Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Water Chemistry of the Coral Reefs across the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands from Water Samples collected from 2012 to 2014

Water samples are collected and analyzed to assess spatial and temporal variation in the seawater carbonate systems of coral reef ecosystems in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP).

Laboratory experiments reveal calcification rates of crustose coralline algae (CCA) are strongly correlated to seawater aragonite saturation state. Predictions of reduced coral calcification rates, due to ocean acidification, suggest that coral reef communities will undergo ecological phase shifts as calcifying organisms are negatively impacted by changing seawater chemistry.

The data described here are from water samples collected at existing, long-term monitoring sites during NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) led NCRMP missions around the American Samoa and the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2012, the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2013, and Wake Island and the Mariana Archipelago in 2014. Two water samples are typically collected from each siteâone at the reef and one at the surface directly above the reefâand a third sample may also be collected approximately 1 km offshore from the site. The samples are processed by ESD and sent to NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) to be analyzed for total alkalinity (TA) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). From these constituents, alongside temperature, salinity, and depth data, other constituents of the seawater carbonate system can be calculated. These monitoring data provide a baseline for tracking reef carbonate system changes due to globally increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Tags: 587, 743, aguihan, aguihan island (aguijan) (14n145e0006), aguihan island reefs, alamagan island, alamagan island (17n145e0002), alkalinity, american samoa, american samoa (14s170w0000), aquatic habitat, asuncion island, asuncion island (19n145e0001), baker island, baker island (00n176w0001), biosphere, carbon dioxide, carbonate chemistry, central pacific ocean, chemistry monitoring and assessment, cnmi, coastal processes, commonwealth of the northern mariana islands, conductivity, coral reef conservation program, coral reef ecosystem division, coral reef ecosystem program, coral reef studies, coral reefs, corals, country/territory, cred, crep, depth - observation, dissolved gases, dissolved inorganic carbon (dic), doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc, earth science, ecosystem monitoring and assessment, ecosystem sciences division, equatorial pacific ocean, esd, farallon de pajaros, farallon de pajaros (20n144e0001), french frigate shoals (24n166w0001), guam, guam (13n144e0000), guguan, guguan island, guguan island (17n145e0001), hawaii, hawaii (21n160w0000), hawaii island, hawaii island (19n155w0003), hawaiian islands, hawaiian islands (21n157w0027), hi'ialakai, honolulu, howland island, howland island (00s176w0001), inorganic carbon, jarvis island (00s160w0001), johnston atoll, johnston atoll (16n169w0001), kauai, kauai island, kauai island (22n159w0001), kingman reef (06n162w0001), kure atoll (28n178w0001), lanai island, lanai island (20n156w0002), line islands, lisianski island (25n173w0001), main hawaiian islands, manu'a group, manu'a islands (14s170w0038), mariana archipelago, mariana islands, marianas, marianas trench marine national monument, maro reef (25n170w0001), maug, maug island, maug island (20n145e0001), maui, maui island, maui island (20n156w0004), mhi, molokai island, molokai island (21n157w0001), national coral reef monitoring program, national marine fisheries service, niihau island, niihau island (21n160w0001), nmfs, noaa, north pacific ocean, northern mariana islands, northern mariana islands ( cnmi ) (18n146e0000), northwestern hawaiian islands, northwestern hawaiian islands (28n178w0000), numeric data sets, nw pacific (limit-180), nwhi, oahu (21n157w0003), oahu island, ocean acidification, ocean acidification program, ocean basin, ocean chemistry, oceans, ofu island (14s169w0013), olosega island (14s169w0014), pacific islands fisheries science center, pacific ocean, pacific reef and assessment monitoring program, pacific reef assessment and monitoring program: monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the us pacific i, pacific remote island areas, pacific remote islands marine national monument, pagan, pagan island, pagan island (18n145e0001), palmyra atoll (05n162w0001), papahanaumokuakea marine national monument, pearl and hermes reef (27n176w0001), ph, pifsc, pressure - water, pria, ramp, reef assessment and monitoring program, reef habitat, reef monitoring and assessment, rose atoll (14s168w0001), rose atoll marine national monument, rota, rota island, rota island ( luta ) (14n145e0007), saipan, saipan island, saipan island (15n145e0002), salinity, sarigan island, sarigan island (16n145e0003), south pacific ocean, swains atoll (11s171w0001), ta'u island (14s169w0012), tinian, tinian island (14n145e0005), tinian island reefs, total alkalinity (ta), tutuila island (14s170w0016), u.s. department of commerce, united states of america, us doc, usa minor outlying islands, wake atoll, wake atoll (19n167e0001), water chemistry, water density, water quality, water temperature, western pacific ocean, zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce