Data from a 2014/15 mesocosm experiment at Davis Station, Antarctica, examines the impact of elevated CO2 levels on diatom silicification. The Australian Antarctic Data Centre collected measurements including bulk and species-specific silicification, cell volume, and photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) from a natural Prydz Bay microbial community. Experiments simulated CO2 concentrations from 343 to 1641 micro-atmospheres to project conditions up to the year 2200.
Use Cases
- Model the relationship between CO2 concentration and bulk silicification measurements to forecast silica flux changes.
- Analyze species-specific silicification via fluorescence microscopy data to compare resilience across diatom taxa like Thalassiosira antarctica and Fragilariopsis cylindrus.
- Correlate single-cell PAM fluorometry Fv/Fm data with cell volume calculations to assess photosynthetic health under acidification stress.
- Use bulk community Fv/Fm measurements from day 12 to evaluate overall photophysiological response of the diatom community.
Strengths
- Data covers a wide experimental CO2 gradient from 343 to 1641 micro-atmospheres.
- Includes multiple measurement types: bulk community data, single-cell fluorometry, and species-specific microscopy.
Limitations
- Sample size is constrained to a single summer season experiment from 2014/15.
- Cell volume data is limited to 7 species from only two of the experimental minicosm tanks.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) via NASA EarthData.
- Collection Method
- Data collected during a controlled ocean acidification mesocosm experiment using 650-liter tanks.
- Time Range
- Summer season 2014/2015.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Prydz Bay, Davis Station, Antarctica (68°35'S, 77°58'E).