Data

The McDonnell Lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has been collecting data on marine particles and plankton from around Alaska and across the global oceans. We primarily collect data using optical instruments, the Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP5) and versions of Laser In-Situ Scattering Transmissometers (LISST), as well as both moored and drifting sediment traps.

Details of the optical instruments can be found here:

UVP - http://www.hydroptic.com/index.php/public/Page/product_item/UVP5-DEEP

LISST 200x - https://www.sequoiasci.com/product/lisst-200x/

LISST Deep - https://www.sequoiasci.com/product/lisst-deep/

These data are in varying stages of quality control, analysis, interpretation, and availability. Eventually all data will be publicly accessible with links from this website which will be included within the table of projects at the bottom of the page.

At the moment, data is available upon request to Andrew McDonnell (amcdonnell@alaska.edu).

With funding from the National Science Foundation over the next five years, we will be greatly expanding our global coverage by conducting additional transects across the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans.

Below are three maps of the Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP5) data that my group has collected since 2013. Each dot represents a single profile that consists of thousands of underwater microscopic images. We use these images in order to assess the distribution and sizes of particles and plankton throughout the ocean. These data help improve our understanding of how and where the ocean naturally sequesters carbon away from the atmosphere and into the deep waters.

For instructions & manuals on how to navigate and download data within Ecotaxa, refer to the PIQV website linked here.

For data citations please see the bottom of the Publications page