta Kurzel were supported via DFG grant GPF 20-3_087 as part of the IceDiva project 2021 - 2022 by DFG. Anne-Nina Lorz was funded by the German Science Foundation Project IceAGE Amphipoda, LO2543/1-1. Additionally, Angelika Brandt was granted funding (SO 237, Forderziffer 03G0237A) by the Bauer Foundation for the VEMA-Transit project. Inmaculada Frutos was supported through the junior research group''''Vema TRANSIT. Puerto Rico Trench, Vema Fracture Zone and Abyssal Atlantic Biodiversity Study'''' as part of the project ''''Biodiversitatnachhaltige Ressourcennutzun'''' (Aktenzeichen T237/25054/).

Benthic Macrofaunal abundance and biomass data collected during a series of ship-board sampling campaigns in the Barents Sea. As part of the NERC funded Changing Arctic Ocean programme, in July of 2017, 2018 and 2019, the RSS James Clark Ross followed a North-South transect at 30 degrees Longitude. In 2017 six stations were sampled (B3, B13, B14, B15, B16, B17); in 2018 seven stations were sampled (B3, B13, B14, Xs, B15, B16, B17); and in 2019 five stations were sampled (B3, B13, B14, B15, B16). Macrofaunal samples were collected using a USNL corer (surface area 0.1m<sup>2</sup>). On recovery all faunal samples were fixed and preserved with 10% buffered formaldehyde solution. The faunal samples were transported to Plymouth Marine Laboratory where the fauna were extracted, identified to species level where possible using the most up to date literature available, and biomassed (blotted wet weight) to species level. A reference collection has been created containing an example of each taxon to ensure maximum quality control was maintained by the three analysts that conducted the species identification and for subsequent cruise data generated. Funded by the NERC Changing Arctic Ocean Seafloor (ChAOS).

Aerial survey of St Andrews Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_10 which was carried out on 2024-10-18. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of St Andrews Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_12 which was carried out on 2024-10-20. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of St Andrews Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_22 which was carried out on 2024-10-27. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of St Andrews Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_24 which was carried out on 2024-10-28. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of St Andrews Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_21 which was carried out on 2024-10-26. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of Hound Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_20 which was carried out on 2024-10-25. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of Hound Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_23 which was carried out on 2024-10-27. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).

Aerial survey of St Andrews Bay elephant seal colony, Mirounga leonina, during the 2023/24 season conducted using a remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). The aerial survey was conducted as part of the Darwin Plus (DPLUS) 214 project: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA). Dataset includes the original images and log files, the original RINEX GNSS (global navigation satellite system) base station files, the post-processed global navigation satellite system and imagery data, along with the resulting georeferenced DSM (digital surface model) and an orthorectified mosaic of the imagery. This dataset is from flight number DPLUS_214_25 which was carried out on 2024-10-29. This work was supported by the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund under Grant Darwin Plus ref: DPLUS214: Southwest Atlantic Elephant Seal Population Assessment (SAESPA).