Surface krill sampling in relation to environmental condition collected during the SIPEX II voyage of the Aurora Australis, 2012

Progress Code: completed | Statement: Numerous issues were encountered during the voyage. The SIPEX II Krill Voyage Report.docx contains the details. | We checked each site by taking ice cores and observing the algae biomass to determine the likelihood of krill living under the sea ice in each location. We also used a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) with cameras attached to observe the abundance of krill under the sea ice. If krill were present we used on the sea ice floe a zooplankton pump, called MASMA, according to Meyer et al. 2009, whereas at the edge of the floe column a custom-built fish pump system was used to collect krill near the surface. The Aqualife Biostream BP40 fish pump was capable of pumping up to 1300 litres per minute without harming animals that pass through the pump. For much of the voyage it was operated from the ctd room and at this increased suction head it ran at about 500 litres per minute. Krill were caught at ice stations 2, 6, 7 and 8. The Krill Sample-Overview.xls file contains information regarding how many krill were caught at each ice stations, who was involved and related information. The SIPEX II Krill Voyage Report.docx contains information about the various issues that were encountered during the voyage. It also contains information from the Bottom Krill experiment, which has its own dataset and metadata record. It is duplicated in both datasets. The larvae were used for a growth experiment using the IGR method and after length measurements frozen for carbon, nitrogen, lipids, stomach and gut content analysis. The total and carapace length were determined of juveniles as well as their digestive gland size. Animals were than dissected and tissues frozen at -80C for further analysis (see above). These condition parameters will be discussed in relation to physical and biological environmental parameters of the ice floe (e.g. sea ice thickness, snow coverage, under ice topography and biomass). When this data is analysed, the dataset will be updated to include analysed versions of the data listed in the Krill Sample-Overview.xls file. Also included in the dataset are technical documents and manuals pertaining to the fish pump that was used. Meyer B et al. 2009. Limnol Oceanogr 54:1595-1614