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Benthic Surveys in Aua, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys from 2022-09-12 to 2022-09-22 (NCEI Accession 0270551)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 04:14 AM | Dataset Last Updated: January 30, 2023 at 12:00 AM
This dataset describes the imagery collected in 2022 of Aua Reef, American Samoa by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of NOAA, funded by the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), to study effects of land-based source pollution by establishing biological, physical, and chemical baselines. In September 2022, NOAA scientists conducted benthic survey protocols at 18 study sites in Aua, American Samoa. The surveys implemented a one-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design and the survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0 to 6 m depth range. Photoquadrat benthic images were collected along belt transect surveys of coral demography according to protocols established by NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in 2015. Thirty images were collected along one, haphazardly laid, 30-m transects. Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along belt transect with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Photographs were taken every 1 m from the 1 m to the 30 m mark. This work generates 30 photographs per site, which are later analyzed by ESD staff and partners using the computer program CoralNet. This analysis is the basis for estimating benthic cover and composition at each site, which is documented and archived separately. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than more transects per site. Therefore, site-to-site comparisons should proceed with caution.

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0270551 PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES camera in situ CHARTERED VESSEL NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
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  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
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describedByType application/octet-steam
description This dataset describes the imagery collected in 2022 of Aua Reef, American Samoa by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of NOAA, funded by the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), to study effects of land-based source pollution by establishing biological, physical, and chemical baselines. In September 2022, NOAA scientists conducted benthic survey protocols at 18 study sites in Aua, American Samoa. The surveys implemented a one-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design and the survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0 to 6 m depth range. Photoquadrat benthic images were collected along belt transect surveys of coral demography according to protocols established by NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in 2015. Thirty images were collected along one, haphazardly laid, 30-m transects. Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along belt transect with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Photographs were taken every 1 m from the 1 m to the 30 m mark. This work generates 30 photographs per site, which are later analyzed by ESD staff and partners using the computer program CoralNet. This analysis is the basis for estimating benthic cover and composition at each site, which is documented and archived separately. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than more transects per site. Therefore, site-to-site comparisons should proceed with caution.
distribution 
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    "description": "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2023: Benthic Surveys in Aua, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2022, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67994.",
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/0270551.xml
issued 2022-11-15T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "0270551",
  "PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES",
  "camera",
  "in situ",
  "CHARTERED VESSEL",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)",
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  "PIFSC",
  "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS > National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "31303",
  "Linking watershed management actions to reef health in American Samoa",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)",
  "Visual Images > Habitats",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING > VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS > VISIBLE IMAGERY",
  "PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES (Measured)",
  "CAMERA > CAMERA",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Aua (14S170W0010)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Pago Pago Harbor > Aua (14S170W0010)",
  "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN",
  "Central Pacific Ocean",
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landingPage https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2023-01-30T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
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references 
[
  "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67994",
  "https://doi.org/10.25923/ws5s-km69",
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0275987"
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rights otherRestrictions
spatial -170.665,-14.2881,-170.669,-14.2717
temporal 2022-09-12T00:00:00+00:00/2022-09-22T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title Benthic Surveys in Aua, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys from 2022-09-12 to 2022-09-22 (NCEI Accession 0270551)

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