Abstract:

A synthesis of information products about environmental stressors provided in near real-time can serve environmental managers who seek to act decisively before stressors become unmanageable. We have created ecological forecasts, i.e., ecoforecasts, based on input from a variety of environmental sensors that report in near real-time, and we subsequently send those ecoforecasts to environmental managers. The application behind these ecoforecasts is Python-based software that uses an artificial intelligence (AI) inference engine called an expert system. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Information Synthesizer (NEIS), formerly the Environmental Information Synthesizer for Expert Systems (EISES), has been developed over two decades to meet the needs of environmental managers and scientists. NEIS integrates environmental data from multiple sources, including in situ and satellite sensors. The application produces ecoforecasts designed to identify environmental conditions conducive to mass coral bleaching and bleaching of specific coral species, as well as other marine environmental events such as algal blooms. This study evaluates the efficacy of coral bleaching ecoforecasts generated by NEIS for the Florida reef tract covering the years 2005–2017.

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Naturally acidified environments, such as those caused by volcanic CO₂ venting, reveal how complex coral reef ecosystems may respond to future ocean acidification conditions. Few of these sites have been described worldwide, and only a single such site is known from the Caribbean. Herein, we have characterized an area of volcanic acidification at Mayreau Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Despite localized CO₂ enrichment and gas venting, the surrounding area has high hard and soft coral cover, as well as extensive carbonate frameworks. Twice daily extremes in acidification, in some cases leading to undersaturation of aragonite, are correlated with tidal fluctuations and are likely related to water flow. Corals persisting despite this periodic acidification can provide insights into mechanisms of resilience and the importance of natural pH variability on coral reefs.

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The role of elevated sea temperatures in coral bleaching has been well documented. Many of the sea temperature records utilized for purposes of widespread, multi-species bleaching predictions in recent publications have been acquired through satellite remote sensing. Satellites estimate sea temperatures at only a narrow range of depths near the surface of the ocean and may, therefore, not adequately represent the true temperatures endured by the world’s coral ecosystems. To better characterize sea temperature regimes that coral reef ecosystems experience, as well as better define the individual thresholds for each species that bleaches, in situ sea temperature sensors are required. Commercial sensors are expensive in large quantities, however, reducing the capacity to conduct large-scale research programs to elucidate the range of significant scales of temperature variability. At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), we designed a low-cost (roughly US $9 in parts) and high-precision sea temperature sensor that uses an Arduino microprocessor board and a high accuracy thermistor. This new temperature sensor autonomously records temperatures onto a memory chip and provides better accuracy (+0.05°C) than a comparable commercial sensor (+0.2°C). Moreover, it is not difficult to build—anyone who knows how to solder can build the temperature sensor. In March 2019, students at middle and high schools in Broward County, Florida built close to 60 temperature sensors. During 2019, these sensors will be deployed by Reef Check, a global-scale coral reef monitoring organization, as well as by other programs, to determine worldwide sea temperature regimes through the Opuhala Project (https://www.coral.noaa.gov/opuhala). This paper chronicles results from the initial proof-of-concept deployments for these AOML-designed sensors.

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Coral reefs are exceptionally biodiverse and human dependence on their ecosystem services is high. Reefs experience significant direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, and provide a sensitive indicator of coastal ocean health, climate change, and ocean acidification, with associated implications for society. Monitoring coral reef status and trends is essential to better inform science, management and policy, but the projected collapse of reef systems within a few decades makes the provision of accurate and actionable monitoring data urgent. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network has been the foundation for global reporting on coral reefs for two decades, and is entering into a new phase with improved operational and data standards incorporating the Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) (www.goosocean.org/eov) and Framework for Ocean Observing developed by the Global Ocean Observing System. Three EOVs provide a robust description of reef health: hard coral cover and composition, macro-algal canopy cover, and fish diversity and abundance. A data quality model based on comprehensive metadata has been designed to facilitate maximum global coverage of coral reef data, and tangible steps to track capacity building. Improved monitoring of events such as mass bleaching and disease outbreaks, citizen science, and socio-economic monitoring have the potential to greatly improve the relevance of monitoring to managers and stakeholders, and to address the complex and multi- dimensional interactions between reefs and people. A new generation of autonomous vehicles (underwater, surface, and aerial) and satellites are set to revolutionize and vastly expand our understanding of coral reefs. Promising approaches include Structure from Motion image processing, and acoustic techniques. Across all systems, curation of data in linked and open online databases, with an open data culture to maximize benefits from data integration, and empowering users to take action, are priorities. Action in the next decade will be essential to mitigate the impacts on coral reefs from warming temperatures, through local management and informing national and international obligations, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, and the role of coral reefs as a global indicator. Mobilizing data to help drive the needed behavior change is a top priority for coral reef observing systems.

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NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program funded a study from 2013 to 2015 to determine the feasibility of monitoring turbidity plumes in reef waters for three U.S. jurisdictions, one of which was the Southeast Florida Shelf and northern Florida reef tract. This report presents the results of that study. It shows that with care, satellite ocean color can be used to remotely monitor sources and instances of coastal ocean turbidity.

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The effects of multiple stressors on the early life stages of reef-building corals are poorly understood. Elevated temperature is the main physiological driver of mass coral bleaching events, but increasing evidence suggests that other stressors, including elevated dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), may exacerbate the negative effects of thermal stress. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the performance of larvae of Orbicella faveolata and Porites astreoides, two important Caribbean reef coral species with contrasting reproductive and algal transmission modes, under increased temperature and/or elevated DIN. We used a fluorescence-based microplate respirometer to measure the oxygen consumption of coral larvae from both species and also assessed the effects of these stressors on P. astreoides larval settlement and mortality. Overall, we found that (1) larvae increased their respiration in response to different factors (O. faveolata in response to elevated temperature and P. astreoides in response to elevated nitrate) and (2) P. astreoides larvae showed a significant increase in settlement as a result of elevated nitrate, but higher mortality under elevated temperature. This study shows how microplate respirometry can be successfully used to assess changes in respiration of coral larvae, and our findings suggest that the effects of thermal stress and nitrate enrichment in coral larvae may be species specific and are neither additive nor synergistic for O. faveolata or P. astreoides. These findings may have important consequences for the recruitment and community reassembly of corals to nutrient-polluted reefs that have been impacted by climate change.

