The Southern Ocean Radiolarian (SO-RAD) dataset: a new compilation of modern radiolarian census data

• Published in: Earth System Science Data
• Main Authors: K.-A. Lawler, G. Cortese, M. Civel-Mazens, H. Bostock, X. Crosta, A. Leventer, V. Lowe, J. Rogers, L. K. Armand
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2021
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Indian; Pacific; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5441-2021; https://doaj.org/article/0156599bd6c44fc09f5f571220e9180b

Radiolarians (holoplanktonic protozoa) preserved in marine sediments are commonly used as palaeoclimate proxies for reconstructing past Southern Ocean environments. Generating reconstructions of past climate based on microfossil abundances, such as radiolarians, requires a spatially and environmentally comprehensive reference dataset of modern census counts. The Southern Ocean Radiolarian (SO-RAD) dataset includes census counts for 238 radiolarian taxa from 228 surface sediment samples located in the Atlantic, Indian, and southwest Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean. This compilation is the largest radiolarian census dataset derived from surface sediment samples in the Southern Ocean. The SO-RAD dataset may be used as a reference dataset for palaeoceanographic reconstructions, or for studying modern radiolarian biogeography and species diversity. As well as describing the data collection and collation, we include recommendations and guidelines for cleaning and subsetting the data for users unfamiliar with the procedures typically used by the radiolarian community. The SO-RAD dataset is available to download from https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.929903 (Lawler et al., 2021).