TEMPO Voyage: Antarctic Zooplankton Abundance and Distribution

Zooplankton abundance and distribution data were collected during the 2021 TEMPO (Trends in Euphausiids off Mawson, Predators, and Oceanography) voyage aboard the R/V Investigator in the East Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. Sampling occurred along the Mawson coast between 29 January and 24 March 2021 using a Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT 1+8) plankton net system. The dataset supports investigations into Antarctic zooplankton community structure, species distributions, and ecosystem dynamics.

Use Cases

• Analyzing zooplankton community structure based on species abundance data.
• Mapping species distributions relative to sampling stations along the Mawson coast.
• Investigating ecosystem dynamics by correlating zooplankton data with oceanographic variables.
• Studying trends in euphausiid (krill) populations off Mawson, Antarctica.

Strengths

• Data collection is precisely documented, specifying the R/V Investigator voyage IN2021_V01 and the RMT 1+8 net system.
• The temporal coverage is well-defined, spanning from 29 January to 24 March 2021.
• Specimens were identified to the lowest practical taxonomic level, suggesting detailed biological annotation.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, file size, license, and author are unknown.
• The dataset's freshness is unclear; the last metadata update is listed as 2026, which may be a system artifact.
• The available file formats (PNG, HTML) suggest the primary data may not be in a standard, machine-readable tabular format.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, collected during the Marine National Facility research voyage IN2021_V01.

Collection Method

Sampling conducted using a Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT 1+8) plankton net system at routine and target stations.

Time Range

29 January 2021 to 24 March 2021 (AEST).

Freshness

Last metadata update recorded as 2026-06-23, though this date may be anomalous.

Geography

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