Microbial Iron Uptake Rates in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean During Summer

Bioassay data from the subantarctic Southern Ocean dissects the 'ferrous wheel' of iron availability. The dataset quantifies uptake rates of heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton during summer, comparing light and dark incubations and the effects of dissolved organic carbon supply. Data was contributed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling iron bioavailability based on microbial uptake rate measurements.
• Analyzing competition for iron between phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria based on size-fractionation experiments.
• Studying the effects of light on iron photochemistry and uptake physiology based on light-dark incubation comparisons.
• Investigating the seasonal context of iron demand in the Southern Ocean based on summer sampling.

Strengths

• Data is associated with a peer-reviewed journal (The ISME Journal), suggesting scientific rigor.
• Experiments include controlled comparisons of light/dark conditions and bacterial isolation via size fractionation.
• Last updated date is explicitly provided (2026-04-29 12:29:52.804034).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to a single summer campaign in the subantarctic.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Bioassays involving light/dark incubations and pre-incubation size fractionation to isolate bacteria.

Time Range

Summer (specific years unknown)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-29 12:29:52.804034; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Subantarctic Southern Ocean