Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD)

14 February 2008 - In the News! -Read the NOAA Press Release Here-

Using information derived from the Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) and 16 other layers of data, Dr. Ben Halpern from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and a team of researchers including NODC's Dr. Kenneth Casey published a paper in Science documenting human impacts on marine ecosystems. The full paper citation is: Benjamin S. Halpern, Shaun Walbridge, Kimberly A. Selkoe, Carrie V. Kappel, Fiorenza Micheli, Caterina D'Agrosa, John F. Bruno, Kenneth S. Casey, Colin Ebert, Helen E. Fox, Rod Fujita, Dennis Heinemann, Hunter S. Lenihan, Elizabeth M.P. Madin, Matthew T. Perry, Elizabeth R. Selig, Mark Spalding, Robert Steneck, Reg Watson (2008). A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science, vol. 319, no. 5865, pp. 948-952 (DOI: 10.1126/science.1149345).

The study reveals that over 40% of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities and few if any areas remain untouched. These results are illustrated in the image above, adapted from Figure 1 of the paper. In the image, cooler shades (blue to green) represent areas with lower levels of human impact. Warmer shades (yellow to red) represent areas with higher levels of human impact. The project is the first global-scale study of human influence on marine ecosystems.

Several animations have been rendered to more effectively display the static image shown above (NOTE: some of these are very large!). All of them portray the results from Figure 1, displayed on a revolving globe:

• ImpactRotate.mov - A view from a fixed vantage point over the equator (~527 MB, MOV, credit NOAA)
• ImpactRotate_small.mov - A smaller version of the previous animation (~10 MB, MOV, credit NOAA)
• Impact-Rotate.mp4 - Another small version of the previous animation (~8 MB, MP4, credit NOAA)
• ImpactRotate_small.mp4 - Another small version of the previous animation (~9 MB, MP4, credit NOAA)
• Impact-Tour.mov - This view zooms around the globe, visiting the most heavily impacted regions (~423 MB, MOV, credit NOAA)
• Impact-Tour_small.mov - A smaller version of the previous animation (~21 MB, MOV, credit NOAA)
• Impact-US.mov - This view zooms over the Gulf of Mexico and US East Coast (~220 MB, MOV, credit NOAA)
• Impactt-US_small.mov - A smaller version of the previous animation (~9 MB, MOV, credit NOAA)
• r4_intro_720p_30fps.avi - A view of the data provided by UCSB/NCEAS (~52 MB, AVI, credit UCSB/NCEAS)
• r5_720p_30fps.mov - Another view from a fixed vantage point over the equator (~232 MB, MOV, credit UCSB/NCEAS)

For more information: NOAA Press Release The journal Science * Halpern's UCSB/NCEAS web site*

About the Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database:

There is fairly broad scientific consensus that global-scale stressors are partially responsible for the decline of coral reefs (eg., Aronson et al., Science, v302, 2003; Harvell et al., Science, v285, 1999). One likely candidate is an increase in SST in much of the tropics. Yet, it is not even known how many reefs have experienced an increase in the frequency or magnitude of thermal stress, and little is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of coral reef temperatures. Therefore, we lack fundamental information needed to design effective management strategies and MPAs. This project increases the scientific understanding of how thermal stresses are related to coral decline and how to apply that knowledge to improving the effectiveness of coral MPAs. To that end, in partnership with the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill a unique Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) has been developed from Pathfinder SSTs to quantify thermal stress patterns on the world's coral reefs since 1985. These patterns are used to assess whether some areas are more prone to thermal stress than others, and are combined with an extensive coral health database to document their relationship to disease dynamics and coral decline.

While not yet publicly available, a few selected graphics showing the mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures from the CoRTAD are shown below to given a small glimpse into the database. Click on the graphic for an expanded view, or follow the link below the graphic to display the full resolution TIFF version. The CoRTAD is a large and extensive collection of data. Following the graphics, a listing of the files making up the CoRTAD along with their sizes is provided. For reference, you can see a Map of the CoRTAD Tiles which illustrates how the global ocean was divided for processing purposes.

During FY 2008, the CoRTAD is being developed to the point where it will be ready for public use. This process involves publication of the CoRTAD proedures and results, development of FGDC metadata, and placement of the CoRTAD in the NODC archives and CoRIS systems. For more information, please contact Kenneth.Casey@noaa.gov.

Mean SST	Minimum SST	Maximum SST
Full-Res TIF	Full-Res TIF	Full-Res TIF

Other Related Publications which have used the CoRTAD:

Bruno, J.F., E.R. Selig, K.S. Casey, C.A. Page, B.L. Willis, C.D. Harvell, H. Sweatman, and Amy Melendy (2007). Thermal stress and coral cover as drivers of coral disease outbreaks, Public Library of Science Biology, Vol. 5, No. 6, e124.(DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050124)

Selig, E.R., C.D. Harvell, J.F. Bruno, B.L. Willis, C.A. Page, K.S. Casey and H. Sweatman (2006). Analyzing the relationship between ocean temperature anomalies and coral disease outbreaks at broad spatial scales. In; J.T. Phinney, O. Hoegh-Guldberg, J. Kleypas, W. Skirving, and A. Strong (eds.). Coral reefs and climate change: science and management. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, Pages 111-128.