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The NOAA Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) network is a growing number of oceanographic and meteorological monitoring stations situated at coral reef areas of critical concern. The near real-time data from these stations are archived at NOAA and form the basis of daily ecological forecasts for coral bleaching, hydrodynamic events, and other marine environmental events of interest to environmental managers, researchers, and the public. The network began over 15 years ago with NOAA funding as a station in the Bahamas, and grew to include stations in Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Saipan, and with other sources of funding, Jamaica and Little Cayman. However, storms and other realities resulted in the destruction or removal of all of those stations, excluding Little Cayman, which continues operating today as a new buoy design. A new collaboration between NOAA and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center has resulted in the expansion of the network to include two stations each in Belize, Tobago, and the Dominican Republic, plus one in Barbados. Each of these sites has required collaborations among each country's environmental managers and agencies before agreement as to where to place the stations and as to who would be conducting maintenance. The second phase will include four to six new stations among these likely candidates: Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bonaire, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Grenadines, Montserrat, San Andres, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia & St. Vincent.

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The decline in coral reef health presents a complex management issue. While several causes of decline have been identified and are under continued study, it is often difficult to discern management actions necessary to address multiple near- and far-field stressors to these ecosystems. As a result, resource managers seek tools to improve the understanding of ecosystem condition and to develop management responses to reduce local and regional pressures in the wake of larger, global impacts. A research study conducted from 2010 to 2014 in southeast Florida, USA consisted of two objectives: (1) conduct a needs assessment survey with coral reef and marine resource managers to identify data needs and the preferred design and delivery of climate information; and (2) develop and evaluate prototype decision support tools. The needs assessment process was helpful for identifying the types of climate information managers would like to obtain to inform decision making and to specify the preferred format for the delivery of that information. Three prototype tools were evaluated by managers using pre/post surveys that included hands-on tutorials to explore the functionality of each. Manager responses were recorded using a five-point scale with 1 being No or Not Useful to 5 being Absolutely or Very Useful. The median responses rated the usefulness of the tools (4), if they would consider using the tool (4), and if they would recommend using the tool to other managers (4 or 5). The median response for increasing a manager’s knowledge about climate impacts after completing a tutorial of each of the climate tools was a 3 (moderately useful). Of the managers surveyed in the pre/post-survey, all but one stated they believed they would use the decision support tools in the future with the single response due to wealth of data availability in their institution.

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A new system requiring greatly reduced operator intervention has been developed for the determination of dissolved inorganic carbon concentration in marine waters. Based on a coulometric method, the system has an accuracy and precision comparable to more complex and expensive methods currently employed. A syringe pump equipped with a 12-port distribution valve is used to precisely dispense an acid solution and sample into a gas stripper. The system can autonomously measure eight discrete samples in duplicate or triplicate with no operator input. The best precision (%RSD) obtained was 0.022% (n = 14) or less than ±1.0 μmol kg⁻¹. The system is calibrated against a certified reference material (CRM). Average offset from the CRM was 1.2 μmol kg⁻¹. Sample throughput was 4 samples per h. Carryover effects are negligible but field sample analyses suggest that prefiltering may be necessary in highly turbid waters.

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A good understanding of diurnal warming in the upper ocean is important for the validation of satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) against in-situ buoy data and for merging satellite SSTs taken at different times of the same day. For shallow coastal regions, better understanding of diurnal heating could also help improve monitoring and prediction of ecosystem health, such as coral reef bleaching. Compared to its open ocean counterpart which has been studied extensively and modeled with good success, coastal diurnal warming has complicating localized characteristics, including coastline geometry, bathymetry, water types, tidal and wave mixing. Our goal is to characterize coastal diurnal warming using two extensive in-situ temperature and weather datasets from the Caribbean and Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. Results showed clear daily warming patterns in most stations from both datasets. For the three Caribbean stations where solar radiation is the main cause of daily warming, the mean diurnal warming amplitudes were about 0.4 K at depths of 4-7 m and 0.6-0.7 K at shallower depths of 1-2 m; the largest warming value was 2.1 K. For coral top temperatures of the GBR, 20% of days had warming amplitudes >1 K, with the largest >4 K. The bottom warming at shallower sites has higher daily maximum temperatures and lower daily minimum temperatures than deeper sites nearby. The averaged daily warming amplitudes were shown to be closely related to daily average wind speed and maximum insolation, as found in the open ocean. Diurnal heating also depends on local features including water depth, location on different sections of the reef (reef flat vs. reef slope), the relative distance from the barrier reef chain (coast vs. lagoon stations vs. inner barrier reef sites vs. outer rim sites); and the proximity to the tidal inlets. In addition, the influence of tides on daily temperature changes and its relative importance compared to solar radiation was quantified by calculating the ratio of power spectrum densities at the principal lunar semidiurnal M2 tide versus 24-hour cycle frequency representing mainly solar radiation forcing, i.e., (PSD_M2/PSD₂₄). Despite the fact that GBR stations are generally located at regions with large tidal changes, the tidal effects were modest: 80% of stations showed value of (PSD_M2/PSD₂₄) of less than 10%.

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This report summarizes the results of a needs assessment conducted with 15 marine resource managers in southeast Florida from December 2011 through May 2012. The purpose of the front-end assessment is to identify the type of climate data needed and the preferred delivery of this information to the target audience (Witkin and Altschuld, 1995). The needs assessment was developed using the methodology from the NOAA/Coastal Services Center (CSC) Product Design and Evaluation training program (NOAA/CSC, 2003). The results can be used to further develop climate-based science communications.

