NOAA scientists returned from American Samoa and the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument after conducting coral reef monitoring surveys. The team sailed south from Honolulu to Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef, where they completed their suite of surveys. After a 2,000 kilometer transit down to American Samoa, they visited the islands of Tutuila, Ofu, Olosega, Tau, Swains, and Rose atoll. On the way back to Honolulu, scientists stopped at Howland and Baker Islands to wrap up their surveys in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
To better understand these coral reef ecosystems, scientists:
- Counted fish
- Photographed coral
- Collected water samples
- Swapped out oceanographic instruments
- Collected juvenile fish
You can revisit their journey through an interactive StoryMap.
By the Numbers
During the day, scientists scuba dived to assess coral reef health and ocean conditions. They completed:
- 1,006 scuba dives
- 440 fish surveys
- 420 photomosaic surveys that will become 3D models of coral reefs
- 550 photoquadrat benthic surveys
- 261 water samples
- 110 temperature recorders deployments (108 recovered)
- 110 calcification units deployments (124 recovered)
- 60 bioerosion units deployments (43 recovered)
- 21 carbonate budget surveys
- 2 Diel instrument suites deployments
By the moonlight, they investigated the pelagic ecosystem by sampling for fish larvae, or juvenile fish. They conducted 139 tows for juvenile fish.
While in port in Tutuila, the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette held an outreach event for middle school and high school students. Students learned about survey methods, survey equipment, and larval samples. Divers also showcased safety gear, including the dive chamber. There were 108 participants from seven schools, who received 3 hours of learning and exploration.
These key surveys are part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program and are funded by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program and Ocean Acidification Program. Scientists aim to visit these islands every 3 years to assess reef conditions. Regular surveys of these reefs enable us to track reef health and impacts over time. The information they collected will be used to sustainably manage ocean resources for the human and marine communities who rely on them.
The team will now review the data and pull it all together—from temperature loggers to fish and coral surveys. Then we can share the story of how the last 3–8 years have been for our critical Pacific reefs, and what that means for fisheries and reefs worldwide. Data will be available about a year from now, so keep an eye out for summary data products.
Data from Past Missions
Data Summaries
- NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Data Visualization tool
- Digital Corals
