The Ocean Archive System searches our original datasets as they were submitted to us, not individual points or profiles. If you want to search and retrieve ocean profiles in a common format, or objectively analyzed fields, your better option may be to use one of our project applications. See: Access Data

OAS accession Detail for 0164023
<< previous |revision: 12
accessions_id: 0164023 | archive
Title: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitats, Key Benthic Species, and Marine Debris Sightings of the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2017-04-02 to 2017-04-20 (NCEI Accession 0164023)
Abstract: The towed-diver method is used to conduct benthic surveys, assessing large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching) and quantifying benthic components such as habitat complexity/type and the general distribution and abundance patterns of live coral, Crustose Coralline Algae (CCA), macroalgae, and macroinvertebrates. Surveys are conducted in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). A suitable method for assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat, the method involves towing a pair of SCUBA divers—one benthic and one fish—behind a small boat for approximately 50 minutes following the ~15-m depth contour and covering about 2–3 km of habitat. Each diver is equipped with a towboard and attempts to maintain a constant elevation above the surface of the reef (~1 m) for the duration of the survey. A complete towed-diver survey is divided into 10, 5-minute segments, with visual observations recorded by 5-minute segment.

The visual estimate data provided in this dataset were collected during towed-diver surveys which includes percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, and macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams). Benthic habitat complexity and type data are also collected as part of the survey with the following habitat type categories: continuous reef, spur and groove, patch reefs, rock boulders, pavement, rubble flat, sand flats, pinnacle, and wall.

The data were collected around the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led mission in 2017.
Date received: 20170704
Start date: 20170402
End date: 20170420
Seanames: North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean
West boundary: 166.5935814
East boundary: -159.971499
North boundary: 19.3011
South boundary: -0.37374
Observation types: in situ, survey, survey - biological, survey - coral reef, survey - swimmer/diver, tows, visual estimate, visual observation
Instrument types: GPS, swimmer/diver, visual estimate, visual observation
Datatypes: biological data, CORAL, DEBRIS, DEPTH - SENSOR, HABITAT - BENTHIC, MACROINVERTEBRATE CENSUS, REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER, WATER TEMPERATURE
Submitter: Kanemura, Troy
Submitting institution: US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Collecting institutions: US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Contributing projects: CORAL REEF STUDIES, CRCP, NCRMP, Pacific RAMP
Platforms: Hi'ialakai (33HL)
Number of observations:
Supplementary information: Submission Package ID: D8UE31
Availability date:
Metadata version: 12
Keydate: 2017-07-06 12:45:20+00
Editdate: 2024-02-18 19:09:06+00