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Variability in multi-decadal records of hourly mean in situ sea temperature at shallow water sites in the Florida reef tract (FRT) is analyzed. Tidal, diurnal, and annual periodicities generally dominate, with both "weather-band" and inertial-period variability apparent at different sites. An ocean heat budget is estimated for an 11-year period based on these data, atmospheric reanalysis, satellite sea-surface temperature fields, an operational surface wave model, and estimates of heat exchange with the seafloor substrate. Coincident in situ meteorological data were used to estimate errors in the budget. A term for a sub-kilometer scale dynamic process, so-called horizontal convection or the thermal siphon, is found to be necessary to balance the heat budget. Results are also very sensitive to the assumed rate of shortwave radiation absorption in the water column. Applications for improved remote sensing of benthic thermal stress at topographically complex coral reefs are briefly outlined.

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Abstract: Over the last ten years several wireless architectures have been developed for transmitting meteorological and oceanographic data (in real-time or near real-time) from coral reef ecosystems in Florida, the Caribbean, Saipan, and Australia. These architectures facilitate establishing trends in environmental parameters and aid in ecosystem modeling and ecological forecasting. Here, existing architectures, as well as those currently in development, are described, incorporating use of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, radio transceivers, wireless digital cellular modems, mobile wireless hotspots, and Android phones. Each architecture is reviewed for advantages and disadvantages, along with some examples of deployments. These summaries provide reef managers and scientists with a suite of options for monitoring, allowing the selection of the most appropriate architecture for the particular needs and capacities of each coral reef location.

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The global rise in sea temperature through anthropogenic climate change is affecting coral reef ecosystems through a phenomenon known as coral bleaching; that is, the whitening of corals due to the loss of the symbiotic zooxanthellae which impart corals with their characteristic vivid coloration. We describe aspects of the most prevalent episode of coral bleaching ever recorded at Little Cayman, Cayman Islands, during the fall of 2009. The most susceptible corals were found to be, in order, Siderastrea siderea, Montastraea annularis, and Montastraea faveolata, while Diplora strigosa and Agaricia spp. were less so, yet still showed considerable bleaching prevalence and severity. Those found to be least susceptible were Porites porites, Porites astreoides, and Montastraea cavernosa. These observations and other reported observations of coral bleaching, together with 29 years (1982-2010) of satellite-derived sea surface temperatures, were used to optimize bleaching predictions at this location. To do this a Degree Heating Weeks (DHW) and Peirce Skill Score (PSS) analysis were employed to calculate a local bleaching threshold above which bleaching was expected to occur. A threshold of 4.2 DHW had the highest skill, with a PSS of 0.70. The method outlined here could be applied to other regions to find the optimal bleaching threshold and improve bleaching predictions.

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Coral reefs are facing increasing pressure from natural and anthropogenic stressors that have already caused significant worldwide declines. In January 2010, coral reefs of Florida, United States, were impacted by an extreme cold-water anomaly that exposed corals to temperatures well below their reported thresholds (16°C), causing rapid coral mortality unprecedented in spatial extent and severity.

Abstract: Coastal environments are an important component of the global carbon cycle, and probably more vulnerable than the open ocean to anthropogenic forcings. Due to strong spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability, carbon flows in coastal environments are poorly constrained. Hence, an integrated, international, and interdisciplinary program of ship-based hydrography, Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) lines, time-series moorings, floats, gliders, and autonomous surface vessels with sensors for pCO₂ and ancillary variables are recommended to better understand present day carbon cycle dynamics, quantify air-sea CO₂ fluxes, and determine future long-term trends of CO₂ in response to global change forcings (changes in river inputs, in the hydrological cycle, in circulation, sea-ice retreat, expanding oxygen minimum zones, ocean acidification, etc.) in the coastal oceans. Integration at the international level is also required for data archiving, management, and synthesis that will require multi-scale approaches including the development of biogeochemical models and use of remotely sensed parameters. The total cost of these observational efforts is estimated at about 50 million U.S. dollars per year.

Abstract: Coral reefs are complex, biologically diverse, and highly valued ecosystems that are declining worldwide due to climate change and ocean acidification, overfishing, land-based sources of pollution, and other anthropogenic threats. To assist policymakers and resource managers at international, national, and local levels in effectively implementing ecosystem approaches to sustainable management and conservation of coral reefs and their biodiversity, it is necessary to have timely, unbiased integrated ecosystem observations about the conditions of coral reefs and the complex physical and biogeochemical processes supporting them. To provide these interdisciplinary ecosystem observations, an International network of Coral Reef Ecosystem Observing Systems (I-CREOS) is proposed that will organize and build upon existing coral reef observation systems being developed around the globe. This paper uses examples of some developing observation systems to demonstrate some of the approaches and technologies available for acquiring biological, physical, and geochemical observations using combinations of visual surveys, moored instrument arrays, spatial-hydrographic and water quality surveys, satellite remote sensing, and hydrodynamic and ecosystem modeling. This fledgling, and hopefully expanding, network of observing systems represents the early stages of an integrated ecosystem observing system for coral reefs capable of providing policymakers, resource managers, researchers, and other stakeholders with essential information products needed to assess various responses of coral reef ecosystems to natural variability and anthropogenic perturbations. While significant challenges and gaps in the I-CREOS network remain, it demonstrably fulfills the requirements of an operational, integrated, interdisciplinary, coastal component of GOOS. Continued support, further development, and open expansion of this emerging network are encouraged and needed to ensure the continually increasing value of the networks observational and predictive capacity. With common goals to maximize versatility, accessibility, and robustness, the existing infrastructure and capacity provide a foundation by which increased global cooperation and coordination could naturally lead to a globally comprehensive I-CREOS.

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The rising temperature of the worlds oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watchs Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate.