CoRTAD Data Files:

The CoRTAD is divided into 128 files, based on the tiles described above. Here are their names and sizes. During FY08, these data will be made accessible in a variety of formats and through mechanisms useful to a range of users. Additionally, the CoRTAD will be formally archived at NODC and listed in the Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS).

Thu Apr 27 15:36:00 EDT 2006

981M	cortad_row00_col00.hdf
940M	cortad_row00_col01.hdf
895M	cortad_row00_col02.hdf
960M	cortad_row00_col03.hdf
779M	cortad_row00_col04.hdf
584M	cortad_row00_col05.hdf
321M	cortad_row00_col06.hdf
1001M	cortad_row00_col07.hdf
1005M	cortad_row00_col08.hdf
1000M	cortad_row00_col09.hdf
956M	cortad_row00_col10.hdf
876M	cortad_row00_col11.hdf
637M	cortad_row00_col12.hdf
747M	cortad_row00_col13.hdf
920M	cortad_row00_col14.hdf
922M	cortad_row00_col15.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row01_col00.hdf
1.1G	cortad_row01_col01.hdf
813M	cortad_row01_col02.hdf
1.1G	cortad_row01_col03.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row01_col04.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row01_col05.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row01_col06.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row01_col07.hdf
925M	cortad_row01_col08.hdf
537M	cortad_row01_col09.hdf
303M	cortad_row01_col10.hdf
366M	cortad_row01_col11.hdf
181M	cortad_row01_col12.hdf
225M	cortad_row01_col13.hdf
935M	cortad_row01_col14.hdf
1.1G	cortad_row01_col15.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row02_col00.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row02_col01.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row02_col02.hdf
459M	cortad_row02_col03.hdf
1.2G	cortad_row02_col04.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row02_col05.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row02_col06.hdf
1.0G	cortad_row02_col07.hdf
626M	cortad_row02_col08.hdf
609M	cortad_row02_col09.hdf
459M	cortad_row02_col10.hdf
271M	cortad_row02_col11.hdf
147M	cortad_row02_col12.hdf
1.1G	cortad_row02_col13.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row02_col14.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row02_col15.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row03_col00.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row03_col01.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row03_col02.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row03_col03.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row03_col04.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row03_col05.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row03_col06.hdf
945M	cortad_row03_col07.hdf
318M	cortad_row03_col08.hdf
259M	cortad_row03_col09.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row03_col10.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row03_col11.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row03_col12.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row03_col13.hdf
1.7G	cortad_row03_col14.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row03_col15.hdf
1.7G	cortad_row04_col00.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row04_col01.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row04_col02.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row04_col03.hdf
1.0G	cortad_row04_col04.hdf
343M	cortad_row04_col05.hdf
1.1G	cortad_row04_col06.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row04_col07.hdf
1018M	cortad_row04_col08.hdf
644M	cortad_row04_col09.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row04_col10.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row04_col11.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row04_col12.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row04_col13.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row04_col14.hdf
1.7G	cortad_row04_col15.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col00.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col01.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col02.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col03.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row05_col04.hdf
972M	cortad_row05_col05.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row05_col06.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col07.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col08.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row05_col09.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row05_col10.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col11.hdf
1.6G	cortad_row05_col12.hdf
932M	cortad_row05_col13.hdf
940M	cortad_row05_col14.hdf
1.5G	cortad_row05_col15.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col00.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col01.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col02.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row06_col03.hdf
1.2G	cortad_row06_col04.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col05.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col06.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col07.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col08.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col09.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col10.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col11.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row06_col12.hdf
1.3G	cortad_row06_col13.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col14.hdf
1.4G	cortad_row06_col15.hdf
599M	cortad_row07_col00.hdf
486M	cortad_row07_col01.hdf
381M	cortad_row07_col02.hdf
350M	cortad_row07_col03.hdf
281M	cortad_row07_col04.hdf
401M	cortad_row07_col05.hdf
548M	cortad_row07_col06.hdf
260M	cortad_row07_col07.hdf
167M	cortad_row07_col08.hdf
140M	cortad_row07_col09.hdf
 30M	cortad_row07_col10.hdf
 77M	cortad_row07_col11.hdf
 24M	cortad_row07_col12.hdf
 24M	cortad_row07_col13.hdf
 59M	cortad_row07_col14.hdf
432M	cortad_row07_col15.hdf

Thu Apr 27 15:36:00 EDT 2006