Data Management Plan

Oceanographic data, including conductivity, temperature, depth, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, and turbidity, collected during towed-diver surveys conducted from November 3-18, 2015 in the Main Hawaiian Islands to assess damage from the 2015 mass coral bleaching event

The oceanographic data included in this dataset were collected by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD; formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) from November 3-18, 2015 with funding from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. The purpose of the two-week research cruise was to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 mass coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands. A modified version of ESD's towed-diver method was used to conduct surveys around south Oahu, west Maui, Lanai, and west Hawaii island. The modified towed-diver method involved towing a pair of SCUBA divers behind a small boat for 50 minutes and covering a linear distance of ~2 kilometers per survey. Each diver was equipped with a towboard and attempted to maintain position ~1 meter above the surface of the reef for the duration of the survey. The oceanographic data was collected with a Seabird Electronics 19P CTD mounted to one of the towboards with two auxillary sensors connected to it, including a Seabird Electronics SBE43 oxygen sensor and a Wet labs FLNTURTD fluorometer and scattering meter. The data were collected continuously throughout each survey and included conductivity, temperature, depth, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, and turbidity. A complete towed-diver survey includes ten 5-minute segments, with oceanographic data averaged by 5-minute segment to correspond with the visual observations recorded by the benthic diver. At the conclusion of the mission, approximately 90 kilometers of 15-m wide transects at depths ranging from ~1 m to ~13 m were surveyed.

One-time data collection

2015-11-03 to 2015-11-18

W: -157.9472292246, E: -155.8293419903, N: 21.3030689284, S: 19.7485369637

Extent of underwater surveys in Main Hawaiian Islands in November 2015.

Table (digital)

Instrument(s): towboard-benthic
Platform(s): NOAA Ship Hi‘ialakai

Annette M DesRochers

Metadata Contact

annette.desrochers@noaa.gov

(808)725-5461

Noah Pomeroy

Data Steward

Yes

Unknown

Lineage Statement:
Modified towed-diver survey methodology to collect benthic observations, images, and oceanographic data around the main Hawaiian Islands to be used to assess impacts from the 2015 mass coral bleaching event.

Process Steps:

• A pair of scuba divers was towed about 1 m above the reef roughly 30 m behind a small boat at a constant speed of about 1.5 knots. Both divers collected visual observations of the benthos. Tow-boards were connected to the small boat by a bridle and towline. Each tow survey was typically 50 minutes long and covered about 2 km of habitat. Each survey was divided into 5-minute segments, with data recorded separately per segment to allow for geo-referencing of observations within the ~200 m covered during each segment. Throughout a survey, the latitude and longitude of the survey track was recorded at 5-second intervals on the small boat with a global positioning system (GPS). Following a survey, diver tracks were generated using this GPS data and a layback algorithm to account for position of the diver relative to the small boat. On one towboard, oceanographic data was collected continuously throughout each survey with a suite of mounted sensors recording conductivity, temperature, depth, fluorometry (chlorophyll-a), turbidity and dissolved oxygen. Sensors included a Seabird Electronics 19P CTD, and a Seabird Electronics SBE43 oxygen sensor and a Wet labs FLNTURTD fluorometer and scattering meter were connected to the 19P CTD. For each 5-minute tow segment, each diver made observation of the benthos, corals, and bleaching status (documented and archived separately). Oceanographic measurements were averaged by each 5-min segment of the tow survey to correspond with the benthic observations recorded by the divers. The other towboard was outfitted with a downward facing camera that captured photos of the benthos (also documented and archived separately). (Citation: Research Report: Observing and Documenting Predicted 2015/2016 Mass Coral Bleaching Events in Hawaii)

Observations, including species identification and coverage area estimates were periodically checked during the expedition for consistency between divers. Data entry was usually conducted on the same day as the surveys using MS Access. Data was quality controlled by the divers using a two-person system. The data was then run through rigorous quality control checks by the data management team before the data was migrated to the Oracle database. Given the size of the data set, there remains some possibility of typographical or other errors.

Yes

NMFS Office of Science and Technology

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32586

Metadata produced and maintained in accordance with the NOAA Data Documentation Procedural Directive: https://nosc.noaa.gov/EDMC/DAARWG/docs/EDMC_PD-Data_Documentation_v1.pdf

Yes

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Unknown

NCEI_MD

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center - Honolulu, HI

Unknown

NOAA IRC and NOAA Fisheries ITS resources and assets.