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The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System (CREIOS) conducts mapping and monitoring of coral reefs, their biota, and their environments in U.S. coral jurisdictions. Reef mapping and benthic habitat characterization provide information on physical and biological structures, while field monitoring provides direct observations of reef ecosystem condition, and continuous in situ and satellite monitoring provides key environmental data. Through a partnership among various agencies, NOAA is developing a CREIOS structure that will adaptively address national-level priorities and local-level resource managers' needs for data, information, and decision support tools.

Abstract: The Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) research program gathers a variety of data related to water inputs into the coastal zone of southeast Florida. The water inputs studied include treated wastewater discharges, inlet flows, and upwelling events. Measurements include currents, nutrients, microbial contaminants, and stable isotopes. This report provides a glimpse of the data collected in this program. Data collected from the Boynton inlet point to the significance of this discharge as a source of nutrient and microbiological loads to coastal waters and demonstrate the importance of accounting for all major discharges in order to fully understand the impact of land use and water management decisions on coastal resources.

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The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) Project uses artificial-intelligence software to implement heuristic models of coral reef ecosystem response to physical conditions. These models use if-then rules to recognize patterns in environmental data integrated in near real-time from multiple sources. One model is described to detect episodic, biologically significant fluxes acting upon coral reefs in the Florida Reef Tract. Data are gathered from in situ sensors and satellites for three sites near the reef crest: Sombrero Key in the Middle Keys, Molasses Reef in the Upper Keys, and Fowey Rocks off Miami. The model recognizes apparent circulation changes that may impact reef ecology. Criteria are in situ sea-temperature variability at near-tidal frequencies, wind velocity variability, and color-derived satellite chlorophyll-a point data. Model ecological forecasts (ecoforecasts) are verified using secondary data not input to the model, including satellite ocean-color imagery, radar-derived ocean surface currents, and divers reports. Events are characterized as being one of wind-driven upwelling; net transport of eutrophic water from outside the FRT; and interaction of Florida Current frontal features with reef topography, possibly modulated by internal wave-breaking. Multiple events are characterized in a 42-month period in 2005-2008.

Abstract: Assessment of coral reef ecosystems implies the acquisition of precision data and observations appropriate for answering questions about the response of multiple organisms to physical and other environmental stimuli. At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, we model marine organismal response to the environment in terms of a Stimulus/Response Index (S/RI). S/RI is computed using an approach called heuristic programming, from parameters bounded in subjective terms, which are defined numerically by comparing historical data with expert opinion, so as to match research and our understanding of the process in question. The modeled organismal response is called an ecological forecast, or ecoforecast, and relative possibility and intensity of the response is reflected in a rising S/RI. We have had success to date in modeling coral bleaching response to high sea temperatures plus high irradiance and other parameters. The approach requires, a) highly robust instrumentation (in situ, satellite, or other) deployed for long periods and producing high quality data in near real-time, b) a basic understanding of the process, behavior and/or physiology being modeled, and, c) a knowledge of approximate threshold levels for single or synergistically acting environmental parameters that elicit the phenomenon in question.

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Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) images have had limited applications in near-shore and coastal environments due to inadequate spatial resolution, incorrect geocorrection, or cloud contamination. We have developed a practical approach to remove these errors using AVHRR and MODIS 1-km resolution data. The objective was to improve the accuracy of SST anomaly estimates in the Florida Keys and to provide the best quality (in particular, high temporal and spatial resolutions) SST data products for this region. After manual navigation of over 47,000 AVHRR images collected between September 1993 and December 2005, we implemented a cloud-filtering technique that differs from previously published image processing methods. The filter used a 12-year climatology and ±3 day running SST statistics to flag cloud-contaminated pixels. Comparison with concurrent (±0.5 hour) data from the SEAKEYS in situ stations in the Florida Keys showed near-zero bias errors (<0.05°C) in the weekly anomaly for SST anomalies between -3 and 3°C, with standard deviations <0.5°C. The cloud filter was implemented using IDL for near real-time processing of AVHRR and MODIS imagery. The improved SST products were used to detect SST anomalies and to estimate degree-heating-weeks (DHWs) to assess the potential for coral reef stress. The mean, anomaly, and DHW products are updated weekly and accessible on a web site. The SST data at specific geographical locations were also automatically ingested in near real-time into NOAAs Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) web-based application to assist in management and decision-making through a novel expert system tool (G2) implemented at NOAA.

Abstract: The Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) program has constructed and installed a series of Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) stations which provide a wealth of high-quality meteorological and oceanographic data in near real-time. CREWS stations date back to 2001 with the deployment of an early buoy-type design in the Bahamas. Beginning in 2002, the program shifted to a pylon-type design which was reengineered in 2005, resulting in the modern CREWS stations found in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Jamaica. The CREWS instrumentation architecture described herein has evolved over time into a robust package that, combined with a regimen of regular instrument cleaning and recalibration, has yielded a continuous, long-term, high-quality dataset from these harsh marine environments.

Abstract: Zooxanthellae fluorescence was measured in situ, remotely, and in near real-time with a pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometer for a colony of Siderastrea siderea and Agaricia tenuifolia at Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas during the Caribbean-wide 2005 bleaching event. These colonies displayed evidence of photosystem II (PS II) inactivation coincident with thermal stress and seasonally high doses of solar radiation. Hurricane-associated declines in temperature and light appear to have facilitated the recovery of maximum quantum yield of PS II within these two colonies, although both corals responded differently to individual storms. PAM fluorometry, coupled with long-term measurement of in situ light and temperature, provides much more detail of coral photobiology on a seasonal time scale and during possible bleaching conditions than sporadic, subjective, and qualitative observations. S. siderea displayed evidence of PS II inactivation over a month prior to the issuing of a satellite-based, sea surface temperature (SST) bleaching alert by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In fact, recovery had already begun in S. siderea when the bleaching alert was issued. Fluorescence data for A. tenuifolia were difficult to interpret because the shaded parts of a colony were monitored and thus did not perfectly coincide with thermal stress and seasonally high doses of solar radiation as in S. siderea. These results further emphasize the limitations of solely monitoring SST (satellite or in situ) as a bleaching indicator without considering the physiological status of coral-zooxanthellae symbioses.

