The FjordPhyto citizen science project in the Antarctic Peninsula
Cite this dataset
Vernet, Maria et al. (2024). The FjordPhyto citizen science project in the Antarctic Peninsula [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w0vt4b909
Abstract
FjordPhyto, funded by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2016-2019 and by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program since 2021, is a citizen science project that examines the impacts of increasing glacier meltwater on local ecosystems at the ice-ocean interface of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), with an emphasis on the western coast (WAP). The citizen science module is based on a collaboration with the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Citizen scientists participate in a “validation safari” in which satellite data informs sampling to validate and refine a new ocean color algorithm to detect the glacial meltwater content of seawater from space. The in-situ measurements are combined with remote sensing data products to address scientific questions related to the impacts of glacial meltwater on phytoplankton community abundance and taxonomic composition. This project implements new field sampling techniques and conducts analyses of phytoplankton diversity through a microscopic and genomics approach.
The scientific goals of this Citizen Science project are to determine the spatial extent of glacial meltwater through the seasons and identify concomitant shifts in phytoplankton abundance and community diversity in coastal Antarctic waters. Repeated sampling of this region from November to March along 3-6 degrees of latitude (62oS to 65oS and down to 68oS) is only feasible with tourist ships, or through remote sensing. The addition of a remote sensing component, validated by citizen scientists, is crucial for describing long-term synoptic trends and variability in the abundance and spatio-temporal extent of phytoplankton in this region, and for discerning how these patterns are likely to alter in response to changes in climate. This study provides a foundation to better understand phytoplankton diversity under current and potential future ocean conditions, and lead to more robust predictions on potential impacts to upper trophic levels and biogeochemical cycling within this rapidly changing ecosystem.
README: The FjordPhyto Citizen Science Project in the Antarctic Peninsula
[Access this dataset on Dryad] https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w0vt4b909
General Information
Contact Information
Maria Vernet (mvernet@ucsd.edu), Allison Cusick (all178@ucsd.edu), Rick A. Reynolds (rreynolds@ucsd.edu)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USAMartina Mascioni (marmascioni@gmail.com)
Universidad Nacional del La Plata, La Plata, Provincia de Buenos Aires, ArgentinaProject Website: https://www.fjordphyto.org
Dates of data collection: 10/2017 - 03/2018
Geographic location of data collection: Antarctic Peninsula
Funding sources that supported the collection of the data: NASA 80NSSC21K0856, NASA 80NSSC22K1914, NSF PLR-1443705, CONICET PIP 1195 (Argentina), Hurtigruten Foundation, and donors to UCSD CrowdSurf
Version History
2024-01-22: Submission of data and metadata for the 2017-2018 field season
Sharing/Access Information
Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain
Relevant publications that describe or use the data:
* Cusick, A.M., Gilmore, R., Bombosch, A., Mascioni, M., Almandoz, G.O. and Vernet, M., 2020. Polar tourism as an effective research tool. Oceanography, 33(1), pp.50-61.
* Mascioni, M., Almandoz, G.O., Cefarelli, A.O., Cusick, A., Ferrario, M.E. and Vernet, M., 2019. Phytoplankton composition and bloom formation in unexplored nearshore waters of the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology, 42(10), pp.1859-1872.
* Mascioni, M., G. O. Almandoz, L. Ekern, B. Pan, and M.Vernet. Microplanktonic diatom assemblages dominated the primary production but not the biomass in an Antarctic fjord. Journal Marine Systems 224,103624, 2021
* Mascioni, M., A. Cusick, G. Almandoz, B.J. Pan and M. Vernet, 2023. Thermal front in the Gerlache Strait divides two distinct phytoplankton patterns in nearshore areas (64° - 65°S) of the western Antarctic Peninsula, Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1139203. doi: 10.3389/fmars 2023.1139293/full
* Pan, B.J., Gierach, M. M., Meredith, M. P., Reynolds, R.A., Schofield, O., Orona, A.J., 2023. Remote sensing of sea surface glacial meltwater on the Antarctic Peninsula shelf. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1209159. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1209159.
Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: None at this time
Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: None at this time
Recommended citation for this dataset:
Vernet, M., R. A. Reynolds, A. Cusick, M. Mascioni, and G. Almandoz. 2024. The FjordPhyto Citizen Science Project in the Antarctic Peninsula. [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w0vt4b909
Description of the data and file structure
Sampling was conducted by the FjordPhyto Citizen Science program (www.fjordphyto.org; Cusick et al. 2020), created in 2016-2017 with tour operator expedition vessel members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) to collect oceanographic data from surface ocean waters. Samples were taken from November to March at numerous locations along the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), mostly in the western side, between King George Island (62°S, 58°W) and Marguerite Bay (near 68°S) with the help of travelers visiting the inshore (<0.2 km from shore) and nearshore (0.2 to 40 km from shore) regions in the WAP.
Samples were collected from surface waters from an inflatable boat (e.g., a Zodiac) during their visits to the AP, from 2016 to present day, including a CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth sensor) profile between 0 and down to 100m depth, determination of a Secchi depth, surface seawater fixed in Lugol for microscopy analysis, a surface net tow (20-micron mesh) for genetic eDNA analysis (16S/18S). Other measurements were added in 2021, water samples for seawater 18-Oxygen determination and optical properties with a HydroColor app.
Currently, only data from the 2017-2018 austral summer sampling season are provided as a zipped archive of individual files. Additional sampling seasons will be added in the future. All individual files are formatted as comma-separated values (CSV), with missing values identified with -999. Metadata describing the variables included in the files, their definition, unit of measurement as well as the Darwin Core variable name (www.DarwinCore.org) are included in the file header lines.
A. Archive: FjordPhyto_2017-2018.zip
File: FjordPhyto_StationLog.csv
Logbook summarizing the date, time, and location of all sampling events, the tour ship operator, and a listing of the types and number of samples taken. Each sampling event is assigned a unique ID code that is used as an identifier in other data files.File: FjordPhyto_CTDCastLog.csv
Logbook of information for vertical profiles of seawater conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) taken with a profiling instrument. The sampling location, time, instrument type, and corresponding data file names are listed (in some instances, multiple casts were taken at a given station). The actual CTD data files are found in the folder "CTD_files_2017-2018".Folder: CTD_files_2017-2018
This folder contains the individual CTD data files for each sampling event as described in the file FjordPhyto_CTDCastLog.csv. Each file starts with headerlines containing metadata such as instrument serial number, location and time, sampling rate, calibration information. Measured and derived variables include pressure [db], depth [m], temperature [deg C], conductivity [microSiemens per cm], specific conductance [microSiemens per cm], salinity [PSU], sound velocity [m/s], and density [kg/m^3].File: FjordPhyto_SecchiDepths.csv
Data file for measurements of Secchi disk depth. This file contains metadata and the following variables: unique ID code, date, time, location, ship operator, latitude, longitude, Secchi disk depth [m], estimated depth of ocean euphotic zone Zeu [m]File: FjordPhyto_PlanktonMicroscopyData.csv
This file contains cell abundance [cells/L] and estimates of carbon biomass [micrograms carbon/L] for different phytoplankton groups (cryptophytes, prasinophytes, small flagellates < 5 um, diatoms, and dinoflagellates) determined from microscopic cell counts. Variables include unique ID code, date, time, location, ship operator, latitude, longitude, cell abundances for each phytoplankton group, total abundance, carbon biomass for each phytoplankton group, and total carbon biomass.
Please see the file "ReadMe_FjordPhyto.pdf" for a more detailed description of the FjordPhyto program, sampling locations and protocols, and descriptions of data.
Methods
Samples were collected by the FjordPhyto Citizen Science program (www.fjordphyto.org; Cusick et al. 2020), created in 2016-2017 with tour operator expedition vessel members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) to collect oceanographic data from surface ocean waters. Samples were taken from November to March at numerous locations along the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), mostly in the western side, between King George Island (62°S, 58°W) and Marguerite Bay (near 68°S) (Figure 1) with the help of travelers visiting the inshore (<0.2 km from shore) and nearshore (0.2 to 40 km from shore) regions in the WAP.
Samples were collected from surface waters from an inflatable boat (e.g., a Zodiac) during their visits to the AP, from 2016 to present day, including a CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth sensor) profile between 0 and down to 100m depth, determination of a Secchi depth, surface seawater fixed in Lugol for microscopy analysis, a surface net tow (20-micron mesh) for genetic eDNA analysis (16S/18S) (Figure 2). Other measurements were added in 2021, water samples for seawater 18-Oxygen determination and optical properties with a HydroColor app.
Funding
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Award: 80NSSC22K1914, Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Award: 80NSSC21K0856, Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program