Dataset: EcoTaxa image output from UVP5 of particles and plankton collected from CTD casts during four US GO-SHIP cruises from 2018 to 2022

The Underwater Vision Profiler 5 (UVP5) was utilized to collect in situ images of particles and plankton across the four repeat hydrography transects. The UVP5 was integrated within the conductivity temperature depth (CTD) rosette, and several images per second were acquired during the downcasts spanning from the surface down to near the bottom or 6000 m. The UVP captured in situ images of particles and plankton in a mixed processing mode in which particles were sized, counted, and tabulated in real time during the profile. Subsequent processing bins these particle counts into discrete, pre-defined size bins ranging from 102 µm to >26 mm in equivalent spherical diameter. Particle biovolume was also computed for each size bin. All data contained here is inclusive of both living and non-living particles and plankton. 

Images larger than about 500 µm in equivalent spherical diameter were saved and imported into Morphocluster, a unsupervised clustering algorithm until 91% classification was achieved. Then the resulting classified and unclassified data was imported to the online Ecotaxa database and image sorting tool (https://ecotaxa.obs-vlfr.fr/). There, unclassified images were first sorted into predicted taxonomic categories using a machine learning algorithm, and then predicted zooplankton images from a subset of vertical profiles were manually validated into the most appropriate taxonomic categories. The limited resolution of the images often precludes definitive taxonomic assignment. As such, data users should explore the actual images and their associated classifications by accessing the project via the Ecotaxa website in order to determine whether or not the taxonomic data is correct and appropriate for their purposes. Data was exported from Ecotaxa on 2024-09-05.