Diatom data for ten sediment cores collected in 3 marine bays in the Windmill Islands, Antarctica

Ten sediment cores were collected from 3 marine bays in the Windmill Islands. Two cores were collected in Sparkes Bay, one in Shannon Bay, and seven in Brown Bay. Only diatom data are presented here, however Pb210 and metal analyses have also been undertaken - contact Ian Snape ([e-mail]) for more information regarding this.The diatom spreadsheet (diatom_data) lists the relative abundance of benthic species. The abbreviation used to identify species are explained in the separate file called sp_list. Each core has been saved as a separate file. The STE cores were collected from within a couple of meters of each other. These cores were collected in close proximity to a tip site at one end of Brown Bay. BBMid was collected from the middle of the bay, while BB Outer 1 and 2 were collected from the outer regions of this bay, and thus represent the greatest distance from the tip site. Unless otherwise stated, the lowest number within each core represents the youngest sample.This work was completed as part of ASAC project 1130 (ASAC_1130) and project 2201 (ASAC_2201).Public summary from project 1130:Algal mats grow on sea floor in most shallow marine environments. They are thought to contribute more than half of the total primary production in many of these areas, making them a critical food source for invertebrates and some fish. We will establish how important they are in Antarctic marine environments and determine the effects of local sewerage and tip site pollution. We will also investigate the impact on the algal mats of the additional UV radiation which results from the ozone hole.Public summary from project 2201:As a signatory to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty Australia is committed to comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment. This protocol requires that activities in the Antarctic shall be planned and conducted on the basis of information sufficient to make prior assessments of, and informed judgements about, their possible impacts on the Antarctic environment. Most of our activities in the Antarctic occur along the narrow fringe of ice-free rock adjacent to the sea and many of our activities have the potential to cause environmental harm to marine life. The Antarctic seas support the most complex and biologically diverse plant and animal communities of the region. However, very little is known about them and there is certainly not sufficient known to make informed judgements about possible environmental impacts.The animals and plants of the sea-bed are widely accepted as being the most appropriate part of the marine ecosystem for indicating disturbance caused by local sources. Attached sea-bed organisms have a fixed spatial relationship with a given place so they must either endure conditions or die. Once lost from a site recolonisation takes some time, as a consequence the structure of sea-bed communities reflect not only present conditions but they can also integrate conditions in the past. In contrast, fish and planktonic organisms can move freely so their site of capture does not indicate a long residence time at that location. Because sea-bed communities are particularly diverse they contain species with widely differing life strategies, as a result different species can have very different levels of tolerance to stress; this leads to a range of subtle changes in community structure as a response to gradually increasing disturbance, rather than an all or nothing response.This project will examine sea-bed communities near our stations to determine how seriously they are affected by human activities. This information will be used to set priorities for improving operational procedures to reduce the risk of further environmental damage.The fields in this dataset are:SpeciesSiteAbundanceBenthic

在风车群岛的3个海湾采集了10根沉积物岩芯：斯帕克斯湾2根、香农湾1根、布朗湾7根。本文仅呈现硅藻数据，但已开展Pb210和金属分析——如需相关详细信息，请联系Ian Snape（[e-mail]）。

硅藻数据表（diatom_data）列出了底栖物种的相对丰度。物种识别所用的缩写在名为sp_list的单独文件中说明。每根岩芯均单独保存为一个文件。STE系列岩芯的采集点彼此相距数米内，且靠近布朗湾一端的倾倒场。BBMid岩芯采自海湾中部，而BB Outer 1和2则采自海湾外围区域，因此与倾倒场的距离最远。除非另有说明，每根岩芯中编号最小的样本代表最年轻的样品。

本研究工作是ASAC项目1130（ASAC_1130）和项目2201（ASAC_2201）的组成部分。

### ASAC项目1130公共摘要
藻席广泛生长于大多数浅海环境的海底，在许多区域被认为贡献了超过一半的总初级生产力，是无脊椎动物和部分鱼类的关键食物来源。本项目将明确其在南极海洋环境中的重要性，并测定当地污水排放与倾倒场污染对其的影响，同时探究臭氧空洞导致的额外紫外线辐射对藻席的作用。

### ASAC项目2201公共摘要
作为《南极条约环境保护议定书》的签署国，澳大利亚致力于全面保护南极环境。该议定书要求，南极地区的活动需基于足够信息进行规划与实施，以便对其可能产生的环境影响开展预先评估并作出知情判断。澳大利亚在南极的大部分活动集中于沿海狭窄的无冰岩石带，其中许多活动可能对海洋生物造成环境危害。南极海域孕育着该区域最复杂且生物多样性最高的动植物群落，但目前对其了解甚少，远不足以就潜在环境影响作出知情判断。

海底动植物被广泛认为是海洋生态系统中指示本地来源干扰的最适宜对象。附着性海底生物与特定地点存在固定空间关联，因此必须适应环境或走向消亡。一旦从某地点消失，再定植需要一定时间，因此海底群落结构不仅反映当前环境条件，还能整合过往环境信息。相比之下，鱼类和浮游生物可自由移动，其捕获地点无法表明它们在该区域长期栖息。由于海底群落具有极高多样性，包含生活策略差异显著的物种，不同物种对压力的耐受水平差异极大；这导致群落结构对逐渐增强的干扰会产生一系列细微变化，而非非此即彼的极端响应。

本项目将调查研究站附近的海底群落，以确定人类活动对其影响的严重程度。这些信息将用于确定优先事项，改进操作流程，从而降低进一步环境损害的风险。

### 数据集字段
本数据集的字段包括：物种（Species）、站位（Site）、丰度（Abundance）、底栖性（Benthic）。