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    • 2023 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Long-Term Monitoring of the Coral Reef Caps of East Flower Garden Bank and West Flower Garden Bank (NCEI Accession 0306920)

    Metadata Updated: September 2, 2025

    This dataset contains raw and processed data from an annual long-term monitoring program documenting fish and benthic community observations, along with water quality measurements, at East Flower Garden Bank (EFGB) and West Flower Garden Bank (WFGB). These two sites are part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), located in the northwestern Gulf of America. Monitoring began in 1989 and is funded by FGBNMS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, with support from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. EFGB and WFGB are coral reef-capped features that form part of a discontinuous arc of reef environments along the outer continental shelf. They rise from salt dome formations located approximately 190 km south of the Texas-Louisiana border and include habitats ranging from 16 to 166 meters in depth. The shallow bank caps lie within the photic zone and support diverse coral, algal, invertebrate, and fish communities, many of which are shared with Caribbean reef systems. Benthic community data are derived from benthic photo analysis using Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe). Fish surveys are conducted annually using a modified Bohnsack and Bannerot stationary point count method, and results are recorded in Excel spreadsheets. Water quality parameters (e.g., temperature, salinity, turbidity, nutrients) are obtained from moored conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instruments, water samples, and quarterly profiling of the water column. Temperature and salinity records are reduced to daily averages for long-term trend analysis.

    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.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date 2025-08-12T17:04:10Z
    Metadata Created Date September 2, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date September 2, 2025
    Reference Date(s) August 12, 2025 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Graphic not available.

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2025-08-12T17:04:10Z
    Metadata Created Date September 2, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date September 2, 2025
    Reference Date(s) August 12, 2025 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0306920
    Access Constraints Cite as: O'Connell, Kelly; Eisenbach, Olivia J.; Johnston, Michelle A.; Hannum, Ryan; French, Donavon; Nuttall, Marissa F.; Cresswell, Jacque; Caporaso, Alicia L. (2025). 2023 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Long-Term Monitoring of the Coral Reef Caps of East Flower Garden Bank and West Flower Garden Bank (NCEI Accession 0306920). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Unpublished Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0306920. 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 -93.58
    Bbox North Lat 29.28
    Bbox South Lat 27.81
    Bbox West Long -94.82
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Graphic not available.
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0306920
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 9bf244ff-ec6a-4c0d-9f29-afd9559d8495
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence Data in this archival information package are not currently available for public download from NCEI. Please contact NCEI directly for access to these data., accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-94.82, 27.81], [-93.58, 27.81], [-93.58, 29.28], [-94.82, 29.28], [-94.82, 27.81]]]}
    Progress pending
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2023-01-01
    Temporal Extent End 2023-12-31

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