CTD casts were made using various submersibles and surface vessels between 1992 and 1996. These provide a record of temperature and salinity as a function of depth. The depths varied among different project requirements, as did the sampling intervals. In general, the CTD casts were made to sample every .05 seconds, and only downcast data were analyzed. Data were averaged in 1 m depth intervals for plotting and in 5 m depth intervals for table summaries.
Data are available in plotted and digital form.
Since then, other recent coral bleaching events have alarmed scientists, conservationists, and policymakers. Achieving a rational understanding of the phenomenon has been complicated by the extreme complexity of coral reef ecosystems and a lack of standardized data. CMRC was part of a National Science Institute for Marine Science rapid response team mobilized in 1987 to study coral bleaching throughout the Caribbean. In addition to monitoring seawater temperature to help determine the role of temperature in coral bleaching, studies on shallow and deep water reefs in the Bahamas have documented the coral bleaching phenomenon using non-destructive photographic and physiological techniques. The research has provided standardized data on coral bleaching through computerized images of affected corals.