Dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, nitrate, phosphate, temperature and other variables collected from time series observations at Heron Island Reef Flat from 2010-06-01 to 2010-12-13 (NCEI Accession 0127256)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 02:34 AM | Dataset Last Updated: April 08, 2015 at 12:00 AM

This dataset contains carbonate chemistry and environmental parameters data that were collected from a 200-day time series monitoring on the Heron Island reef flat near the Great Barrier Reef. Understanding the temporal dynamics of present thermal and pH exposure on coral reefs is crucial for elucidating reef response to future global change. Diel ranges in temperature and carbonate chemistry parameters coupled with seasonal changes in the mean conditions define periods during the year when a reef habitat is exposed to anomalous thermal and/or pH exposure. In this study we define anomalous conditions as pH and temperature values that exceed a threshold that we have operationally defined for each variable. We present a 200-day time series from June through December 2010 of carbonate chemistry and environmental parameters measured on the Heron Island reef flat. These data reveal that aragonite saturation state, pH, and pCO2 were primarily modulated by biologically-driven, changes in dissolved organic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA), rather than salinity and temperature. The largest diel temperature ranges occurred in austral spring, in October (1.5 - 6.6 degrees Celsius) and lowest diel ranges (0.9 - 3.2 degrees Celsius) were observed in July, at the peak of winter. We observed large diel total pH variability, with a maximum range of 7.7 - 8.5 total pH units, with minimum diel average pH values occurring during spring and maximum during fall. As with many other reefs, the nighttime pH minima on the reef flat were far lower than pH values predicted for the open ocean by 2100. DIC and TA both increased from June (end of Fall) to December (end of Spring). Using this high-resolution dataset, we developed exposure metrics of pH and temperature individually for intensity, duration, and severity of low pH and high temperature events, as well as a combined metric. Periods of anomalous temperature and pH exposure were asynchronous on the Heron Island reef flat, which underlines the importance of understanding the dynamics of co-occurrence of multiple stressors on coastal ecosystems.

Resources

9 resources available

Project Metadata

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
NCEI Dataset Landing Page

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
Descriptive Information

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
HTTPS

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
FTP

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system/oceans/Moorings/Heron_Island.html

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
GCMD Keyword Forum Page

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
NCEI Contact Information

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

Complete Metadata

@type	dcat:Dataset
accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:ncei.info@noaa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	This dataset contains carbonate chemistry and environmental parameters data that were collected from a 200-day time series monitoring on the Heron Island reef flat near the Great Barrier Reef. Understanding the temporal dynamics of present thermal and pH exposure on coral reefs is crucial for elucidating reef response to future global change. Diel ranges in temperature and carbonate chemistry parameters coupled with seasonal changes in the mean conditions define periods during the year when a reef habitat is exposed to anomalous thermal and/or pH exposure. In this study we define anomalous conditions as pH and temperature values that exceed a threshold that we have operationally defined for each variable. We present a 200-day time series from June through December 2010 of carbonate chemistry and environmental parameters measured on the Heron Island reef flat. These data reveal that aragonite saturation state, pH, and pCO2 were primarily modulated by biologically-driven, changes in dissolved organic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA), rather than salinity and temperature. The largest diel temperature ranges occurred in austral spring, in October (1.5 - 6.6 degrees Celsius) and lowest diel ranges (0.9 - 3.2 degrees Celsius) were observed in July, at the peak of winter. We observed large diel total pH variability, with a maximum range of 7.7 - 8.5 total pH units, with minimum diel average pH values occurring during spring and maximum during fall. As with many other reefs, the nighttime pH minima on the reef flat were far lower than pH values predicted for the open ocean by 2100. DIC and TA both increased from June (end of Fall) to December (end of Spring). Using this high-resolution dataset, we developed exposure metrics of pH and temperature individually for intensity, duration, and severity of low pH and high temperature events, as well as a combined metric. Periods of anomalous temperature and pH exposure were asynchronous on the Heron Island reef flat, which underlines the importance of understanding the dynamics of co-occurrence of multiple stressors on coastal ecosystems.
distribution	[ { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "Project Metadata", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/ncei/ocads/metadata/0127256.html", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "NCEI Dataset Landing Page", "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.7289/v55m63mf", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "Descriptive Information", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/oas/127256", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "HTTPS", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/download/127256", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "FTP", "accessURL": "ftp://ftp-oceans.ncei.noaa.gov/nodc/archive/arc0074/0127256/", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP).", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "OCADS website", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system/oceans/Moorings/Heron_Island.html", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system/oceans/Moorings/Heron_Island.html", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Related resource", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page", "accessURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "NCEI Contact Information", "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Information for contacts at NCEI.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" } ]
identifier	https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/0127256.xml
issued	2015-04-06T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "0127256", "CURRENT SPEED", "DISSOLVED INORGANIC CARBON (DIC)", "NITRATE", "pH", "phosphate", "PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVE RADIATION (PAR)", "SALINITY", "total alkalinity", "water depth", "WATER TEMPERATURE", "carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer", "CTD", "PAR Sensor", "pH sensor", "titrator", "time series", "Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans", "Scripps Institution of Oceanography", "University of Alaska Fairbanks", "Scripps Institution of Oceanography", "NODC Ocean Acidification Scientific Data Stewardship (OADS)", "Coral Sea", "South Pacific Ocean", "oceanography", "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC > National Oceanographic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "Ocean Carbon and Acidification Data System (OCADS) Project", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > WATER DEPTH", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > ALKALINITY", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > INORGANIC CARBON", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > NITRATE", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PH", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PHOSPHATE", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CIRCULATION > OCEAN CURRENTS", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > WATER TEMPERATURE", "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SALINITY/DENSITY > SALINITY", "Time series", "DIC", "Nitrate", "PAR", "Phosphate", "Salinity", "TA", "Temperature", "Water Depth (m)", "Water Velocity", "pCO2", "pH", "CO2 ANALYZERS > CO2 ANALYZERS", "CTD > Conductivity, Temperature, Depth", "PAR SENSORS > Photosynthetically Active Radiation Sensors", "PH METERS > PH METERS", "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN", "Heron Island Reef Flat, Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia" ]
landingPage	https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2015-04-08T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information", "@type": "org:Organization" }
references	[ "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system", "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system/oceans/Moorings/Heron_Island.html" ]
rights	otherRestrictions
spatial	151.92,-23.45,151.92,-23.45
temporal	2010-06-01T00:00:00+00:00/2010-12-13T00:00:00+00:00
theme	[ "geospatial" ]
title	Dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, nitrate, phosphate, temperature and other variables collected from time series observations at Heron Island Reef Flat from 2010-06-01 to 2010-12-13 (NCEI Accession 0127256)

Have questions or suggestions about this dataset? Reach out to the contact below.

Location