Continuous bottom temperature measurements in strategic areas of the Florida Reef Tract

This ongoing project began in 1988. A total of 38 subsurface recording thermographs have been deployed in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and at other selected locations on the Florida Reef Tract and associated hydrologic ecosystems. These instruments were originally programmed to record at 2 hour intervals, and are placed in permanent housings attached to suitable substrate. Data retrieval, servicing and reprogramming for continuous deployment have occurred, on average, annually. The collected data are made available to FKNMS Managers and others who monitor and assess environmental conditions that influence FKNMS areas of the Florida Reef Tract. The most recent round of data from each station is available on web sites, while an archival copy of these, plus older data, are maintained and available from the US National Oceanic Data Center (NODC) web site.

The purpose of this project is to document bottom seawater temperature in strategic areas of the Florida Reef Tract on a continuing basis and make that information available to management and research user groups. These thermographs provide valuable information regarding temperature conditions on the sea floor, which indicate the actual environmental exposures for benthic organisms. These data are complementary to sea surface temperatures obtained through other monitoring networks.

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Only the most recent sets of data from the monitoring stations are encompassed by this metadata. Older data sets are archived at the NOAA National Oceanic Data Center (NODC). The generic link structure for seeing one or more NODC archival data collections is http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/accesssion/####### where ####### is the 7 digit NODC accession number (leading zeros are not required, though). Multiple accessions can be returned using one URL by separating multiple accession numbers with a comma (no spaces). These 3 links below provide quick access to older records of FKNMS temperature data. http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/accession/2616,12845,2749,2750,39469,2757,39533,2753,19351,2781,39481,39817,2785,14184,39818,10426,39881,2788,14185,2789,14266,2806,14267 http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/accession/14320,2809,14268,29107,11143,39973,13553,11144,20554,12739,39986,2748,14269,14271,39240,14270,39239,2658,12769,40080,14121 http://data.nodc.noaa.gov/accession/13148,20553,13726,13114,14272,13166,14273,2772,39226,2786,39880,2807,10585,39987,10576,39899,13096,40039,14120

Temperatures are recorded from September 1995 to the present at intervals of every two hours. The span of data available from any single location varies according to deployment dates. The units also date and time stamp each observation. Beginning with re-deployments in Sept 2010, the units internal clock is set within one second of the official US time in UTC (http://www.time.gov/) and the sampling period has been reduced to every 10 minutes. For each deployment location, water depth is measured to the apparent sea surface and then corrected for tide stage to mean sea level. Thermograph locations are reported in decimal degrees of latitude and longitude rounded to the nearest tenth of a minute.

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NOAA/ONMS/FKNMS retains the right to analyze, synthesize and publish summaries of the FKNMS system-wide monitoring data. The PIs retain the right to be fully credited for having collected and processed the data. Following academic courtesy standards, the PIs and FKNMS sanctuary where the data were collected will be contacted and fully acknowledged in any subsequent publications in which any part of the data are used. Manuscripts resulting from the NOAA/FKNMS supported monitoring that are produced for publication in open literature, including refereed scientific journals, will acknowledge that the monitoring was conducted under the sponsorship of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The data set provided within this package/transmission is only as good as the quality assurance/quality control procedures outlined by the associated metadata reporting statement. The user bears all responsibility for its subsequent use/misuse in any further analyses or comparisons. The Federal government does not assume liability to the Recipient or third persons, nor will the Federal government reimburse or indemnify the Recipient for its liability due to any losses resulting in any way from the use of this data.

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NOAA/ONMS/FKNMS retains the right to analyze, synthesize and publish summaries of the FKNMS system-wide monitoring data. The PIs retain the right to be fully credited for original data generation. Following academic courtesy standards, the PIs (plus the FKNMS where the data were collected) must be contacted regarding any publications, and must be fully acknowledged in any publications in which any part of the data are used. Manuscripts resulting from the NOAA/FKNMS supported monitoring that are produced for publication in open literature, including refereed scientific journals, will acknowledge that the monitoring was conducted under the sponsorship of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The data set provided within this package/transmission is only as good as the quality assurance/quality control procedures outlined by the associated metadata reporting statement. The user bears all responsibility for its subsequent use/misuse in any further analyses or comparisons. The Federal government does not assume liability to the Recipient or third persons, nor will the Federal government reimburse or indemnify the Recipient for its liability due to any losses resulting in any way from the use of this data.

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A set of five thermographs were immersed in a circulating water bath within an insulated cooler, and set to record observations every 10 minutes for 40 hours. The maximum difference for every observation period was calculated. The maximum of these values, and the average, were then determined and used as potential indicators of in situ performance. The results of this assessment suggest that observations are valid, minimally, to +/- 0.01 degrees Centigrade, the average largest deviation among the five units. Specifications from the manufacturer follow: Measurement Range Temperature: -5 to +35 degrees Centigrade Initial Accuracy Temperature: + or - 0.002 degrees Centigrade Typical Stability Temperature: 0.0002 degrees Centigrade/month Resolution Temperature: 0.0001 degrees Centigrade Clock 5 seconds/month accuracy Recalibration by the manufacturer of two units suggests that, given the age of these thermographs, residual drift (instrument temperature - bath temperature) has stabilized to values on the order of +/- 0.0001 degrees Centigrade. | Quantitative Value: temerature: minimaly to + or - 0.01 degrees Centigrade | Quantitative Test Explanation: The SeaBird SBE 39 is a high-accuracy temperature recorder with internal battery and non-volatile memory for deployment at depths up to 10500 m (34,400 ft). The SBE 39 is intended for moorings or other long-term, fixed-site applications. Calibration coefficients are stored in EEPROM, and uploaded data is in ASCII engineering units (degrees Centigrade). The 39's thermistor has a long history of exceptional accuracy and stability; drift is typically less than 0.002 degrees Centigrade per year. With an external thermistor, the SBE 39 has a 0.5-second time constant, for fast sampling.

Positions are reported only to the nearest 0.1 of a minute latitude and longitude.; Quantitative Value: 180.0 meters, Test that produced the value: No test conducted. Locations are only reported to the nearest 0.1 of a minute in latitude and longitude

At most deployments, depth is measured with a measuring tape from the thermograph to the apparent sea surface. This measurement is then corrected for tide stage at the time of measurement to estimate depth below Mean Sea Level.; Quantitative Value: 0.5 meters, Test that produced the value: No test of depth accuracy has been conducted. Accuracy depends primarily on sea state and atmospheric pressure. The value listed is merely an estimate.

Omissions in the data stream from any particular station may occur due to loss of battery power to record observations. Gaps will also occur during refurbishment of thermographs at a given station. Records prior to and post-deployment are removed from the data stream. Any erroneous records (e.g., negative values) are also removed from the data stream.

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