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Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Geospatial, Temperature, and Depth Data Collected during Towed-diver Surveys of the U.S. Pacific Reefs from 2000 to 2017

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: July 14, 2026 at 09:39 PM | Dataset Last Updated: May 01, 2019 at 12:00 AM
The geospatial, temperature and depth data included in this dataset are from towed-diver surveys (also referred to as towboard surveys) of coral reef ecosystems conducted during Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) cruises to the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2000 to 2017 by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (formerly known as the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). Generally, the towed-diver survey method involved towing a pair of SCUBA divers—one benthic and one fish—behind a small boat for 50 minutes, approximately following the ~15-m depth contour and covering a linear distance of about 2-3 kilometers per survey. A complete 50-minute towed-diver survey is divided into ten 5-minute segments, and up to 6 towed-diver surveys are conducted per day. Each diver was equipped with a towboard outfitted with instrumentation and used to record observations, and the divers attempted to maintain position ~1 meter above the surface of the reef for the duration of the survey. Both towboards were equipped with a SeaBird™ SBE39 temperature/depth sensor that recorded water temperature and depth every 5 seconds. The survey tracks were also recorded every 5 seconds using a GPS receiver located on the small boat. The survey tracks were georeferenced and a script was applied to adjust the GPS waypoints from the boat's position to the estimated positions of the divers while conducting the surveys, correlate the associated temperature and depth data, and lace the waypoints together into 5-min segments and tow tracks. The dataset includes the adjusted dive points, and the segments and tow tracks are provided as shapefiles.

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