IMOS - Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) - Quality Assessment and Control Report - Sediment Trap Particle Fluxes

This report details the quality assessment and control procedures applied to the particle flux data collected by the Sub-Antarctic Zone (SAZ) moorings between 1997 and 2018. The quality controlled datasets are publicly available via the AODN Data Portal. This report should be consulted when using the data.

The Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) Observatory located at 140°E and 47°S provides high temporal resolution observations in sub-Antarctic waters. It is focused on the sub-Antarctic Zone because waters formed at the surface in this region slide under warmer subtropical and tropical waters, carrying CO2 and heat into the deep ocean, where it is out of contact with the atmosphere. This process also supplies oxygen for deep ocean ecosystems, and exports nutrients that fuel ~70% of global ocean primary production. The sub-Antarctic Zone and these processes are expected to change with global warming, but the potential impacts of these changes are not yet known.