Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve - Chlorin data from seabed sediments

Brief description

This resource contains geochemistry data for the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) in the Timor Sea collected by Geoscience Australia during September and October 2012 on RV Solander. This dataset comprises total chlorin concentrations and chlorin indices from seabed sediments (0-2 cm). The Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve survey was undertaken as an activity within the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub and was the key component of Research Theme 4 - Regional Biodiversity Discovery to Support Marine Bioregional Plans. Hub partners involved in the survey included the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Geoscience Australia, the University of Western Australia, Museum Victoria and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Data acquired during the survey included: multibeam sonar bathymetry and acoustic backscatter; sub-bottom acoustic profiles; physical samples of seabed sediments, infauna and epibenthic biota; towed underwater video and still camera observations of seabed habitats; baited video observations of demersal and pelagic fish, and; oceanographic measurements of the water column from CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) casts and from deployment of sea surface drifters. Further information on the survey is available in the post-survey report published as Geoscience Australia Record 2013/38: Nichol, S.L., Howard, F.J.F., Kool, J., Stowar, M., Bouchet, P., Radke, L.,Siwabessy, J., Przeslawski, R., Picard, K., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Colquhoun, J., Letessier, T. & Heyward, A. 2013. Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) Biodiversity Survey: GA0339/SOL5650 - Post Survey Report. Record 2013/38. Geoscience Australia: Canberra. (GEOCAT #76658).

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: asNeeded

Statement: Bottom sediments were collected using either a Smith Mactintyre grab or a Box core.. Chlorins were extracted from freeze-dried sediment using the method of Schubert et al. (2005). Relative standard deviations of the precisions on duplicate samples averaged 5.6% for total chlorins and 1.7% for chlorin indices (the data for each sample is provided). Schubert, C.J., Niggemann, J., Klockgether, G., and Ferdelman, G., 2005. Chlorin Index: A new parameter for organic matter freshness in sediment. Geochemistry Geophysics and Geosystems 6(3), 1-12. Thanks to the crew of the RV Solander for help with sample collection.