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    Outline This is the Southern Ocean Monthly Climatology of Yamazaki et al. "Unlocking Southern Ocean Under-ice Seasonality with a New Monthly Climatology". The interpolation method follows Barth et al. (2014) available via DIVAnd Julia package (https://github.com/gher-uliege/DIVAnd.jl). CTD data sourced from Argo, MEOP, and World Ocean Database (including low resolution ocean station data). The dataset covers south of 40S and above 2000 dbar (above 1000 dbar for "_minimal"). The horizontal grid is 1/4 and 1/2 degrees in latitude and longitude, and the vertical grid is the 66 WOA layers. Mixed layer depth, temperature, salinity, crudely derived from max("Δσθ_10m=0.03kg/m³", "Holte&Talley"), are also provided in "_MLD". The following variables are included (* are excluded in "_minimal"): In-situ temperature (°C) in ITS-90 Practical salinity (psu) *Standard deviation of temperature (°C), inferred by the spread of observations *Standard deviation of practical salinity (psu), inferred by the spread of observations *Interpolation error of temperature (°C), inferred by the sparsity of observations *Interpolation error of practical salinity (psu), inferred by the sparsity of observations *Cabbeling correction for temperature (°C) *Cabbeling correction for practical salinity (psu) *Density stabilization factor for temperature (°C) *Density stabilization factor for practical salinity (psu) Project Description The advent of under-ice profiling float and biologging techniques has enabled year-round observation of the Southern Ocean and its Antarctic margin. These under-ice data are often overlooked in widely used oceanographic datasets, despite their importance in understanding seasonality and its role in sea ice changes, water mass formation, and glacial melt. We develop a monthly climatology of the Southern using Data Interpolating Variational Analysis, which excels in multi-dimensional interpolation and consistent handling of topography and horizontal advection. The dataset will be instrumental in investigating the seasonality and improving ocean models, thereby making valuable under-ice observations more accessible.

  • 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.

  • Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are a keystone species in the Southern Ocean, but little is known about how they will respond to climate change. Ocean acidification, caused by sequestration of carbon dioxide into ocean surface waters (pCO2), is known to alter the lipid biochemistry of some organisms. This can have cascading effects up the food chain. In a year-long laboratory experiment adult krill were exposed to ambient seawater pCO2 levels (400 μatm), elevated pCO2 levels that mimicked near-future ocean acidification (1000, 1500 and 2000 μatm) and an extreme pCO2 level (4000 μatm). The laboratory light regime mimicked the seasonal Southern Ocean photoperiod and krill received a constant food supply. Total lipid mass (mg g -1 DM) of adult krill was unaffected by near-future levels of seawater pCO2. Fatty acid composition (%) and fatty acid ratios associated with immune responses and cell membrane fluidity were also unaffected by near-future pCO2, apart from an increase in 18:3n-3/18:2n-6 ratios in krill in 1500 μatm pCO2 in winter and spring. Extreme pCO2 had no effect on krill lipid biochemistry during summer. During winter and spring, krill in extreme pCO2 had elevated levels of omega-6 fatty acids (up to 1.2% increase in 18:2n-6, up to 0.8% increase in 20:4n-6 and lower 18:3n-3/18:2n-6 and 20:5n-3/20:4n-6 ratios), and showed evidence of increased membrane fluidity (up to three-fold increase in phospholipid/sterol ratios). These results indicate that the lipid biochemistry of adult krill is robust to near-future ocean acidification.

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    We assessed the impact of the Zonal Wave-3 atmospheric mode on the Antarctic Margins. The Zonal Wave-3 mode is the first mode of meridional winds over the Southern Ocean and has been linked to important sea ice and heat flux anomalies. It is expected to become stronger in the future, but there is only very limited knowledge on its impact on the Southern Ocean beneath sea ice. We set up a range of atmospheric perturbation on the ACCESS-OM2 ocean–sea ice model to assess the regional impact of the ZW3 mode and its different phases on the subpolar Southern Ocean.