Abstract: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has committed to integrating ocean data from a variety of sources into an Integrated Ocean Observing System, and to work towards operational ecological forecasting as part of its Ecosystem Approach to Management. Consistent with this, NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program has committed to integrating coral data from a variety of sources for the specific benefit of coral reef researchers and Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers; and NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, together with its NOAA and University of Miami partners, are contributing to this goal through their Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) project. ICON provides Web-based software to integrate satellite, monitoring station (in situ), and radar data sources in near real-time; and utilizes an inference engine (artificial intelligence software) to provide ecological forecasts using some or all of these data. The capabilities of ICON software are currently being focused upon one area in particular, Molasses Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, to provide proof-of-concept, and to provide a "discovery prototype" for consideration by the MPA managers assembled at the GCFI conference. Feedback to ICON developers from MPA managers--based upon their own specific management requirements and priorities, and knowledge of the prototype capabilities--is essential to set priorities and enable additional ICON software engineering specifically tailored to MPA managers' needs. Featured in the prototype are several levels of user access: layperson, researcher, site maintainer, MPA manager, and software developer colleague. Depending upon user access, information products can include recent and historical single-source and integrated data output, custom graphics output, and ecological forecasts for coral bleaching, coral spawning, upwelling, pollution impacts and larval drift.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) has been operational since 2000 and works closely with most U.S. Government and many international environmental partners involved in coral reef research. The ICON program has pioneered the use of artificial intelligence techniques to assess near real-time data streams from environment sensor networks such as the SEAKEYS Network (Florida Keys), the Australia Institute of Marine Science Weather Network, NOAA's Coral Reef Ecosystem Division network in the Pacific, and its own Integrated Coral Observing Network (ICON) of stations in the Caribbean. Besides its innovative approach to coral monitoring station deployments, the ICON program recently pioneered techniques for the near real-time integration of satellite, in situ, and radar data sources for purposes of ecological forecasting of such events as coral bleaching, coral spawning, upwelling, and other marine behavioral or physical oceanographic events. The ICON program has also ushered in the use of Pulse-Amplitude-Modulating fluorometry to measure near real-time physiological recording of response to environmental stress during coral bleaching, thus providing even better ecological forecasting capabilities through artificial intelligence and data integrative techniques. Herewith, we describe these techniques, along with a report on new coral calcification instrumentation augmenting the ICON Network sensor array.

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Recent, global mass-mortalities of reef corals due to record warm sea temperatures have led researchers to consider global warming as one of the most significant threats to the persistence of coral reef ecosystems. The passage of a hurricane can alleviate thermal stress on coral reefs, highlighting the potential for hurricane associated cooling to mitigate climate change impacts. We provide evidence that hurricane-induced cooling was responsible for the documented differences in the extent and recovery time of coral bleaching between the Florida Reef Tract and the U.S. Virgin Islands during the Caribbean-wide 2005 bleaching event. These results are the only known scenario where the effects of a hurricane can benefit a stressed marine community.

Abstract: It is well established that elevated sea temperatures cause widespread coral bleaching, yet confusion lingers as to what facet of extreme temperatures is most important. Utilizing long-term in situ datasets, we calculated nine thermal stress indices and tested their effectiveness at segregating bleaching years a posteriori for multiple reefs on the Florida Reef Tract. The indices examined represent three aspects of thermal stress: (1) short-term, acute temperature stress; (2) cumulative temperature stress; and (3) temperature variability. Maximum monthly sea surface temperature (SST) and the number of days >30.5°C were the most significant; indicating that cumulative exposure to temperature extremes characterized bleaching years. Bleaching thresholds were warmer for Florida than the Bahamas and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands reflecting differences in seasonal maximum SST. Hindcasts showed that monthly mean SST above a local threshold explained all bleaching years in Florida, the Bahamas, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

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A partial bleaching event was reported in September and October 2003 in St. Croix, yet no bleaching alert was produced by the expert system software dubbed the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS). This presents an opportunity for refining the modeling and predictive success of the CREWS software specifically for the St. Croix site by examination of the pertinent environmental parameters (sea temperature, wind speeds, irradiance) associated with the 2003 bleaching event. Elevated sea temperatures were likely the primary catalyst of bleaching and were coincident with dampened wind speeds. The least attenuation (greatest penetration) of UVB occurred during October when bleaching was most severe, but was variable. A nearly parallel trend with wind speed and UVB penetration was found and supports the hypothesis that the attenuation of UVB into the water column is controlled by CDOM concentrations, which are elevated due to wind-driven mixing.

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Field observations of temperature and the intensity of light were used in concert with data from a continuously monitoring pulse amplitude modulating (PAM) fluorometer to create an expert system decision table of in hospit zooxanthellae response to high sea temperature and intense light. A diffuse attenuation based spectral slope coefficient (SKd) is developed to provide real-time enhancement of optical data from discrete detector bands to estimate the full spectra and intensity of light at a coral's surface. During studies with a PAM fluorometer, seawater temperature was increased by less than 1°C (starting temperature 29.4°C) over four days, and resulted in subtle decreases in fluorescent yield in two Montastrea faveolata ust before the onset of coral bleaching. Following this increase, cloudy conditions reduced insolation levels which lead to fluroescent yield recovery from a low night-time value of 0.56 back to an initial value of 0.61.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program, led out of its National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) and Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) offices, will strive to fully utilize NOAA coral resources to monitor and predict changes in coral reef ecosystems worldwide. CRW inaugurated its first Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) station in 2001 at "Rainbow Gardens," Lee Stocking Island, Great Exuma, Bahamas, with the installation of its first of 20 new in situ monitoring stations slated for many domestic reefs during this decade. A major objective is to discern the relationship between the magnitude and persistence of anomalously high sea surface temperatures in coral reef areas and coral reef bleaching and mortality. By coordinating both in situ point observations with the overview provided through satellite imagery, this program is designed to actively support coral reef managers and researchers through near real-time Web-access to coral reef environmental data and coral bleaching alerts.

