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National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Erosion data from bioerosion monitoring units (BMUs) deployed at select U.S. coral reef sites in the Atlantic Ocean

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 08:14 AM | Dataset Last Updated: January 15, 2026 at 12:00 AM
The erosion rates provided in this collection were collected from bioerosion monitoring units (BMUs) retrieved at existing long-term monitoring sites during NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) Coral Program led NCRMP missions around U.S. coral reefs sites in the Atlantic Ocean. This collection of data contains BMU data from permanent long-term monitoring sites at U.S. coral reef sites in the Atlantic Ocean that were analyzed at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). BMUs are constructed from clean coral skeletons and left on the reef for a period of 3 years. BMUs are CT scanned for changes in density, volume and mass in which rates of bioerosion can be assessed using Amira analysis software (FEI). Annual erosion and accretion rates can be determined from these data in terms of loss of reef structure volume as well as mass in grams of calcium carbonate. Accretion rates given in this dataset were determined by finding the volume of non-original carbonate material found on the external surface of the BMUs divided by the number of years the BMU was deployed on the reef. These rates can detect accretion signals when calcifying organisms, such as corals or algae, have grown on their exteriors. Rates of macroboring were determined by changes in the internal volume of the BMUs (e.g., that removed by bore holes) divided by the number of years the BMU was deployed on the reef. Macroboring can occur from eroders such as, clionaid sponges, annelids and other macroboring fauna.

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0184291 0209107 0224178 0244988 0276237 0287050 0300480 0311407

Complete Metadata
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accessLevel non-public
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describedByType application/octet-steam
description The erosion rates provided in this collection were collected from bioerosion monitoring units (BMUs) retrieved at existing long-term monitoring sites during NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) Coral Program led NCRMP missions around U.S. coral reefs sites in the Atlantic Ocean. This collection of data contains BMU data from permanent long-term monitoring sites at U.S. coral reef sites in the Atlantic Ocean that were analyzed at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). BMUs are constructed from clean coral skeletons and left on the reef for a period of 3 years. BMUs are CT scanned for changes in density, volume and mass in which rates of bioerosion can be assessed using Amira analysis software (FEI). Annual erosion and accretion rates can be determined from these data in terms of loss of reef structure volume as well as mass in grams of calcium carbonate. Accretion rates given in this dataset were determined by finding the volume of non-original carbonate material found on the external surface of the BMUs divided by the number of years the BMU was deployed on the reef. These rates can detect accretion signals when calcifying organisms, such as corals or algae, have grown on their exteriors. Rates of macroboring were determined by changes in the internal volume of the BMUs (e.g., that removed by bore holes) divided by the number of years the BMU was deployed on the reef. Macroboring can occur from eroders such as, clionaid sponges, annelids and other macroboring fauna.
distribution 
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/NCRMP-BMU-Atlantic.xml
issued 2019-01-31T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
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  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Erosion > Bioerosion",
  "Monitoring",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > COASTAL PROCESSES > CORAL REEFS",
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landingPage https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2026-01-15T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
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  "@type": "org:Organization"
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references 
[
  "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1742"
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rights otherRestrictions
spatial -64.9845,18.344,-80.618,24.8975
temporal 2013-06-19T00:00:00+00:00/2013-06-19T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Erosion data from bioerosion monitoring units (BMUs) deployed at select U.S. coral reef sites in the Atlantic Ocean

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