All scientific data collected by the Australian Antarctic program (AAp) are eventually described in the Catalogue of Australian Antarctic and Subantarctic Metadata (CAASM). CAASM can be used to search through AAp data descriptions, and it also provides links to access publicly available datasets, which can either be immediately downloaded or obtained from the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AADC).

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Citation
Smith, A. (2026) Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigation (KOMBI) deployments - 2021-2022 Data, Ver. 1, Australian Antarctic Data Centre - doi:10.26179/bnhn-dy38, (Unreleased data)
Title
Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigation (KOMBI) deployments - 2021-2022 Data
Data Centre
Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia
DOI
doi:10.26179/bnhn-dy38
Created Date
2026-07-01
Revision Date
2026-07-01
Parent record
AAS_4636_KOMBI_time_series

Description

These are the 2021-2022 data collected from three KOMBI moorings deployed in the Southern Ocean. See the related metadata records for data from other years.

Hydrophone data from the KOMBI moorings are available from other metadata records.

The KOMBI (Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations) seafloor landers are autonomous oceanographic platforms designed to collect high-resolution time-series data on krill species, non-krill species and their seafloor environment across a full year in the Antarctic. Each mooring integrates multiple sensors—such as temperature, salinity, pressure (CTD), video cameras, current profiles and acoustic backscatter—to support long-term ecosystem monitoring and process-based studies. KOMBI moorings are deployed to capture seasonal to interannual variability, improve understanding of pelagic habitat dynamics, and provide continuous observations that complement ship-based and remote-sensing programs. The time series is ongoing and data will be continuously added upon platform retrieval.

This dataset contains all data collected from Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations (KOMBI) seafloor lander platforms.

KOMBI platforms were left on the seafloor for one year at depths on the continental shelf and near the shelf break. The minimum depth of a mooring is 350m to avoid collision with icebergs and the maximum depth is 1500m. KOMBI dimensions are 1145 x 1145 x 1300 mm. Moorings are typically deployed in summer months from vessels and are left to collect data for one year (at least).

Active acoustic (ADCP and echosounder) data, passive acoustic data, CTD data and video camera footage are available from various instruments installed on the moorings. Active acoustic deployment files, compass calibrations and echosounder calibration files are included. Echosounders were calibrated in a 10,000L tank of temperature-controlled seawater at the Australian Antarctic Division in Kingston, using a 23mm tungsten carbide sphere and a paired Simrad EK80 333kHz echosounder to map the beam. Calibration raw data and code is included to produce Nortek SONAR equation CalibrationOffsetSv for each frequency. Calibration is only available for narrowband frequencies.

Data collection began in 2021 and is ongoing.

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Purpose

For seasonal investigations into the behaviour of krill and relationships with their ecosystems.

Quality

The datasets included are raw and unprocessed. Active acoustic data requires calibration offsets to be applied (see Nortek Echosounder Calibration files).

Access

These data are not yet publicly available for download.

Temporal Coverages

Spatial Coverages

Data Resolution

Vertical Resolution:
400 Metre(s)
Temporal Resolution:
365 Day(s)

Science Keywords

Additional Keywords

  • KOMBI
  • LANDER
  • 4636
  • AAS 4636

Locations

  • OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN
  • OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN
  • CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA
  • GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR
  • OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > KERGUELEN PLATEAU

Platforms

  • MOORINGS

Instruments

  • Conductivity, Temperature, Depth
  • Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
  • VIDEO CAMERA
  • ECHO SOUNDERS

Researchers

  • smith, abigail (INVESTIGATOR,DIF AUTHOR)

Use Constraints

This data set conforms to the CCBY Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=AAS_4636_KOMBI_time_series_2021-2022 when using these data.

Creative Commons License