Iceland Basin, in the vicinity of Ocean Weather Station India

Sedimentation flux of metallic and metalloid elements and isotopes in water bodies; Sedimentation flux of carbon, nitrogen or organic matter in the water column; Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents)

Sediment traps; current meters

This dataset contains particle flux analyses and current measurements collected from sediment traps and associated moored current meter instrumentation. Four McLane sediment traps were deployed in the Iceland Basin (by the Ocean Weather Station India) in a mesoscale array around 60 degrees N 20 degrees W to sample particle flux time series between November 2006 - July 2007 and August 2007 - June 2008. Sediment traps were deployed with Aanderaa RCM8 current meters 15 m below the traps, recording current speed and direction once an hour. The sediment traps were initially deployed during RRS Discovery cruise D312 and recovered on RRS Discovery cruise D321. For the second deployment period the traps were deployed on RRS Discovery cruise D321 and recovered on RRS Discovery cruise D340. The first sediment traps were prepared for analysis by scientists shortly after recovery. The second deployment samples were stored in the dark at 4 degrees Celsius until 2016 and were subsequently analysed. All sediment trap samples are preserved with formalin and hence should not be affected by long time storage. The samples were analysed for mass flux, particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PON) flux, calcium carbonate flux, biogenic silica flux (including dissolved contribution for deployment 2), strontium flux (including Acantharian cyst fractions for deployment 1 and 2 and particulate fractions for deployment 2). The samples from the latter part of deployment 2 are thought to have severely under collected and so those data are flagged. The dataset was produced for the purposes of calculating sediment fluxes in the Iceland Basin and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) - Oceans 2025 Programme (Grant number NE/L002531/1).

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