Arctic Sea Ice Carbon Partitioning in Marine Food Webs

A synthesis of published highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) results provides a quantitative spatial and temporal assessment of carbon partitioning within the Arctic marine ecosystem. The dataset validates estimates of sea-ice particulate organic carbon (iPOC) as predictors of ice algal carbon in Arctic food webs, resulting from a collaborative effort by researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and international institutions.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial and temporal trends in sea-ice particulate organic carbon (iPOC) values to model carbon transfer in Arctic food webs.
• Validate quantitative relationships between highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) biomarkers and ice algal carbon contributions across different Arctic regions.
• Assess carbon partitioning dynamics within the Arctic marine ecosystem using synthesized HBI results from multiple studies.

Strengths

• Data is a synthesis of previously published, peer-reviewed highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) results, ensuring a foundation in established research.
• Provides a quantitative assessment validated for predicting ice algal carbon, offering direct utility for ecosystem modeling.
• Collaborative provenance involves multiple authoritative institutions including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and international research bodies.

Limitations

• The dataset is a synthesis of existing publications, not primary measurements, which may limit granularity and control over original data collection methods.
• Specific sample sizes, temporal ranges, and spatial extents of the underlying studies are not detailed in the provided description.
• Data formats include ESRI REST and PDF, which may require specialized tools or conversion for quantitative analysis compared to the available CSV.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with contributions from the Natural History Museum (UK), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (US), Scottish Association for Marine Science, and others.

Collection Method

Synthesis of previously published highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) results.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-24, indicating recent maintenance.

Geography

Arctic marine ecosystem.