Antarctic Plankton Viscosity and Fluorescence Data from 2004 Voyage

ASAC Project 2382 data details the impact of seawater viscosity on motile plankton morphology and swimming behavior. The dataset includes four spreadsheet files with station details, viscosity, and in vivo fluorescence measurements collected during the Aurora Australis voyage between December 2004 and February 2005. The Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) manages this record.

Use Cases

• Correlate seawater viscosity data with plankton swimming behavior metrics from sampling protocols.
• Analyze in vivo fluorescence data to assess phytoplankton biomass across different CTD stations.
• Map plankton distribution using station location data from the I9_Stations.xls and PET_Stations.xls files.
• Investigate the relationship between physical oceanographic conditions (from CTD profiles) and plankton community metrics.

Strengths

• Data from a dedicated Antarctic research voyage (Aurora Australis) providing a focused temporal snapshot.
• Contains multiple related data types (station locations, viscosity, fluorescence) across four structured files.
• Includes detailed sampling protocol documentation in a companion Word document.

Limitations

• Sample size and row counts are unknown, limiting statistical power assessments.
• Data is temporally limited to a single season (2004/2005) and may not represent interannual variability.
• Missing data is represented by a placeholder value (-999) which requires handling during analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) for ASAC Project 2382.

Collection Method

Field sampling from CTD bottles during the Aurora Australis voyage, with protocols for viscosity and fluorescence measurement.

Time Range

December 2004 to February 2005.

Freshness

null

Geography

Southern Ocean, specifically along the CLIVAR I9 transect and the Kerguelen Plateau/Princess Elizabeth Trough (PET) transect.