This dataset contains results from the Second International BIOMASS Experiment II (SIBEX II) cruise of the Nella Dan, January 1985. This cruise is the fourth cruise out of a series of six, investigating the distribution, abundance and population structure of krill Euphausia superba in the Prydz Bay region, Antarctica. SIBEX II was co-ordinated with South Africa, Japan and France, and 66 grid sampling stations covered an area from 58 degrees to 93 degrees East and from 60 degrees South to the Antarctic coast. At each sampling station, surveys of krill and other zooplankton were taken, as well as a CTD cast and water collection for phytoplankton pigment, nutrients and primary production measurement. Species identity and abundance data were obtained. The major species investigated were Euphausia superba, Euphausia frigidia, Euphausia crystallorophias and Thysanoessa marcuria. Other pteropods and cephalopods were also studied, as well as results from hydroacoustic surveys of krill biomass. Summary results are listed in the documentation. The fields in this dataset are: species Station Number Haul Type RMT Biomass Weight Flowmeter Latitude Longitude Time Date Ice Sea State Density Sea Floor Maturity This dataset was updated by Angela McGaffin. This download file also contains the original dataset provided in 2007. There are four files available: SIBEX_II_krill.xls (original file) sibex2_krill_morphometrics.xslx sibex2_station_data.xslx sibex2_zooplankton_corrected.xls A minor data update took place on 202211-03 to add a scanned copy of the original acoustics log.

This data were collected on the sixth Nella Dan voyage of a long term field survey project being conducted by the Australian Antarctic Division, to collect distribution, abundance and population structure data for the krill Euphausia superba in the Prydz Bay region, Antarctica. This voyage, the Australian Antarctic Marine Biological Ecosystem Research 1986/1987 (AAMBER 86/87) cruise, operated between February and April 1987. During March, a survey of the krill population and zooplankton community was conducted, to determine the late summer distribution and abundance of krill, especially the larvae. This was done as a follow up to SIBEX II in mid-summer (Janurary) 1985. The major species investigated were Euphausia superba, Euphausia frigidia, Euphausia crystallorophias and Thysanoessa marcuria. Phytoplankton pigment analysis was also conducted at each CTD station site.

This dataset contains hydroacoustic results from the Antarctic Division Biomass Experiment II (ADBEX II) cruise of the Nella Dan. This cruise is the third in a series of six cruises, performing a long term survey of krill and other zooplankton distribution and abundance. Australia was to have participated in the Second International Biomass Experiment I (SIBEX I), but withdrew due to resupply problems. ADBEX II is a reduced sampling program of what was to have been sampled during SIBEX I. Three transects were made off Antarctica in the Mawson region of the Australian sector, in January to March 1984, covering a survey area of 70,000 square kilometers. Quantitative and geographic krill distribution, abundance, mean and variance of the krill weight density, and total krill biomass were obtained. Biomass estimates for ADBEX II are given as 3.5 million tonnes, obtained by extrapolating over the survey area used on the SIBEX II cruise (1.28x10^6 square kilometers). Temperature, nutrient and salinty data were also obtained, as well as trawl results. Summary results are listed in the documentation. The fields in this dataset are: pressure temperature salinity volume geopotential samples deviation

This dataset contains hydroacoustic results from the First International Biomass Experiment (FIBEX) cruise of the Nella Dan. This cruise is the first in a series of six cruises, performing a long term survey of krill and other zooplankton distribution and abundance. FIBEX was an international project, done in co-operation with Japan, South Africa and France. Fourteen transects were made by Australia off Antarctica in the Australian sector (Mawson to Davis region) and Prydz Bay in January to March 1981, covering a survey area of 1.09x10^6 square kilometers. Quantitative and geographic krill distribution, abundance, mean and variance of the krill weight density, and total krill biomass were obtained. The standing stock of krill for the Prydz Bay region was calculated at the second workshop to be approximately 1.3 million tonnes, or 1.6 million tonnes if extrapolated over the survey area of the SIBEX II cruise. Temperature, nutrient and salinty data were also obtained, as well as trawl results. Summary results are listed in the documentation. A scanned copy of the acoustics log book from the voyage is available for download from the provided URL.

