The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program dataset contains carbonate chemistry data collected at random and long-term sites in the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Flower Garden Banks, and Southeast Florida. These data are collected by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory to assess spatial and temporal variation in seawater carbonate systems. Samples are analyzed for total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, and spectrophotometric pH, with derived parameters like pCO2 and aragonite saturation state calculated.
Use Cases
- Modeling ocean acidification impacts based on calculated pCO2 and aragonite saturation state
- Analyzing spatial variation in reef health based on carbonate chemistry parameters across multiple regions
- Studying diurnal carbonate chemistry cycles based on diurnal sampling sets
- Assessing temporal trends in reef carbonate systems based on long-term monitoring site data
- Correlating reef conditions with environmental factors based on concurrent temperature and salinity measurements
Strengths
- Data is collected by the authoritative NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory
- Includes derived parameters like pH, pCO2, and aragonite saturation state calculated from measured TA and DIC
- Samples are collected via multiple methods including surface discrete and subsurface autosamplers at ~15m depth
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
- Freshness should be verified as the last update date is 2026-03-05
Provenance
- Source
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce
- Collection Method
- Surface discrete measurements using Coulometer, alkalinity titrator and other instruments, with samples processed by AOML
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-03-05 23:34:50.136662
- Geography
- Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Flower Garden Banks, Southeast Florida