NOAA Coral Reef Water Temperature Data from Florida Reef Tract

NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program provides high-accuracy seawater temperature data from subsurface temperature recorders deployed at permanent coral reef sites along the Florida Reef Tract. SeaBird Electronics loggers collect measurements every 5 minutes at depths from 0 to 30 meters, with instruments typically deployed for three-year periods. This data is archived by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the Coral Reef Conservation Program.

Use Cases

• Analyzing thermal stress and bleaching events on coral reefs using high-frequency temperature time-series.
• Modeling seawater temperature variability across different depths (0-30m) and specific reef locations.
• Supporting long-term climate change impact assessments on marine ecosystems via multi-year deployment records.
• Calibrating satellite-derived sea surface temperature products with in-situ, depth-stratified measurements.

Strengths

• Data is collected using high-accuracy SeaBird Electronics (SBE) temperature loggers.
• Provides high-temporal-resolution measurements recorded every 5 minutes.
• Supports long-term monitoring with a structured 3-year deployment and recovery cycle at permanent sites.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates institutional importance and curation.

Limitations

• Specific column names, total row count, and exact file sizes are not documented across any source.
• The reported last update date of '2026 03 05' on Data.gov is a future date, indicating a potential metadata error or conflict.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP).

Collection Method

Data gathered using subsurface temperature recorders (STRs) deployed along depth transects at Ocean and Climate Change monitoring survey sites.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-05 (Note: This is a future date, suggesting a metadata conflict.)

Geography

Permanent coral reef sites along the Florida Reef Tract, including locations like Biscayne Bay and Broward County.