Regular Trawl At each regular trawl station a quantitative standard double oblique tow was conducted from the surface down to 200 m (or to within 10 m of the bottom at stations shallower than 200 m). Such a depth range is considered to be the best compromise between the time available for sampling and the likely vertical depth range of krill. During the hauls, ship speed was maintained at a constant 2.5 plus or minus 0.5 knots. Wire speed of 0.7 to 0.8 m/s during paying out and of 0.3 m/sec during hauling (approx. 0.5 m/s and 0.2 m/s respectively at vertical depth change rate). The net mouth angle is remarkably constant during hauling within the speed ranges given above. When the net reaches maximum depth, the winch was stopped for about 30 seconds to allow the net to stabilise before starting retrieval. When hauling, propeller thrust was turned off when the net reached a depth of 15 to 20 m; this was to minimise the effects of the propeller action on the net operation and avoids damage of the samples. Target Trawl Whenever interesting targets were seen on the echo-sounder, or large amounts of krill were required for any purpose, target trawls were performed. Once the position of the target was marked, the ship was turned and navigated to run over the target from direction required within navigation capacity. The ship speed was lowered down to below 2.0 knots before hitting the target, so that the net could be lowered down to the desired depth whenever the net reached the target. Fine adjustments were made throughout the trawl by monitoring the echo-sounder in the aft control room. For live krill target trawl, ship speed was kept as slow as possible to avoid any damage to krill. Sample processing for all regular trawl stations: RMT-8 1.Measure the total sample volume (Drain water, then measure using water replacement; mandatory only for the regular hauls) 2.Sort out all Antarctic krill and count their number. If the sample mainly consists of krill and the volume is more than ~1L, a known portion of the whole sample was sub-sampled for the further processing. 3.Stage (TL, Carapace Length, Maturity) of all krill (or subsample), up to 50 to 150 individuals, and digestive gland size (the longest axis) of up to 50 individuals were measured using digital calipers. 4.Other zooplankton groups were immediately sorted out from the catch and their numbers were recorded. Preservation of RMT-8 samples Krill (including those used for onboard demography measurements) were fixed in 10% formalin for their further analysis. Whenever excess amount of krill catch were made, they were sampled and frozen for POP (persistent organic pollutant) measurements, preserved in 80% ethanol for genetic analysis, and frozen under -80C/ liquid nitrogen for chemical analysis. Fish were preserved in formalin, EtOH, or frozen. Squids were preserved in ethanol. RMT-1 1.The whole sample was fixed with 10 % formalin. 2.If the sample volume was too large, then a known proportion of catch was randomly sub-sampled and fixed. This work was completed as part of ASAC projects 2655 and 2679 (ASAC_2655, ASAC_2679).

