This data release contains new subannual Strontium/Calcium (Sr/Ca) and annual linear extension records from a colony of the massive coral, Orbicella faveolata. The colony was collected live from the Marquesas Keys, Florida (FL) in August 1980 from core MK1. The coral Sr/Ca paleothermometer can provide a powerful proxy for centennial-scale sea-surface temperature (SST) variability in the Caribbean/Atlantic Ocean region.

This data release contains new subannual Strontium/Calcium (Sr/Ca) and annual linear extension records from a colony of the massive coral, Orbicella faveolata. The colony was collected live from the Marquesas Keys, Florida (FL) in August 1980 from core MK1. The coral Sr/Ca paleothermometer can provide a powerful proxy for centennial-scale sea-surface temperature (SST) variability in the Caribbean/Atlantic Ocean region.

This data release contains new, 40–70-year long subannual strontium-to-calcium ratio (Sr/Ca) records and linear extension measurements from five mid-to-late Holocene, Orbicella faveolata corals from the Dry Tortugas National Park (DT) and Marquesas Keys (MK), Florida (FL). U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers used these Sr/Ca data to calculate sea-surface temperature (SST) using the Sr/Ca-SST equation from Flannery and others (2018). The data release also provides and stable oxygen isotope snapshots from two of the mid-Holocene corals. These data provide a proof-of-concept for the value coral-based paleoclimate records in the subtropical western Atlantic during the Holocene. Detailed information regarding data collection and processing methods can be found in Jacobs and others (2025).

This data release contains new, 40–70-year long subannual strontium-to-calcium ratio (Sr/Ca) records and linear extension measurements from five mid-to-late Holocene, Orbicella faveolata corals from the Dry Tortugas National Park (DT) and Marquesas Keys (MK), Florida (FL). U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers used these Sr/Ca data to calculate sea-surface temperature (SST) using the Sr/Ca-SST equation from Flannery and others (2018). The data release also provides and stable oxygen isotope snapshots from two of the mid-Holocene corals. These data provide a proof-of-concept for the value coral-based paleoclimate records in the subtropical western Atlantic during the Holocene. Detailed information regarding data collection and processing methods can be found in Jacobs and others (2025).

This data release includes new sub annual and mean annual Sr/Ca records from two species of massive coral, Orbicella faveolata (coral B3) and Siderastrea siderea (coral CG2), from the Dry Tortugas National Park, FL (DTNP). We combine these new records with published Sr/Ca data from three additional S. siderea coral (DeLong et al., 2014) to generate a 278-year long multi-species stacked Sr/Ca-SST record from DRTO.

This data release includes new sub annual and mean annual Sr/Ca records from two species of massive coral, Orbicella faveolata (coral B3) and Siderastrea siderea (coral CG2), from the Dry Tortugas National Park, FL (DTNP). We combine these new records with published Sr/Ca data from three additional S. siderea coral (DeLong et al., 2014) to generate a 278-year long multi-species stacked Sr/Ca-SST record from DRTO.

This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology. The associated NCEI study type is Coral. The data include parameters of corals and sclerosponges with a geographic location of Florida, United States Of America. The time period coverage is from -42 to -58 in calendar years before present (BP). See metadata information for parameter and study location details. Please cite this study when using the data.

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 (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) 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 http://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 (SPCMSC) in St. Petersburg, Florida, and cataloged under accession number DRTO-353.