McMurdo Sound Sea Ice Core Properties and Biological Activity

1999 to 2003 data from ice cores collected along a transect in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The dataset contains physico-chemical profiles and biological measurements from three sampling phases in early spring, early summer, and late summer. It was created by SCIOPS to investigate interactions between sea ice properties and biological activity.

Use Cases

• Analyze relationships between ice texture, salinity profiles, and algal chlorophyll-a concentrations.
• Model gas composition (O2, CO2, N2, CH4, DMS) in sea ice as a function of total gas content and temperature profiles measured at 5-10cm resolution.
• Investigate iron speciation and isotope data in relation to bacterial counts and algae speciation from core sections.
• Compare stable isotope signatures (δ18O, δD) of ice with minor element (Fe, Mn) profiles across sampling locations.
• Study the impact of platelet ice proportion variation along the south-north transect on total biological activity.

Strengths

• Multiparametric analysis across 19 distinct sampling locations over three separate field phases.
• Includes in-situ temperature measurements and on-site core sectioning for biological preservation.
• Combines physico-chemical profiles (salinity, isotopes, gases) with biological data (algae, bacteria, Chl-a).

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to cores from 19 locations, with 4-8 cores per location.
• Temporal coverage is sparse, with only three sampling events across a four-year period.
• Geographic scope is restricted to a single transect in McMurdo Sound.

Provenance

Source

SCIOPS via NASA EarthData.

Collection Method

Ice core sampling and laboratory analysis of physico-chemical properties and biological samples.

Time Range

October 1999, November 2001, January 2003.

Freshness

Data collection concluded in January 2003; no updates since.

Geography

Transect in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.