Abstract:

An expert system, termed the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS), was employed at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida, USA, to provide interpretations of combinations of near real-time meteorological and oceanographic data, thought to be conducive to coral bleaching. These data were collected via HF radio from automatic weather stations operated by the Australian Institute of Marine Science at Myrmidon and Agincourt Reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef. At Myrmidon Reef, CREWS was useful in "predicting" coral bleaching during the end of January and early February 2000. This prediction was verified in the field with observations of low level bleaching for a few species of Acropora (especially Acropora gemmifera and A. digitifera) on the reef flat at Myrmidon Reef. In February 2000, alerts were produced and sent for Agincourt Reef, 330 km north of Myrmidon Reef, but field observations showed that bleaching did not occur. These results suggest that CREWS may be fine-tuned to predict bleaching in thermally sensitive species or genera at individual locations.

Abstract:

No abstract.

Abstract:

With recent technological advances and a reduction in the cost of automatic weather stations and data buoys, the potential exists for significant advancement in science and environmental management using high-resolution, near real-time data to predict biological and/or physical events. However, real-world examples of how this potential wealth of data has been used in environmental management are few and far between. We describe in detail two examples where near real-time data are being used for the benefit of science and management. These include a prediction of coral bleaching events using temperature, light, and wind as primary predictor variables, and the management of coastal development where dynamic discharge quality limits are maintained with the aid of wind data as a proxy for turbidity in receiving waters. We argue that the factors limiting the use of near real-time environmental data in management are frequently not the availability of the data, but the lack of knowledge of the quantitative relationships between biological/physical processes or events and environmental variables. We advocate renewed research into this area and an integrated approach to the use of a wide range of data types to deal with management issues in an innovative, cost-effective manner.

Abstract:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch program is installing in-situ monitoring stations at strategic coral reef areas for purposes of establishing long-term data sets, providing near real-time information products, and surface-truthing NOAA satellite sea surface temperature (SST) products used for coral bleaching predictions ("hot spots"). The suite of stations, which transmit data hourly, together with custom artificial intelligence software that analyzes the data, is called the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) network. At each CREWS station, local maintenance and calibration of the sea temperature sensor ensures high quality data. Local collaborators also provide feedback on the presence and progress of coral bleaching and thus validate coral bleaching predictions made by HotSpot and CREWS information products. Near Rainbow Gardens Reef, where the first CREWS station was installed, additional in-situ data loggers were deployed to compare with CREWS and satellite SST data for both the relatively shallow Great Bahama Bank and much deeper Exuma Sound. During summer 2001, CREWS successfully transmitted daily email satellite SST and in-situ temperature comparisons, which showed good agreement. Logger data were used to validate and interpret the satellite SST and CREWS station readings.

Abstract:

A computer expert system shell was employed to provide interpretations of near real-time acquired combinations of meteorological and oceanographic parameters from a SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) station at Sombrero Reef. When environmental conditions were conducive to coral bleaching, according to different models, alerts were automatically posted to the World-Wide Web and emailed to researchers so they could verify and study bleaching events as they might happen. The models were refined using feedback from field data on bleaching recorded after alerts from the expert system. The expert system was programmed to produce alerts when sea temperatures over 30°C occurred, or when temperatures of 30°C occurred concomitant with low winds. Alerts were produced in June 1998 when these conditions were met, but bleaching did not occur. Reconfiguration of the system, which included a point system for three models (high sea temperature only, high sea temperature plus low winds, high sea temperature plus low winds plus low tide), resulted in the transmittal of alerts which coincided with bleaching during early August 1998. Bleaching occurred after sea temperature reached an average of 31.5°C over a period of three days, with excursions over 31.8°Coccurring over 15 times during those three days. High sea temperatures, low wind speeds, and a very low tide occurred coincident to the time of bleaching, but it was not possible to tell if these were factors acting synergistically.

Abstract:

The Sustained Ecological Research Related to the Management of the Florida Keys Seascape (SEAKEYS) program was organized in 1991 by the Florida Institute of Oceanography with initial funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and has been maintained through continuing support provided by the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration, Prediction and Monitoring program, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The SEAKEYS environmental monitoring program was designed to provide data for a long-term database of meteorological and oceanographic data from the Florida Straits and Florida Bay. The SEAKEYS network provides wind speed, wind gust, air temperature, barometric pressure, sea temperature, and salinity for all stations; and tide level, precipitation, photosynthetically active radiation, fluorometry, and transmissometry for selected stations. These data are transmitted hourly to a GOES satellite, and from there are downloaded for data and information management purposes. SEAKEYS data have been used to characterize the dynamics of several hurricanes since 1992, and have been of great benefit to hurricane forecasters at the National Weather Service and at AOML's Hurricane Research Division in Miami, Florida. Daily data are posted to NOAA's Coral Health and Monitoring Program Web site (http://www.coral.noaa.gov), while historical data are available at http://www.neptune.noaa.gov. These data have also allowed researchers to correlate meteorological and hydrographic dynamics, e.g., El Niño/La Niña conditions, with environmental changes in Florida Bay and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Abstract:

In the Florida Keys there are many physical, chemical, and biological events of interest and concern to personnel of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, marine biologists, oceanographers, fishermen, and divers. Large volumes of continuously-generated meteorological and oceanographic data from instruments in the SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) network help to understand these events. However, since no one has the time to look at every printout of data from every station, every day, seven days a week, it is highly desirable to have an automated system that can monitor parameters of interest and produce specialized alerts of specific events, as indicated by prescribed or abnormal ranges, or combinations of parameters. A soft real-time expert system was developed to produce such alerts based on data input from the SEAKEYS network. The prototype system collected data from the Sombrero Reef station in the network and produced automated e-mail and World-Wide Web alerts when conditions were thought to be conducive to, or predictive of, coral bleaching, which occurs under environmental conditions stressful to corals. Configuration of the system included a point system for three coral bleaching models (high sea temperature only, high sea temperature plus low winds, high sea temperature plus low winds plus low tide). The approach is an important development in the use of knowledge-based systems to solve environmental problems, as it provides for knowledge synthesis (in the form of data summaries) from any environmental ASCII data stream or table, be it real-time or not.

