Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks (BIOMASS) Data Set

BIOMASS (Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks) was
a major multi-national scientific programme for the study of the Antarctic
marine ecosystem and its living resources, with emphasis on krill (Euphausia
superba). It was co-sponsored by The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
(SCAR) and The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) in collaboration
with the International Association for Biological Oceanography and the Advisory
Committee on Marine Resources Research of the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the UN.

Data were collected by 34 vessels from 13 countries during 3 field experiments.
The First International BIOMASS Experiment (FIBEX), November 1980 to April
1981; The Second International BIOMASS Experiment (SIBEX), Part 1, October 1983
to April 1984 and Part 2, November 1984 to April 1985.

The aim of FIBEX was to carry out a quasi-synoptic survey over a wide area the
South Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean. SIBEX 1
& 2 were designed to produce a temporal sequence of observations focused on
much smaller areas of the Bransfield Strait and Prydz Bay regions.

Data were collected on krill distribution from acoustic surveys and krill
population structure from net-hauls. Supporting data from ichthyoplankton
net-hauls, oceanographic stations (temperature, salinity, nutrients and
chlorophyll-a) and observations of sea-birds at sea were also collected.

Data were collated and standardized by the BIOMASS Data Centre, at the British
Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK. The validation and correction of the data were
carried out during data analysis workshops, by the BIOMASS scientists who
collected the data. The majority of the BIOMASS data have been utilized during
BIOMASS workshops. However, some have not been used and must be regarded as
unvalidated. The documentation accompanying the BIOMASS data set lists the
known problems and validation status of the data.

At the end of the BIOMASS Programme, the BIOMASS data were made freely
available to any researchers. It is not intended that any restriction be placed
on the publication of scientific papers based on bona-fide academic research
using the BIOMASS data set. However, for any publication, the source of the
data must be acknowledged clearly and unambiguously.