Raw and processed acoustic data were collected in East Antarctica from the RSV Aurora Australis during two surveys: the Krill Availability, Community Trophodynamics and AMISOR Surveys (KACTAS) and the Krill Acoustics and Oceanography Survey (KAOS) in the East Antarctic. Seabed alias example file used to make Figure 3. 38_false_bottom.sv.csv (file size: 10.7 MB) This file is an example of seabed aliasing (false bottom echo) that occurred during the KAOS survey. The data in this file are acoustic (mean volume backscattering strength, Sv) sample-by-sample and in a CSV format. Ping_index - ping number Distance_GPS - along track distance from the vessel’s GPS (nautical miles). Distance_vl - along track distance from the vessel’s log (nautical miles). Not used here, so is populated by Echoview’s ‘don’t care’ value (-9.90E+37) to keep the file format consistent. Ping_date - format yyyy-mm-dd Ping_time - format hh:mm:ss Ping_milliseconds - format (integer; ms) Latitude - position from the vessel’s GPS (degrees) Longitude position from the vessel’s GPS (degrees) Depth_start - start depth of vessel echosounder logging range (m) Depth_stop - stop depth of vessel echosounder logging range (m) Range_start - start range of vessel echosounder logging range (m) Range_stop - stop range of vessel echosounder logging range (m) Sample_count number of samples in a ping. Acoustic Sv samples follow in column-wise vector (dB re 1 m-1) Transect metadata all_transects.csv (file size: 14.8 K) This is the transect metadata for both the KACTAS and KAOS surveys: Transect - transect number startDate - start date of transect dd/mm/yyyy startTime - start time of transect hh:mm endDate - end date of transect dd/mm/yyyy endTime - end time of transect dd/mm/yyyy Ping_subset - a ping subset specified between two timestamps to isolate acoustic data that occurred on transect , i.e start timestamp to stop timestamp (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm = yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm). Direction - Direction traveled along the transect (N - north or S- south). Light - day or night when transect was observed Survey - Either KACTAS or KAOS Leg - Krill box 1 or 2 (there were two surveys only during the KAOS voyage). Pass - Sampling bout for a transect in a given direction. Example R-code FigureAndDataprocessingExample.R (12KB) This R-code provides examples of scripting acoustic data processing using EchoviewR, specifically, using ping-subsets to isolate acoustic data along a transect of interest, detecting schools and exporting echo integrations for 38, 120 and 200 kHz. The R-code for making the figures in the paper is also given. GPS vessel positions for both the KACTAS and KAOS surveys KACTASandKAOS_GPS.csv (3 MB) This CSV file gives the vessel track for both the KACTAS and KAOS surveys. GPS_date - dd/mm/yyyy GPS_time - HH:MM:SS GPS_milliseconds - integer Latitude - position from the vessel’s GPS (degrees) Longitude - position from the vessel’s GPS (degrees) x - relative grid position (x) used for plotting Figure 1 y - relative grid position (y) used for plotting Figure 1 Survey - either: KACTAS_Krillbox, KAOS_Krillbox1, or KACTAS_Krillbox2 Krill swarms for both the KACTAS and KAOS surveys KACTASandKAOSswarms.csv (2.1 MB) Krill swarms descriptors for the KACTAS and KAOS surveys in CSV format (see Table 2 for description of the data fields). Echoview file for the KACTAS survey KACTAS-survey.EV (21.8 MB) An Echoview file (version 12.0) for the KACTAS acoustic data analysis KACTAS EK60 scientific echosounder calibration values KACTAS_EK500_calibration.ecs 3,623 16/05/2022 21:21 -a-- An Echoview format calibration file for the KACTAS survey (see Table 3 for calibration values and Demer et al.20 for a description of the calibration parameters). Echoview file for the KAOS survey KAOS-survey.EV (16.4MB) An Echoview file (version 12.0) for the KAOS acoustic data analysis KAOS EK60 scientific echosounder calibration values KAOS_EK60_calibration.ecs 5,711 01/11/2021 04:36 -a– An Echoview format calibration

The KOMBI (Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations) seafloor landers are autonomous oceanographic platforms designed to collect high-resolution time-series data on krill species, non-krill species and their seafloor environment across a full year in the Antarctic. Each mooring integrates multiple sensors—such as temperature, salinity, pressure (CTD), video cameras, current profiles and acoustic backscatter—to support long-term ecosystem monitoring and process-based studies. KOMBI moorings are deployed to capture seasonal to interannual variability, improve understanding of pelagic habitat dynamics, and provide continuous observations that complement ship-based and remote-sensing programs. The time series is ongoing and data will be continuously added upon platform retrieval. This dataset contains all data collected from Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations (KOMBI) seafloor lander platforms. KOMBI platforms were left on the seafloor for one year at depths on the continental shelf and near the shelf break. The minimum depth of a mooring is 350m to avoid collision with icebergs and the maximum depth is 1500m. KOMBI dimensions are 1145 x 1145 x 1300 mm. Moorings are typically deployed in summer months from vessels and are left to collect data for one year (at least). Active acoustic (ADCP and echosounder) data, passive acoustic data, CTD data and video camera footage are available from various instruments installed on the moorings. Active acoustic deployment files, compass calibrations and echosounder calibration files are included. Echosounders were calibrated in a 10,000L tank of temperature-controlled seawater at the Australian Antarctic Division in Kingston, using a 23mm tungsten carbide sphere and a paired Simrad EK80 333kHz echosounder to map the beam. Calibration raw data and code is included to produce Nortek SONAR equation CalibrationOffsetSv for each frequency. Calibration is only available for narrowband frequencies. Data collection began in 2021 and is ongoing.

