Hawaiian Coral Bleaching Survey Data from 2015 Towed-Diver Transects

Approximately 90 kilometers of transects across the Main Hawaiian Islands were surveyed over 10 days in November 2015 to assess a mass bleaching event. The dataset contains visual diver estimates of the percentage of live coral that was pale or bleached, with a regional mean impact of 38.8%. It was collected by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Coral Reef Ecosystem Program.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial variation in coral bleaching severity across islands like Oahu, Maui, Lanaʻi, and Hawaii.
• Correlating visual estimates of pale and bleached coral percentage with concurrently collected oceanographic sensor data (conductivity, temperature, depth).
• Studying the relationship between coral generic composition and bleaching condition using the presence/absence data.
• Mapping the extent of the 2015 bleaching event across 15-meter wide transects at depths of 2 to 10 meters.
• Using the photographic quadrat data collected at 15-second intervals for validation or detailed benthic analysis.

Strengths

• Data collection followed a standardized towed-diver survey method over a defined 90 km transect area.
• Analysis provides a precise regional impact estimate with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 1.96%.
• Surveys were conducted during the peak of a documented mass bleaching event in November 2015.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• The license for the data is not specified across any platform.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata: one source lists 2015-11-18, while others list 2026-03-05, suggesting possible re-publication versus original collection date.

Provenance

Source

NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP).

Collection Method

Visual estimates recorded by towed divers during underwater surveys, supplemented by instrument-mounted sensors and cameras.

Time Range

2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:38:10.754447

Geography

Main Hawaiian Islands, including south Oahu, west Maui, Lanaʻi, and west Hawaii island.