Sea-ice meiofauna biodiversity from the Micro-SHIFT cruise May 2025 (cruise number: 2025007006): individual counts, abundance and biomass

The data was collected during the Micro-SHIFT cruise in May 2025 (cruise number: MS7006) onboard the research vessel RV Kronprins Haakon (cruise report: data.npolar.no/dataset/90e39c2b-fd7f-44d7-a58c-866f8dea66de). The expedition was a 20-day drift study. The dataset contains individual countas, abundance and biomass of sea-ice meiofauna (> 20 µm) including metazoans eggs and large protists such as foraminifers and ciliates.

Sea-ice meiofauna were identified and counted with a stereo microscopy and results are given as Individuals per liter (cells/L) and Individuals per square meter (Ind/m2). Biomass (μg C Ind.-1 per L and per m2) was only determined for alive individuals according to carbon contents for ice meiofauna taxa based on literature according to Marquardt et al. 2023 and references within in (doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2023.103128).