Abstract:

As an enhancement to the SEAKEYS environmental monitoring network in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, software called the Environmental Information Synthesizer for Expert Systems (EISES) has been utilized together with a specially developed expert system to model and report the near real-time sensing of environmental conditions conducive to the onset of a harmful algal bloom (HAB, e.g., "red tide"). Actual near real-time in-situ fluorometry data was matched with wind speeds and photosynthetically active radiation at the Long Key SEAKEYS station in Florida Bay to simulate the onset of an HAB. These incidences were e-mailed to the knowledge engineer as they occurred, and could in the future be e-mailed to regulatory agencies, or posted to a Web site, as is done with a similarly developed expert system for coral bleaching. This approach shows promise with the future remote detection of HAB pigment data via in-situ or satellite sensors.

Abstract:

The Sustained Ecological Research Related to the Management of the Florida Keys Seascape (SEAKEYS) program was organized in 1991 by the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) with initial funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and continuing funding from the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration, Prediction and Monitoring (SFERPM) program, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The SEAKEYS environmental monitoring program, which is basically an oceanographic extension to the meteorologically-oriented Coastal-Marine Automated Network of NOAA, has accumulated an unparalleled long-term database of meteorological and oceanographic data from the Florida Straits and Florida Bay. During 1998, the SEAKEYS network was upgraded with more precise oceanographic sensors, and selected stations were augmented with fluorometers, transmissometers, and water-level sensing equipment. A seventh monitoring station, a cooperative effort between FIO and the University of South Florida's Department of Marine Science (USF/DMS), was completed in Northwest Florida Bay at 25°05'00"N, 81°05'30"W during summer, 1998. This station also contains a full suite of meteorological and oceanographic instrumentation and also transmits its data hourly via a NOAA GOES satellite. The Northwest Florida Bay station is the northwestern most station in the SEAKEYS network, as well as the southernmost link in the West Florida Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System of USF/DMS. Turbulent weather was prominent during 1998 in the Florida Keys. Severe conditions reported by the SEAKEYS stations included the Ground Hog Day Storm, Hurricane Georges, and Tropical Storm Mitch. In most cases the SEAKEYS stations contained the only instruments to measure the meteorological and oceanographic measurements accompanying these events in the Florida Keys. The Long Key station measured the highest winds (119 mph) in South Florida during the Ground Hog Day Storm of February 2, 1998. On September 25, 1998 the eye of Hurricane Georges passed over Key West at 1150 EDT as wind speeds dropped from 85.2 mph to 9.6 mph. The eye moved across the Dry Tortugas station at 1610 EDT with barometric pressures dropping to 974.4 mb. Winds gusted to hurricane force only after the eye passed at 2100 EDT. Georges' most severe winds in the Florida Keys gusted to 113 mph at Sombrero Reef, with a sustained wind speed of 94 mph. Long Key, Molasses Reef, and Fowey Rocks received gusts of tropical storm force. The tide station at Sombrero Reef reported a storm water level of 2.87 feet above mean lower low water. This contrasted with below normal levels reported at a station on Florida Bay. Hurricane Mitch passed northwest of the Florida Keys on the evening of November 4, 1998, bringing peak winds of 62.4 mph at Molasses Reef and sustained gale force winds until the following afternoon. Numerous localized tornadoes spawned by this storm caused extensive damage in the Upper Keys. Daily near real-time SEAKEYS data are available to researchers via NOAA's Coral Health and Monitoring Program (CHAMP) Web site at http://www.coral.noaa.gov, while historical data are available at http://www.neptune.noaa.gov. The Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS), which utilizes the near real-time data from six SEAKEYS stations, is an online expert system which monitors environmental conditions on the reef that are theoretically conducive to coral bleaching. If these conditions occur, alerts are sent via email to researchers and posted to the Web at http://www.coral.noaa.gov/sferpm/seakeys/es.

Abstract:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) works cooperatively with the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) in the implementation of the SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) network, which is situated along 220 miles of coral reef tract within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). This network is itself actually an enhanced framework of seven Coastal-Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) stations for long-term monitoring of meteorological parameters (wind speed, wind gusts, air temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity). To the C-MAN network, SEAKEYS adds oceanographic parameters (sea temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, salinity, fluorometry, optical density) to the stations. As a recent enhancement to the SEAKEYS network, an expert system shell is being employed to provide daily interpretations of near real-time acquired data for the benefit of scientists, fishermen, and skin divers. These interpretations are designed to be automatically emailed to Sanctuary managers and to the FIO maintainers of the network. The first set of interpretations include those dealing with environmental conditions conducive to coral bleaching. Other marine environmental interpretations are slated to follow.

Abstract:

As a recent enhancement to the SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) environmental monitoring network, an expert system shell was employed to provide daily interpretations of near real-time acquired combinations of meteorological and oceanographic parameters as they meet criteria generally thought to be conducive to coral bleaching. These interpretations were automatically posted to the World-Wide Web and emailed to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary managers and scientists so they could witness and study bleaching events as they might happen, and so that a model could be developed with greater precision in identifying physical factors conducive to coral bleaching. The expert system, as a model, was successful in showing that certain assumptions by experts regarding coral bleaching apparently do not hold at Sombrero Reef.

