Coastal Ocean Acidification Time Series from Southwest Puerto Rico, 2009-2021

Southwest Puerto Rico's coastal waters are monitored in this time series of discrete seawater samples for pH, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, phosphates, temperature, and salinity from 2009 to 2021. The dataset was collected by the NOAA Coral Health and Monitoring Program to support ocean acidification and water quality research. It includes weekly and bi-weekly observations used for validating autonomous sensor data at the La Parguera Marine Reserve.

Use Cases

• Tracking long-term trends in ocean acidification based on pH and total alkalinity measurements.
• Analyzing relationships between carbonate chemistry and nutrient levels based on phosphate data.
• Calibrating and validating autonomous pCO2 sensor systems with discrete sample data.
• Assessing water quality and ecosystem health in a Caribbean coral reef reserve.

Strengths

• Time series spans over 12 years, from 2009-01 05 to 2021-03-19.
• Data supports a NOAA Class III climate and ecosystem monitoring station.
• Includes multiple related variables for carbonate system analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Discrete seawater samples collected using Niskin bottle and other instruments from R/V Sultana.

Time Range

2009-01-05 to 2021-03-19

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-05 22:35:21.702745; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southwest coast of Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, specifically the La Parguera Marine Reserve.