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National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification Rates of Crustose Coralline Algae Derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) Deployed across the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2010 to 2019

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 02, 2026 at 11:21 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 01, 2022 at 12:00 AM
The calcification rate data described here are derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) that were deployed and retrieved at long-term climate monitoring sites during NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) led National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) missions around the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2013, 2016, and 2019, as well as pre-NCRMP missions in 2010 and 2012. CAUs are PVC settlement plates that facilitate the recruitment and colonization of crustose coralline algae, hard corals, and other reef calcifiers. Laboratory experiments show that CCA and coral calcification rates are strongly correlated with seawater chemistry, and shifts in carbonate chemistry conditions due to ocean acidification could lead to reduced calcification and accretion rates and ecological phase shifts in coral reef communities. Coral reef calcium carbonate accretion rates can be estimated by measuring the change in weight of the CAUs between deployment and retrieval. Monitoring net accretion over successive deployments allows for the detection of changes in reef calcification rates over time. Five units were deployed on the seafloor at each CAU site for 3 years. The number of processed CAUs for a site may be less than the number deployed, either because the units were lost or damaged at sea and therefore not recovered, or in rare instances, due to errors during laboratory processing. This study provides information about spatial and temporal patterns of reef carbonate calcification and accretion rates and serves as a basis for detecting changes associated with changing seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. These data can also be used in comparative analyses across natural gradients, thereby assisting efforts to determine whether key reef-building taxa can acclimatize to changing oceanographic environments. These data will have immediate, direct impacts on predictions of reef resilience in a higher carbon dioxide (CO2) world and on the design of reef management strategies.

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1221 409 587 743 C204 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP): Biennial monitoring for the US Pacific Islands and Atolls National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Ocean Acidification - Quantification of Calcification and Accretion Rates of Corals and Crustose Coralline Algae across the Pacific Ocean Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the US Pacific Islands and Atolls

Complete Metadata
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accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
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describedByType application/octet-steam
description The calcification rate data described here are derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) that were deployed and retrieved at long-term climate monitoring sites during NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) led National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) missions around the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2013, 2016, and 2019, as well as pre-NCRMP missions in 2010 and 2012. CAUs are PVC settlement plates that facilitate the recruitment and colonization of crustose coralline algae, hard corals, and other reef calcifiers. Laboratory experiments show that CCA and coral calcification rates are strongly correlated with seawater chemistry, and shifts in carbonate chemistry conditions due to ocean acidification could lead to reduced calcification and accretion rates and ecological phase shifts in coral reef communities. Coral reef calcium carbonate accretion rates can be estimated by measuring the change in weight of the CAUs between deployment and retrieval. Monitoring net accretion over successive deployments allows for the detection of changes in reef calcification rates over time. Five units were deployed on the seafloor at each CAU site for 3 years. The number of processed CAUs for a site may be less than the number deployed, either because the units were lost or damaged at sea and therefore not recovered, or in rare instances, due to errors during laboratory processing. This study provides information about spatial and temporal patterns of reef carbonate calcification and accretion rates and serves as a basis for detecting changes associated with changing seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. These data can also be used in comparative analyses across natural gradients, thereby assisting efforts to determine whether key reef-building taxa can acclimatize to changing oceanographic environments. These data will have immediate, direct impacts on predictions of reef resilience in a higher carbon dioxide (CO2) world and on the design of reef management strategies.
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nmfs/pifsc/iso/xml/36071.xml
issued 2016-12-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
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  "1221",
  "409",
  "587",
  "743",
  "C204 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP): Biennial monitoring for the US Pacific Islands and Atolls",
  "National Coral Reef Monitoring Program",
  "Ocean Acidification - Quantification of Calcification and Accretion Rates of Corals and Crustose Coralline Algae across the Pacific Ocean",
  "Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the US Pacific Islands and Atolls",
  "Numeric Data Sets > Calcification Rate",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Cover",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Growth > Calcification Rate",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Calcareous Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose Coralline Algae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Encrusting Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Fleshy Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU)",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Calcification",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Carbonate Chemistry",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Ocean Acidification",
  "CALCIFICATION",
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  "laboratory analyses",
  "CORAL REEF STUDIES",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program",
  "National Coral Reef Monitoring Program",
  "Pacific Reef and Assessment Monitoring Program",
  "US DOC; NOAA; Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Ocean Acidification Program",
  "US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Kauai Island (22N159W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Molokai Island (21N157W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > French Frigate Shoals (24N166W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Kure Atoll (28N178W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Lisianski Island (25N173W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Oahu (21N157W0003)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Pearl and Hermes Reef (27N176W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Kauai > Niihau Island (21N160W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Maui Island (20N156W0004)",
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  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Niihau Island > Niihau Island (21N160W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Oahu Island > Oahu (21N157W0003)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > French Frigate Shoals (24N166W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Kure Atoll (28N178W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Lisianski Island (25N173W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Pearl and Hermes Reef (27N176W0001)",
  "Coastal Waters of Hawaii",
  "North Pacific Ocean",
  "Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument",
  "HI'IALAKAI",
  "OSCAR ELTON SETTE",
  "RAINIER",
  "CRED",
  "CREP",
  "Calcification Plate",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
  "ESD",
  "Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "HARAMP",
  "Hawaiian Archipelago Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program",
  "NCRMP",
  "Ocean Acidification",
  "PIFSC",
  "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "RAMP",
  "Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program",
  "Settling Plate",
  "calcification accretion unit",
  "triennial",
  "Hawaiian Archipelago",
  "MHI",
  "Main Hawaiian Islands",
  "NWHI",
  "Northwestern Hawaiian Islands",
  "Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU)",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
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landingPage https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36071
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2022-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
rights otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial -166.11682,23.62803,-178.378433,28.45363
temporal 2010-09-07T00:00:00+00:00/2013-09-13T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification Rates of Crustose Coralline Algae Derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) Deployed across the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2010 to 2019

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