Distribution and abundance of zooplankton, krill and fish were observed on the K-axis transect using deployments of RMT1+8 net. Towing speed of the RMT1+8 were approximately 2 knots. All krill, fish and squid in the catch were sorted, identified to species and counted. The density at each station were determined from the counts per calibrated flow-meter readings attached to the net. Morphometric measures were taken and, for larger taxa. List of files K-Axis Morph combined_for data centre.xlsx: Morphological data for all krill and zooplankton captured in RMT-8 net haul. RMT data entry_v1_for data centre.xlsx: Trawl data. RMT8 filtered volume_for data centre.xlsx: Filtered volume for each haul. Map_all.tif: Map showing all trawl stations. Map_RMTR.tif: Map showing only regular trawl stations. Map_RMTT.tif: Mapn showing only target trawl stations. K-Axis description This dataset includes biological data from “K-Axis voyage, 2016 and “Voyage 3, 2015”. [Data from K-Axis voyage, 2016] Distribution and abundance of zooplankton, krill and fish were observed on the K-axis transect using deployments of RMT1+8 net. Towing speed of the RMT1+8 were approximately 2 knots. All krill, fish and squid in the catch were sorted, identified to species and counted. The density at each station were determined from the counts per calibrated flow-meter readings attached to the net. Morphometric measures were taken and, for larger taxa. -List of files- K-Axis Morph combined_for data centre.xlsx: Morphological data for all krill and zooplankton captured in RMT-8 net haul. Map_all.tif Map_RMTR.tif Map_RMTT.tif RMT data entry_v1_for data centre.xlsx: Trawl data. RMT8 filtered volume_for data centre.xlsx: Filtered volume for each haul. [Data from Voyage 3, 2015] The Australian Antarctic research and resupply vessel, RV Aurora Australis, was directed to undertake an opportunistic marine science survey for 17 days during 21 February to 10 March 2015 using ship time that became available due to unexpectedly favourable ice conditions for Mawson station resupply. The purpose of this opportunistic Marine Science work was to assess: 1. The spatial variability, particularly along the shelf break, of the prey field for penguins, flying seabirds and marine mammals in East Antarctica. 2. The small scale variability of prey in key foraging locations near to land-based colonies of penguins and flying seabirds in East Antarctica. 3. Feasibility and potential of utilising annual station resupply voyages as a cost effective means to undertake monitoring and research to better understand the ecosystem in the region. The survey completed 5 acoustic box surveys including a total of 53 RMT target and routine trawls, 6 demersal trawls, 131 phytoplankton samples from underway sampling, and 214 hourly observations of predators. These activities were successfully supervised remotely. -List of files- emm-15-22.pdf: Prelminary report of the voyage to CCAMLR WG-EMM Figure_V3_all_euphausiids.pdf: Map of Euphausiid abundance distribution. Figure_V3_Clione_antarctica.pdf: Map of Clione antarctica abundance distribution. Figure_V3_crystal_krill.pdf: Map of Euphausia crystallorophias abundance distribution. Figure_V3_frigida.pdf: Map of Euphausia frigida abundance distribution. Figure_V3_larval_fish_abundances.pdf: Map of fish larvae abundance distribution. Figure_V3_superba.pdf: Map of Antarctic krill abundance distribution. Figure_V3_tmacrura.pdf: Map of Thysanoessa macrura abundance distribution. V3_final_for data centre.xlsx: Trawl station data and density data of each taxa caught. Voyage 3 Marine Science Program Final.docx: Voyage report.

This dataset contains results from the Antarctic Division BIOMASS Experiment II (ADBEX II) cruise of the Nella Dan. This is the third cruise of six, and follows the ADBEX I cruise made during late 1982. ADBEX II was to have been an international experiment, Second International BIOMASS Experiment I (SIBEX I), in cooperation with Japan, South Africa and France, however due to the delay of a supply program Australia's participation was cancelled. ADBEX II is the result of a reduced sampling program carried out during the resupply of Davis and Mawson stations. Surveys of krill and other zooplankton were taken off Antarctica in the Australian sector (Mawson to Davis region) and Prydz Bay in January 1984. Species identity and abundance data were obtained. The major species investigated were Euphausia superba, Euphausia frigidia, Euphausia crystallorophias and Thysanoessa marcuria. Other pteropods and cephalopods were also studied. Results from hydroacoustic surveys of krill biomass were also obtained, as well as CTD and chlorophyll data. Summary results are listed in the documentation.