Video recordings of six locations in Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen) to investigate macroalgae distribution between 2-138 m water depth in summer 2009, including GIS shape files

• Main Authors: Schimani, Katherina, Bartsch, Inka, Jerosch, Kerstin, Pehlke, Hendrik, Wiencke, Christian, Zacher, Katharina
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2021
• Subjects: Binary Object; Binary Object (File Size); Brandal_ROV; Event label; Hansneset_north_ROV; Hansneset_south_ROV; Kongsfjorden; Spitsbergen; Arctic; Kongsfjordneset_ROV; Prince_Heinrich_Island_ROV; Remote operated vehicle; ROV; Tyskahytta_ROV; Kongsfjord*; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.927141; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.927141

Macroalgae is a central part of marine shelf ecosystems in the Arctic, both as primary producers and as habitat builders and may contribute substantially to the carbon export into the deep sea. In Kongsfjorden we quantified the zonation of visually dominant macroalgal taxa and of detached macroalgae from underwater videos taken in summer 2009 at six transects between 2 to 138 m water depth. Four transects were located at the south shore along the length axis of the fjord (Kongsfjordneset, Brandal, Prince Heinrich Island, Tyskahytta). Two further transects investigated the steep bedrock of Hansneset with a west-east orientation 50 m apart from each other: Hansneset 1 (north) and Hansneset 2 (south). The georeferenced data (date, depth, coordinates) of all transects were linked to the timecode of the video and imported into a geographic coordinate system (GIS). Presence/absence and cover data of macroalgae along the transects was collated into the GIS. The resulting shape files provide useful information for further investigations of macroalgae in the fjord and the geographical information may enhance the repeatability of the investigation in the future.