Hawaii Coral Bleaching Survey Data from October-November 2015

546 survey sites across the Hawaiian Archipelago were assessed for coral bleaching from October 02 to November 18, 2015. The data provide survey-level metrics on percent live coral cover and the percentages of coral unbleached, partially, and fully bleached. This dataset was compiled by the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative from multiple institutions including NOAA Fisheries, Hawaii DLNR, and The Nature Conservancy.

Use Cases

• Modeling coral bleaching severity based on percent fully bleached coral metrics
• Analyzing spatial patterns of coral health across the Hawaiian Archipelago based on survey-level information
• Comparing coral cover and bleaching status across different survey methods mentioned in the description
• Assessing the impact of the 2015 bleaching event on total percent live coral cover

Strengths

• 546 surveyed sites provide a substantial spatial sample
• Multi-institutional effort by the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative integrates data from 7 contributing organizations
• Data covers the peak of the forecasted 2015 coral bleaching event

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data was collected using varying methods per institution, which may affect consistency

Provenance

Source

Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative, compiled from NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Sciences Division, State of Hawaii DLNR, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, The Nature Conservancy, and NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Collection Method

Coral bleaching surveys conducted using belt transects, sUAS photogrammetry, photoquadrats, and towed-diver surveys.

Time Range

October 02 to November 18, 2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 23:02:54.081412; freshness should be verified

Geography

Hawaiian Archipelago