TEMPO Voyage: Antarctic Zooplankton Abundance and Distribution, 2021

Between 29 January and 24 March 2021, zooplankton abundance and distribution data were collected aboard the R/V Investigator in the East Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. The dataset, from the Marine National Facility voyage IN2021_V01, supports investigations into Antarctic zooplankton community structure and ecosystem dynamics. Specimens were collected using a Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT 1+8) plankton net system along the Mawson coast and identified to the lowest practical taxonomic level.

Use Cases

• Modeling species distributions based on abundance estimates from RMT1 net samples.
• Analyzing zooplankton community structure along the Mawson coast of East Antarctica.
• Investigating ecosystem dynamics and predator-prey relationships in the Southern Ocean.
• Studying trends in euphausiid (krill) populations as mentioned in the TEMPO voyage description.

Strengths

• Data collected during a dedicated 55-day research voyage (29 Jan - 24 Mar 2021) providing temporal specificity.
• Sampling conducted at both routine and target stations along the Mawson coast, suggesting structured spatial coverage.
• Specimens identified to the lowest practical taxonomic level, indicating detailed biological classification.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the single voyage and specific sampling area.

Provenance

Source

CSIRO Marlin Data Catalogue

Collection Method

Sampling with a Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT 1+8) plankton net system, followed by sorting and taxonomic identification.

Time Range

29 January 2021 to 24 March 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05 25 21:26:50.740198; freshness should be verified.

Geography

East Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean, along the Mawson coast.