Abstract:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Health and Monitoring Program has cooperated with the Florida Institute of Oceanography in developing a near real-time marine environmental monitoring and reporting system. Using an object-oriented analysis technique, this report describes how data are retrieved from satellite data and archiving facilities, then reformatted for presentation via a Remote Bulletin Board system and facsimile. Using an object-oriented design technique, a new system is designed using a requirements analysis of the original system.

Abstract:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Health and Monitoring Program has cooperated with the Florida Institute of Oceanography in developing a near real-time marine environmental monitoring and reporting system. Using the latest in object-oriented analysis techniques, this report describes how data are retrieved from satellite data and archiving facilities, then reformatted for presentation via a remote bulletin board system and facsimile.

Abstract:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Health and Monitoring Program in Miami, Florida has for the last several years worked cooperatively with the Florida Institute of Oceanography in monitoring meteorological and oceanographic events at selected Coastal-MarineAutomated Network sites in the Florida Straits. In a previous report, an object-oriented analysis (OOA) was conducted of the existing system with an eye toward redesigning the system. This report builds on the OOA results from the previous study and utilizes the latest in object-oriented design techniques to design a new system.

Abstract:

Ocean Profiler is a computer program (software) that was constructed to meet the needs of oceanographers working at sea to build a master database of parameters as the data are generated. This report represents the technical manual for the operation of the software. Descriptions are provided for the loading, importing, and exporting of data files. Editing of data, adding of stations and fields to the database, deleting and cleaning up of data records, and replacing of certain values with others are features supported by the software. A Remote Bulletin Board System and an FTP site for downloading, a World-Wide Web location, and an e-mail address are provided for additional support for the software.

Abstract:

An expert system was developed to aid oceanographers and data managers in the quality control and feature recognition of oceanographic data from the open ocean. Oceanographic data collected from the open ocean are screened for proper ranges against data collected from the same area during former cruises. Calculations are also performed on the data as a cross-check of certain parameters against others. The system developed runs on the PC, the Macintosh, and a UNIX workstation. The system is easily configurable to report only oceanographic parameters of interest. Data are read from, and output to, ASCII files. Source code is provided, and a list of avenues for further development is presented.

Abstract:

In the boreal autumn of 1992, NOAA's Climate and Global Change Program sponsored a major cooperative effort with the U.S. JGOFS Program in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific to investigate the unique role of equatorial processes on CO₂ cycling during and following the 1991-1992 ENSO event. Data were collected meridionally along four transects, generally between 10°N and 10°S. The first leg (Leg 3) included the 140°W and 125°W transects; the second leg (Leg 4) sampled along 110°W, and the third leg (Leg 5) included stations along 95°W and three short transects extending westward from the Peru coast. Chemical parameters sampled included fCO₂, DIC, TAlk, pH, TOC, and nutrients. Ancillary measurements of salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were also taken. Descriptions of sampling methods and data summaries are given in this report.

Abstract:

From February 24 to May 19, 1992, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate and Global Change Program sponsored a major cooperative effort with the U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (U.S. JGOFS) to study the role of equatorial processes on CO₂ cycling in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific during the 1991-1992 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. The NOAA Ship Malcolm Baldrige performed four transequatorial sections in the region, and this report presents hydrographic and chemical data from that cruise, including tables of the following data from each station: hydrography from each CTD cast at the bottle trip depths, dissolved oxygen, fCO₂, DIC, pH, TAlk, nutrients, and TOC. Descriptions of the sampling techniques and analytical methods used in the collection and processing of these data are also presented.

Abstract:

From July 11 to September 2, 1991, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Radiatively Important Trace Species (RITS) programs participated in an oceanographic research cruise conducted aboard the NOAA ship Malcolm Baldrige. This report presents the research from that cruise that was conducted for the CO₂ program, which has recently been renamed the Ocean-Atmosphere Carbon Exchange Study (OACES). During leg 1 of this cruise (Fortaleza, Brazil to Montevideo, Uruguay), 33 CTD hydrographic casts and 17 Go-Flo™ hydrographic (productivity) casts were conducted. Samples were also collected while underway on leg 1, for the determination of the fugacity of CO₂ (fCO₂) of the air and surface water. Leg 2 (Montevideo, Uruguay to Fortaleza, Brazil) collected 21 days of underway fCO₂ measurements, conducted five CTD hydrographic casts, and nine Go-Flo™ hydrographic (productivity) casts. This report contains tables of the following data: hydrography from each CTD cast at the bottle trip depths (including salinity, oxygen and nutrients), discrete carbon parameters, underway carbon parameter values, and data from productivity casts. Descriptions of the sampling techniques and analytical methods used in the collection and processing of these data are also presented in this report.

Abstract:

The Nutrient Enhanced Coastal Ocean Productivity (NECOP) Data Management Program (NDMP) is designed to ensure tracking of samples and archival of all NECOP data in uniform formats, thus allowing ready access to data by NECOP investigators and the scientific community at large. The NDMP may broadly be described as possessing several functions: oceanographic sample tracking, data review and formatting, data dissemination, formation and supply of data products, and data transmittal to the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC). Figure 1 gives an outline of data flow through the datamanager, and is described below.

Abstract:

No abstract.

Abstract:

There is evidence that stress on coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean region is increasing. Recently, numerous authors have stated that major stress results from "abnormally high" seasonal sea surface temperatures (SST) and have implicated global warming as a cause, stating that recent episodes of coral bleaching result therefrom. However, an analysis of available SST data sets shows no discernible warming trend that could cause an increase in coral bleaching. Given the lack of long-term records synoptic with observations of coral ecosystem health, there is insufficient evidence available to label temperatures observed in coincidence with recent regional bleaching events as "abnormally" high.