Nine sediment traps deployed in part of the ice-frequented Southern Ocean (Weddell Sea, Ross Sea, and Bransfield Strait) provide the necessary data to compare vertical annual particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes with ambient ice regimes (annual mean ice concentration) as can be observed by satellite microwave radiometers. Sedimentation in these seasonally ice-covered regions is primarily dependent upon the mean annual ice concentration. We used a similar approach as the Greenland Sea Is Odden-Nordbukta model to develop a semi-empirical model for the Southern Ocean, and found that the vertical POC fluxes are a factor of two smaller than in the Greenland Sea. Applying the model for each individual trap for the years 1979 to 1999 shows that within the biological marginal ice zone (BMIZ), most of the sedimentation takes place within a mean annual ice concentration range of 9-