Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 02, 2026 at 11:20 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 01, 2016 at 12:00 AM

A team from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 mass coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys. Areas surveyed included south Oahu, west Maui, Lana’i, and west Hawaii island. Over the course of 10 survey days, the team surveyed approximately 90 km of 15-m wide transects at depths ranging from 2 to 10 m. Data provided in this dataset include visual estimates recorded by towed divers of percentage of live coral that was pale and bleached, as well as presence/absence data of condition by generic composition. Analysis of observer data reveals estimates of live coral affected by the event (pale or bleached) show a regional mean of 38.8% (+/- 1.96% CI95), with large variation in impact apparent between transects on the same island separated by as little as 13 km. Additionally, instruments mounted on the towboards collected other in-situ data that are documented separately. A downward-facing DSLR camera with strobes collected photographic quadrat data by capturing an image of the benthos at 15-second intervals during the surveys. Oceanographic data was collected continuously throughout each survey with a suite of mounted sensors recording conductivity, temperature, depth, flourometry (chlorophyll-a), turbidity and dissolved oxygen. The towed-diver visual estimate data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Resources

3 resources available

VS_BENT_TDS_BLEACHING_OBS.csv

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
GCMD Keyword Forum Page

TEXT/HTML

Visit Page
Full Metadata Record

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": "Not provided - Contact data.gov", "hasEmail": "mailto:datagovsupport@gsa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	A team from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 mass coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys. Areas surveyed included south Oahu, west Maui, Lana’i, and west Hawaii island. Over the course of 10 survey days, the team surveyed approximately 90 km of 15-m wide transects at depths ranging from 2 to 10 m. Data provided in this dataset include visual estimates recorded by towed divers of percentage of live coral that was pale and bleached, as well as presence/absence data of condition by generic composition. Analysis of observer data reveals estimates of live coral affected by the event (pale or bleached) show a regional mean of 38.8% (+/- 1.96% CI95), with large variation in impact apparent between transects on the same island separated by as little as 13 km. Additionally, instruments mounted on the towboards collected other in-situ data that are documented separately. A downward-facing DSLR camera with strobes collected photographic quadrat data by capturing an image of the benthos at 15-second intervals during the surveys. Oceanographic data was collected continuously throughout each survey with a suite of mounted sensors recording conductivity, temperature, depth, flourometry (chlorophyll-a), turbidity and dissolved oxygen. The towed-diver visual estimate data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.
distribution	[ { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "VS_BENT_TDS_BLEACHING_OBS.csv", "accessURL": "https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157624", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Observations from towed-diver surveys of benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted around the Main Hawaiian Islands (HA1602) in 2015.", "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). 2026. GCMD Keywords, Version 24. 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": "Full Metadata Record", "accessURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32588", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" } ]
identifier	https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nmfs/pifsc/iso/xml/32588.xml
issued	2016-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "31075", "Observing and Documenting Predicted 2015/2016 Mass Coral Bleaching Events in Hawaii", "Numeric Data Sets > Biology", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Bleaching > Bleaching Resistance", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching > Bleaching Alert Area", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching > Bleaching Thermal Stress", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Photic Zone Corals", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Habitats", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Dead percentage", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Live percentage", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities", "CORAL", "CORAL-BLEACHING", "REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER", "survey", "survey - biological", "survey - coral reef", "survey - swimmer/diver", "tows", "visual estimate", "HI'IALAKAI", "CORAL REEF STUDIES", "Coral Reef Conservation Program", "US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Oahu (21N157W0003)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Maui Island (20N156W0004)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii Island > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Lanai Island > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Maui Island > Maui Island (20N156W0004)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Oahu Island > Oahu (21N157W0003)", "North Pacific Ocean", "CRED", "CREP", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "PIFSC", "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "TDS", "Towed-diver surveys", "towboard", "towed diver", "MHI", "Main Hawaiian Islands", "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "Ocean and Climate Change" ]
landingPage	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32588
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2016-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "@type": "org:Organization" }
rights	otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial	-155.82934199,19.74853696,-157.94722922,21.30306893
temporal	2015-11-03T00:00:00+00:00/2015-11-18T00:00:00+00:00
theme	[ "geospatial" ]
title	Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015

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

Location