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-Get the CoRTAD data files via HTTP here-
-Get the CoRTAD data files via FTP here-
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 and how these related to
broader climate change. To address these gaps in understanding, the
National Oceanographic Data Center in partnership with the University of
North Carolina - Chapel Hill has developed
a unique Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD). The CoRTAD
development was funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the
database uses Pathfinder SSTs
to quantify thermal stress patterns on the world's coral reefs since 1985.
The CoRTAD contains a collection of
sea surface temperature (SST) and related thermal stress metrics, developed
specifically for coral reef ecosystem applications but relevant to other
ecosystems as well. The CoRTAD contains global, approximately 4 km
resolution SST data on a weekly time scale from 1985 through 2005. In
addition to SST, it contains SST anomaly (SSTA, weekly SST minus weekly
climatological SST), thermal stress anomaly (TSA, weekly SST minus the
maximum weekly climatological SST), SSTA Degree Heating Week (SSTA_DHW, sum
of previous 12 weeks when SSTA is greater than or equal to 1 degree C),
SSTA Frequency (number of times over previous 52 weeks that SSTA is greater
than or equal to 1 degree C), TSA DHW (TSA_DHW, also known as a Degree
Heating Week, sum of previous 12 weeks when TSA is greater than or equal to 1
degree C),and TSA Frequency (number of times over previous 52 weeks that TSA is
greater than or equal to 1 degree C).
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. At the end of this page, 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.
All of the data are currently available in HDF
Scientific Data Set Format.
During 2008, the CoRTAD was developed to the point where it became
ready for public use. This process involved publication of the CoRTAD
procedures 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.
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)
Halpern, Benjamin S., 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).
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.
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14 February 2008 - In the News!
-Read the NOAA Press Release Here-
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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).
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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)
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For more information:
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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 were made
accessible to the public. Additionally, the CoRTAD has been
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
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