ISPOL: Antarctic Sea-Ice Algae Iron and Carbon Uptake Measurements

Field measurements of iron (55Fe) and carbon (14C) uptake rates by sea-ice algae and under-ice phytoplankton in the Antarctic. The data includes 55Fe and 14C short-term uptake measurements from under-ice seawater, melted snow, and sea-ice cores, with radioactivity measured by a liquid scintillation counter. The dataset is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Compare iron uptake rates between sea-ice algae and open ocean phytoplankton based on the described hypothesis.
• Model carbon fixation in Antarctic sea-ice environments based on 14C uptake measurements.
• Study the bioavailability of iron in polar marine ecosystems based on 55Fe tracer experiments.
• Analyze spatial variability in algal productivity using data from in, on, and under the sea ice.

Strengths

• Includes field measurements from three distinct sample types: under-ice seawater, melted snow, and sea-ice cores.
• Uses dual radioisotope tracers (55Fe and 14C) for measuring uptake rates.
• Data was last updated on 2026-07-22, suggesting recent maintenance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field measurements involving collection of under-ice seawater, melted snow, and sea-ice cores, spiked with 14C or 55Fe radiotracers, filtered, and measured with a liquid scintillation counter.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-22 01:44:10.232560; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Antarctic sea ice