Southern Ocean Ligand (SOLt) Collection

An increasing number of studies are considering Fe and ligand concentrations, providing data of trace element availability across the remote Southern Ocean region (Ardiningsih et al., 2021, Gerringa et al., 2020, Hassler et al., 2017, Thuroczy et al., 2012, Thuroczy et al., 2011, Caprara et al., 2016 and references therein). However, studies seldom focus on polar coastal environments which are especially sensitive to climate-induced changes. To anticipate how these changes may impact Fe availability, we must first understand the drivers of ligand supply to the Antarctic coast and offshore. The newly compiled Southern Ocean Ligand (SOLt) Collection includes all publicly available Fe complexation datasets for the Southern Ocean including dissolved Fe concentrations, Fe-binding ligand concentrations, and complexation capacities for 25 studies between 1995 - 2019.