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    • Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative: surveys for percent and severity of bleached coral cover across the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2019-08-20 to 2019-12-07 (NCEI Accession 0209239)

    Metadata Updated: June 1, 2025

    The data described here result from coral bleaching surveys across the Hawaiian Archipelago from August 20 to December 7, 2019. The data provide information on live coral cover and the percentage and average severity that was bleached, as well as taxa-specific metrics (live cover and the percentage and severity that was bleached). The data were collected during a multi-institutional effort by the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative (HCBC) to build a comprehensive dataset of the spatial extent and severity of bleaching in the Hawaiian Archipelago during the peak of the forecasted 2019 coral bleaching event. This dataset is a compilation of data supplied by: NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD); State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR); Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Sandin Lab; Arizona State University (ASU), Asner Lab; National Park Service (NPS), Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN); Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), Coral Reef Ecology Lab; and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Hawaii.

    Coral bleaching surveys were conducted at both fixed and random sites using varying methods per institution that included: rapid visual assessments, photoquadrat assessments, and transect-intercept assessments. Metrics that were recorded include live coral cover, the percentage of living coral that was bleached, and the average severity of bleached corals. Surveys conducted in the Main Hawaiian Islands were conducted during shore-based missions, whereas surveys in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were performed opportunistically during the regularly scheduled NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) mission.

    Random sites were selected by each institution in their own ways, as follows:

    • NOAA ESD: A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was used; the StRS method effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site

    • DAR: Randomly chose sites by covering shorelines at depths from 1-15ft with hard bottom substrate, and aligned transects with shoreline access points

    • TNC: Sites were randomly selected using ARC-GIS within a polygon bounded by 15' and 50' depth clines and clipped to hard bottom habitat, based on NOAA habitat maps

    • HIMB: Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology's Coral Reef Ecology lab conducted coral bleaching surveys in Kaneohe Bay following methods outlined in the publications Bahr et al. 2015 and Bahr et al. 2017.

    • ASU: Sites were selected based on two factors: (1) bleaching reports sent into hawaiicoral.org (ASU, DAR, NOAA website) to locate potential hotspots on the Big Island; and (2) areas not reported as potential coldspots. At each selected "site", randomly selected ___location GPS points constrained only by isobaths of 5, 10, and 15m

    • PACN: The National Park Service (NPS) National Park Service Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN) conducted photoquadrat assessments of coral bleaching using the methods outlined in the PACN NPS Coral Bleaching Overview 2019, NPS_PACN_BenthicMonitoringSOP, and NPS_PACN_BenthicImageAnalysisSOP.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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    Dates

    Metadata Date 2025-05-16T15:33:02Z
    Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date June 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) April 23, 2020 (publication), April 16, 2021 (revision)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2025-05-16T15:33:02Z
    Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date June 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) April 23, 2020 (publication), April 16, 2021 (revision)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0209239
    Access Constraints Cite as: Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Division of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Coral Reef Ecology Lab, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology; National Park Service Pacific Island Inventory and Monitoring Network; Arizona State University (2020). Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative: surveys for percent and severity of bleached coral cover across the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2019-08-20 to 2019-12-07 (NCEI Accession 0209239). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0209239. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long -155.01512
    Bbox North Lat 28.459215
    Bbox South Lat 19.07672
    Bbox West Long -178.383718
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0209239
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 0040fa83-d5d5-4f01-82ca-a0838dec005a
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-178.383718, 19.07672], [-155.01512, 19.07672], [-155.01512, 28.459215], [-178.383718, 28.459215], [-178.383718, 19.07672]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2019-08-20
    Temporal Extent End 2019-12-07

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