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 includes new, sub-annual Strontium/Calcium (Sr/Ca) and annual linear extension rates covering a period between 1980 and 2012 for five colonies of the massive coral, Orbicella faveolata (O. faveolata). All five coral colonies were collected live by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists from the Dry Tortugas National Park (DTNP), Florida (FL) in August 2008 and May 2012.

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 data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. These time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic. A selection of the photographs was previously published (in low resolution) in Lidz and others (2006), wherein findings and conclusions related to these data were discussed. Lidz, B. H., Reich, C. D., Peterson, R. L., and Shinn, E. A. (2006). New maps, new information: Coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(2), 260-282, https://doi.org/10.2112/05A-0023.1

This data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. These time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic. A selection of the photographs was previously published (in low resolution) in Lidz and others (2006), wherein findings and conclusions related to these data were discussed. Lidz, B. H., Reich, C. D., Peterson, R. L., and Shinn, E. A. (2006). New maps, new information: Coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(2), 260-282, https://doi.org/10.2112/05A-0023.1

The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates for Orbicella sp. coral colonies grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from 2013 to 2015, survey data for census-based carbonate budgeting at Hen and Chickens Reef (Islamorada, Florida) collected in 2017, and time-series photographs taken of permanent markers used to measure reef erosion at Hen and Chickens Reef in 1998 and 2015. The time-series photographs document a loss in coral-reef elevation over 17 years at this site. The data will be used to inform resource managers of the capacity for future growth (or loss) of reefs dominated by genus Orbicella in the Florida Keys so that the reef ecosystem might be better understood and managed. The datasets included here were interpreted in Kuffner and others (2019). Kuffner, I.B., Toth, L.T., Hudson, J.H., Goodwin, W.B., Stathakopoulos, A., Bartlett, L.A. and Whitcher, E.M. (2019), Improving estimates of coral reef construction and erosion with in situ measurements. Limnol Oceanogr. doi:10.1002/lno.11184

The USGS Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral-growth rates for Orbicella sp. coral colonies grown at five sites on the Florida Keys reef tract from 2013 to 2015, survey data for census-based carbonate budgeting at Hen and Chickens Reef (Islamorada, Florida) collected in 2017, and time-series photographs taken of permanent markers used to measure reef erosion at Hen and Chickens Reef in 1998 and 2015. The time-series photographs document a loss in coral-reef elevation over 17 years at this site. The data will be used to inform resource managers of the capacity for future growth (or loss) of reefs dominated by genus Orbicella in the Florida Keys so that the reef ecosystem might be better understood and managed. The datasets included here were interpreted in Kuffner and others (2019). Kuffner, I.B., Toth, L.T., Hudson, J.H., Goodwin, W.B., Stathakopoulos, A., Bartlett, L.A. and Whitcher, E.M. (2019), Improving estimates of coral reef construction and erosion with in situ measurements. Limnol Oceanogr. doi:10.1002/lno.11184