Ecological Characterization of Benthos and Physicochemical Properties of Sediments (Granulometry, Organic Matter, Pigments) from the Amundsen Missions (2007-2024)

This dataset brings together data that was collected during the BIOME laboratory's annual scientific expeditions aboard the research icebreaker NGCC Amundsen, covering a period from 2007 to 2024. This long-term monitoring aims to document the structure of benthic communities and their habitats in the Canadian Arctic.

Endofauna was collected mainly using box corers (Box corer) and skips (Van Veen). The epifauna was collected mainly using an Agassiz trawl. The samples were sieved on a 500 µm mesh. For these two components, abundance and biomass metrics were standardized per unit area (m²) in order to facilitate inter-site and inter-annual comparisons.

In order to characterize the benthic habitat, physicochemical parameters were measured directly on the surface sediments taken by box corer. This data includes:

• Particle size, detailed in eight size classes (4000 µm, 2000 µm, 1000 µm, 500 µm, 250 µm, 125 µm, 63 µm, and less than 63 µm)
• Organic matter content
• The concentration of chlorophyll pigments (chlorophyll-a and pheopigments).

The data set includes a table of sampling events to accurately link biological and environmental data.

A complementary file, called “Contact List”, also accompanies this data and documents the human and financial resources associated with expeditions. This file includes:

• The list of participants for each stage (leg) since 2007 (“Participants” tab)
• The history of funding for each donation since 2007 (“Financement” tab)
• The directory of all contacts (“Contacts” tab, grouping participants, donors, collaborators, etc.).

The section dedicated to funding illustrates the evolution and diversity of donors over the course of missions, highlighting in particular contributions to specific large-scale projects such as GreenEdge in 2016 or TCA in 2024. It should be noted that, although they are not explicitly listed for each individual legacy, the CRSNG and the FRQNT provided essential transversal financial support in the form of grants to the students who participated in the work.

It is important to note that this dataset is not exhaustive for the period from 2007 to 2024. It is the result of a vast effort of consolidation and standardization aimed at bringing together historical laboratory data. As a result, some missing data could be integrated as they are processed. In addition, this dataset is dynamic: it will be updated regularly to include data from future annual expeditions as soon as they are available.