Data Release
Coral cores collected in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.: Photographs and X-rays
By Ilsa B. Kuffner, Michael S. Weinzierl, Christopher D. Reich, Lucy A. Bartlett, and Jennifer A. Flannery
USGS, St. Petersburg, Florida
Summary
Cores from living coral colonies were collected from Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, to obtain skeletal records of past coral growth and allow geochemical reconstruction of environmental variables during the corals’ centuries-long lifespans. The samples were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project that provides science to assist resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. Three colonies each of the coral species Orbicella faveolata and Siderastrea siderea were collected in May 2012 as approved under National Park Service (NPS) scientific collecting permit number DRTO-2012-SCI-0001. These coral samples can be used to retroactively construct sea-surface temperature records by measuring the elemental ratio of strontium (Sr) to calcium (Ca), and are valuable for measuring additional paleoproxies as new methods are developed. Flannery and others (2017) includes temperature reconstructions using samples from one of the six (coral CG2) collected in this study. The core slabs described here, as well as others (see https://olga.er.usgs.gov/coreviewer/), can be requested on loan for further scientific study. Here we provide photographic images for each core depicting 1) the coral in its ocean environment, 2) the core as curated and slabbed, and 3) the X-rays of the slabs. More information on coring methods can be found in the associated U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016-1182 (Weinzierl and others, 2016). These coral samples are presently on loan from the NPS, stored at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, and cataloged under accession number DRTO-353.
Flannery, J. A., Richey, J.N., Thirumalai, K., Poore, R.Z., and DeLong, K.L., 2017, Multi-species coral Sr/Ca based sea-surface temperature reconstruction using Orbicella faveolata and Siderastrea siderea from the Florida Straits: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 466, p. 100-109, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.10.022.
Weinzierl, M.S., Reich, C.D., Hickey, T.D., Bartlett, L.A., and Kuffner, I.B., 2016, Collection methods and descriptions of coral cores extracted from massive corals in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016-1182, 8 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161182.
Data
| File Name and Description | Metadata (XML format) | Metadata (text format) | Download File |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRTO_coral_cores_field _photographs.zip Underwater photographs of corals in-situ (.jpg) |
Coral_cores_collected_in_Dry_Tortugas_ National_Park_Florida_U_S_A_Photographs_ and_x_rays.xml |
Coral_cores_collected_in_Dry_Tortugas_ National_Park_Florida_U_S_A_Photographs_ and_x_rays.txt |
DRTO_coral_cores_field_photographs.zip (10.9 MB) |
| DRTO_coral_cores_slab_photographs.zip Photographs of core slabs in core boxes (.jpg) |
Same as above | Same as above | DRTO_coral_cores_slab_photographs.zip (92.2 MB) |
| DRTO_coral_cores_xrays.zip X-ray images of core slabs (.tif) |
Same as above | Same as above | DRTO_coral_cores_xrays.zip (676.2 MB) |
Figure 1. Map of Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. Data collection sites indicate the locations where six coral cores were extracted from coral colonies. Abbreviations of site names are LH = Loggerhead, NK = North Key, and CG = Coral Gardens. Inset shows location of the Dry Tortugas in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Suggested Citation
Kuffner, I.B., Weinzierl, M.S., Reich, C.D., Bartlett, L.A., and Flannery, J.A., 2016, Coral cores collected in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, U.S.A.—Photographs and X-rays: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7V69GQ2