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    The downward transport of organic particles produced by marine organisms is a key control on the ocean's carbon storage. Measurements of particle attenuation through the water column have historically been used to infer the sequestration potential of the biological carbon pump. While often modelled using a single power-law fit, this simplification may obscure important depth-dependent processes. Using data from biogeochemical-Argo floats in the Southern Ocean, here we show that splitting the water column into two distinct regimes captures depth-dependent variability in particle attenuation more effectively. Compared to the single power-law fit the model reveals greater attenuation just below the productive layer, reducing particulate organic carbon flux into the mesopelagic (200 - 400 m) by 40 - 60 %. Our findings suggest a more mechanistic representation of particle attenuation is needed to improve estimates of carbon transport and the durability of biologically-based marine carbon dioxide removal technologies, and to reduce uncertainties in ocean-climate feedbacks and future climate projections.

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    This work aimed to understand the influences of tropical to high-latitude Southern Hemisphere teleconnections on Southern Ocean atmospheric circulation, the air-sea-sea ice system, and Antarctic sea ice variability. It also sought to investigate how the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) interacts with tropically-forced climate patterns such as Zonal Wave 3 (ZW3) to affect high-latitude atmospheric circulation and impact sea-ice.

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    This dataset is a compilation of published records of 230Thorium - normalised lithogenic and biogenic fluxes from the Southern Ocean, south of 30S. All age models and derived fluxes were taken as published. Lithogenic fluxes are based on 232Th concentrations. Opal and carbonate fluxes are also included where available. In some cases fluxes had to be derived from published data. LGM values for each core represent an average of observations between 28 - 18 ka BP and Holocene values represent an average of observations from 10 - 0 ka BP. These data were collated as part of modelling study of the Southern Ocean during the LGM (Saini et al, Southern Ocean ecosystem response to Last Glacial Maximum boundary conditions, Submitted to Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 2021)

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    Antarctic krill is a key component of Southern Ocean ecosystems and there is significant interest in identifying regions acting as sources for the krill population. We develop a mechanistic model combining thermal and food requirements for krill egg production, with predation pressure post-spawning, to predict regions that could support high larval production (spawning habitat). We optimise our model on regional data using a maximum likelihood approach and then generate circumpolar predictions of spawning habitat quality. The uploaded datasets represent model predictions of seasonal circumpolar spawning habitat quality of Antarctic krill as well as composite data of the circumpolar mean annual number of weeks in which modelled spawning habitat quality is higher than the summer 80th percentile.

  • This record presents genetic data underlying the paper 'From the Surface Ocean to the Seafloor: Linking Modern and Paleo-genetics at the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica (IN2017_V01)' by Armbrecht et al. In this study, we provide the first taxonomic overview of the modern and ancient marine bacterial and eukaryotic communities of the Totten Glacier region, East Antarctica, using a combination of 16S and 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing (modern DNA) and shotgun metagenomic (sedimentary ancient DNA, sedaDNA) analyses, respectively. We explore environmental and geochemical variables that drive these biodiversity patterns. Our data show considerable differences between eukaryote and bacterial signals detected via DNA analyses in the water column vs. the sediments. Organisms that are well represented in deeper waters appear are to have a higher likelihood of becoming preserved in the sediments. The study provides the first assessment of DNA transfer from ocean waters to sediments, while also providing a broad overview of the biological communities occurring in the climatically important Totten Glacier region. (Please note that this record is mirrored in the UTAS Research Data Portal, here: https://rdp.utas.edu.au/metadata/8628529b-49cf-42d4-9459-3c1e97f70d98)

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    We dissect the spokes of the ferrous wheel associated with Fe demand by quantifying the uptake rates of heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton in the subantarctic Southern Ocean during summer and situate these findings within a seasonal context. To do so, we conducted bioassays in which the effects of light on Fe photochemistry and uptake physiology were studied by comparing light and dark incubations, and the effects of DOC supply and competition between phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria were examined by isolating bacteria from the larger members of the ferrous wheel by pre-incubation size fractionation.