Comparison of satellite-based sea surface temperature to in situ observations surrounding coral reefs in la parguera, puerto rico

Andrea M. Gomez, Kyle C. McDonald, Karsten Shein, Stephanie Devries, Roy A. Armstrong, William J. Hernandez, Milton Carlo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth. In the last few decades, a combination of stressors has produced significant declines in reef expanse, with declining reef health attributed largely to thermal stresses. We investigated the correspondence between time-series satellite remote sensing-based sea surface temperature (SST) datasets and ocean temperature monitored in situ at depth in coral reefs near La Parguera, Puerto Rico. In situ temperature data were collected for Cayo Enrique and Cayo Mario, San Cristobal, and Margarita Reef. The three satellite-based SST datasets evaluated were NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch (CoralTemp), the UK Meteorological Office’s Operational SST and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA), and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (G1SST). All three satellite-based SST datasets assessed displayed a strong positive correlation (>0.91) with the in situ temperature measurements. However, all SST datasets underestimated the temperature, compared with the in situ measurements. A linear regression model using the SST datasets as the predictor for the in situ measurements produced an overall offset of ~1C for all three SST datasets. These results support the use of all three SST datasets, after offset correction, to represent the temperature regime at the depth of the corals in La Parguera, Puerto Rico.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number453
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Marine Science and Engineering
Volume8
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2020

Keywords

  • Coral reefs
  • In situ
  • Satellite SST

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Water Science and Technology
  • Ocean Engineering

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