Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Geospatial, Temperature, and Depth Data Collected during Towed-diver Surveys of the U.S. Pacific Reefs from 2000 to 2017

The geospatial, temperature and depth data included in this dataset are from towed-diver surveys (also referred to as towboard surveys) of coral reef ecosystems conducted during Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) cruises to the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2000 to 2017 by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (formerly known as the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC).

Generally, the towed-diver survey method involved towing a pair of SCUBA diversâone benthic and one fishâbehind a small boat for 50 minutes, approximately following the ~15-m depth contour and covering a linear distance of about 2-3 kilometers per survey. A complete 50-minute towed-diver survey is divided into ten 5-minute segments, and up to 6 towed-diver surveys are conducted per day. 

Each diver was equipped with a towboard outfitted with instrumentation and used to record observations, and the divers attempted to maintain position ~1 meter above the surface of the reef for the duration of the survey. Both towboards were equipped with a SeaBirdâ¢ SBE39 temperature/depth sensor that recorded water temperature and depth every 5 seconds. The survey tracks were also recorded every 5 seconds using a GPS receiver located on the small boat. The survey tracks were georeferenced and a script was applied to adjust the GPS waypoints from the boat's position to the estimated positions of the divers while conducting the surveys, correlate the associated temperature and depth data, and lace the waypoints together into 5-min segments and tow tracks. The dataset includes the adjusted dive points, and the segments and tow tracks are provided as shapefiles.

Tags: 1221, 587, 743, agrihan island, agrihan island (18n145e0002), aguihan, aguihan island (aguijan) (14n145e0006), aguihan island reefs, alamagan island, alamagan island (17n145e0002), american samoa, american samoa (14s170w0000), anatahan, anatahan island, anatahan island (16n145e0001), aquatic habitat, arakane reef, arakane reef (15n141e0001), asuncion island, asuncion island (19n145e0001), baker island, baker island (00n176w0001), bathymetry/seafloor topography, benthos analysis, biosphere, c204 pacific reef assessment and monitoring program (pacific ramp): biennial monitoring for the us p, central pacific ocean, cnmi, coastal processes, commonwealth of the northern mariana islands, coral reef conservation program, coral reef ecosystem division, coral reef ecosystem program, coral reef studies, coral reefs, corals, country/territory, cred, crep, depth - sensor, doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc, earth science, ecological characterization, ecosystem sciences division, equatorial pacific ocean, esd, farallon de pajaros, farallon de pajaros (20n144e0001), french frigate shoals (24n166w0001), gardner pinnacles (25n168w0001), geographic information, gis, gis product, gps, guam, guam (13n144e0000), guguan, guguan island, guguan island (17n145e0001), hawaii, hawaii island, hawaii island (19n155w0003), hawaiian islands, hawaiian islands (21n157w0027), hi'ialakai, honolulu, howland island, howland island (00s176w0001), in situ, in situ physical, jarvis island (00s160w0001), johnston atoll, johnston atoll (16n169w0001), kauai, kauai island, kauai island (22n159w0001), kaula island (21n160w0003), kingman reef (06n162w0001), kure atoll (28n178w0001), lanai island, lanai island (20n156w0002), latitude, laysan island (25n171w0001), lehua island (22n160w0001), line islands, linear transect (line), linear transect (point), lisianski island (25n173w0001), longitude, 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, midway atoll (28n177w0001), molokai island, molokai island (21n157w0001), molokini island, molokini islet, molokini islet (20n156w0003), national coral reef monitoring program, national marine fisheries service, ncrmp, necker island (23n164w0001), nihoa (23n161w0001), 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), nw pacific, nwhi, oahu (21n157w0003), oahu island, ocean basin, ocean temperature, oceans, ofu island (14s169w0013), olosega island (14s169w0014), oscar elton sette, 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, pathfinder reef, pathfinder reef (16n141e0001), pearl and hermes reef (27n176w0001), pifsc, pmnm, pria, primnm, raita bank (25n168w0002), 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), santa rosa bank (12n144e0051), sarigan island, sarigan island (16n145e0003), south bank (14s170w0067), south pacific ocean, stingray shoals (20n142e0001), supply reef (16n145e0004), survey - coral reef, swains atoll (11s171w0001), ta'u island (14s169w0012), tatsumi reef (14n145e0011), tds, temperature sensors, tinian, tinian island, tinian island (14n145e0005), tinian island reefs, towboard, towed diver, towed-diver survey, townsend cromwell, transect monitoring, tutuila island (14s170w0016), u.s. department of commerce, united states of america, us doc, usa minor outlying islands, wake atoll, wake atoll (19n167e0001), water depth, water temperature, western pacific ocean, zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce