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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event from 2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18 (NCEI Accession 0157624)

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A team from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 mass coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys. Areas surveyed included south Oahu, west Maui, Lana’i, and west Hawaii island. Over the course of 10 survey days, the team surveyed approximately 90 km of 15-m wide transects at depths ranging from 2 to 10 m.

Data provided in this dataset include visual estimates recorded by towed divers of percentage of live coral that was pale and bleached, as well as presence/absence data of condition by generic composition. Analysis of observer data reveals estimates of live coral affected by the event (pale or bleached) show a regional mean of 38.8% (+/- 1.96% Confidence Interval 95%), with large variation in impact apparent between transects on the same island separated by as little as 13 km.

Additionally, instruments mounted on the towboards collected other in-situ data that are documented separately. A downward-facing DSLR camera with strobes collected photographic quadrat data by capturing an image of the benthos at 15-second intervals during the surveys. Oceanographic data was collected continuously throughout each survey with a suite of mounted sensors recording conductivity, temperature, depth, fluorometry (chlorophyll-a), turbidity and dissolved oxygen.
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event from 2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18 (NCEI Accession 0157624). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157624. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0157624
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -157.947
East: -155.829
South: 19.7485
North: 21.3031
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Coral Reef Conservation Program (2016). Documentation for NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) data archived at NCEI (NCEI Accession 0157633). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157633.
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2016: Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32588.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2017-02-14
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Supplemental Information
Submission Package ID: K6GP04
Purpose The 2014–2015 global coral bleaching event brought widespread and severe impacts to the entire Hawaiian archipelago. In 2015, the corals of the Main Hawaiian Islands were subjected to unprecedented levels of thermal stress that resulted in the most severe coral bleaching ever recorded in the islands. To report on the event, local researchers and reef managers conducted free-swimming diver surveys in areas generally accessible via same-day field excursions. In an effort to survey larger high coral cover areas that are difficult for local researchers and managers to access via day-long field trips, a team from CREP deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 aboard the NOAA ship Hi‘ialaka‘i to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event from 2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18 (NCEI Accession 0157624). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157624. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
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Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
  • Numeric Data Sets > Biology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Bleaching > Bleaching Resistance
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching > Bleaching Alert Area
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching > Bleaching Thermal Stress
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Photic Zone Corals
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Habitats
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Dead percentage
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Live percentage
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords Provider Keywords
  • TDS
  • Towed-diver surveys
  • towboard
  • towed diver
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Platform keywords NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords ICES/SeaDataNet Ship Codes
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS CoRIS Place Thesaurus
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Oahu (21N157W0003)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Maui Island (20N156W0004)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii Island > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Lanai Island > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Maui Island > Maui Island (20N156W0004)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Oahu Island > Oahu (21N157W0003)
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CRCP Project
  • 31075
  • Observing and Documenting Predicted 2015/2016 Mass Coral Bleaching Events in Hawaii
Related Projects
  • CRED
  • CREP
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
  • PIFSC
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event from 2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18 (NCEI Accession 0157624). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157624. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
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  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2017-02-14T15:30:13Z - NCEI Accession 0157624 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Data Type: DEPTH - SENSOR (measured); Units: meter; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: SeaBird.
  • Data Type: TEMPERATURE - WATER [WATER TEMPERATURE] (measured); Units: degrees Celsius; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: SeaBird.
  • Data Type: STARTLOCALTIME (calculated); Units: mm/dd/yyy hh:mm:ss AM/PM; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: GPS; Sampling and Analyzing Method: calculated using UTC time from GPS and a time offset.
  • Data Type: ENDLOCALTIME (calculated); Units: mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss AM/PM; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: GPS; Sampling and Analyzing Method: calculated using UTC time from GPS and a time offset.
  • Data Type: CENTROIDLAT (calculated); Units: degree; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: GPS; Sampling and Analyzing Method: calculated using GPS coordinates and a layback script.
  • Data Type: CENTROIDLON (calculated); Units: degree; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: GPS; Sampling and Analyzing Method: calculated using GPS coordinates and a layback script.
  • Data Type: PROJECTEDLENGTH (calculated); Units: meter; Observation Type: other; Sampling Instrument: not applicable; Sampling and Analyzing Method: calculated from GPS points and a layback script.
  • Data Type: CORAL - CENSUS (calculated); Units: percent; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
  • Data Type: CORAL-BLEACHING (measured); Units: percent; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • GPS
  • swimmer/diver
  • visual estimate
  • visual observation
Platform
  • NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai
Last Modified: 2024-02-21T13:40:56Z
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