Lauren T. Toth
William F. Precht
Alexander B. Modys
Anastasios Stathakopoulos
20210406
Radiometric ages and descriptive data for Holocene corals from southeast Florida
Tabular digital data
U.S. Geological Survey Data Release
doi:10.5066/P9Z21NMU
St. Petersburg, FL
U.S. Geological Survey
https://doi.org/10.5066/P9Z21NMU
Toth, Lauren T.
Precht, William F.
Modys, Alexander B.
Stathakopoulos, Anastasios
Robbart, Martha L.
Hudson, J. Harold
Oleinik, Anton E.
Riegl, Bernhard M.
Shinn, Eugene A.
Aronson, Richard B.
2021
Climate and the latitudinal limits of subtropical reef development
Tabular digital data
Online
Scientific Reports, Nature
This data release compiles descriptive information (location, water depth, etc.) and radiometric ages from corals collected through the Southeast Florida Continental Reef Tract (SFCRT; Figure 1). The database includes data from studies published between 1977 and 2015 as well as previously unpublished data. The samples were originally collected using coral-reef coring or other geologic sampling methods. Many of the samples are presently stored in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Core Archive at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida (https://doi.org/10.5066/F7319TR3). This research is a part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/).
Data were collected in order to determine the spatial and temporal variability of Holocene coral-reef growth off the coast of southeast Florida (Miami-Dade to Palm Beach Counties)
1977
2019
publication date
As needed
-80.1100
-80.0168
26.7230
25.5906
USGS Metadata Identifier
USGS:24106aa9-cef2-49a6-8454-1a01eb52a92e
USGS Thesaurus
paleoceanography
reef ecosystems
radiometric dating
marine geology
coelenterates
ISO 19115 Topic Categories
geoscientificInformation
oceans
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Florida
Biscayne National Park
Broward County
Miami-Dade County
Palm Beach County
None
seafloor
USGS Thesaurus
Holocene
None
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of these data in future products or derivative research.
Lauren T. Toth
USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC)
Research Oceanographer
mailing and physical
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
United States
727-502-8029
ltoth@usgs.gov
Florida Atlantic University and Dial Cordy and Associates, Inc.
Lidz, Barbara H.
Reich, Chris D.
Shinn, Eugene A.
2003
Regional Quaternary submarine geomorphology in the Florida Keys
McLean, VA
GSA Bulletin, Geological Society of America
https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2003)115<0845:RQSGIT>2.0.CO;2
Toth, Lauren T.
Kuffner, Ilsa B.
Stathakopoulos, Anastasios
Shinn, Eugene A.
2018
A 3,000-year lag between the geological and ecological shutdown of Florida's coral reefs
Hoboken, New Jersey
Global Change Biology, John Wiley & Sons Ltd
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14389
Banks, Kenneth W.
Riegl, Bernhard M.
Shinn, Eugene A.
Piller, Werner E.
Dodge, Richard E.
2007
Geomorphology of the Southeast Florida continental reef tract (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, USA)
Berlin, Germany
Coral Reefs, Springer
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0231-0
Stathakopoulos, Anastasios
Riegl, Bernhard M.
2015
Accretion history of mid-Holocene coral reefs from the southeast Florida continental reef tract, USA
Berlin, Germany
Coral Reefs, Springer
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1233-3
Precht, William F.
Macintyre, Ian G.
Dodge, Richard E.
Banks, Kenneth
Fischer, Lew
2000
Backstepping of Holocene reefs along Florida's east coast
Bali
Proceedings of the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, International Society for Reef Studies
Lighty, Robin G.
Macintyre, Ian G.
Stuckenrath, Robert
1978
Submerged early-Holocene barrier reef south-east Florida Shelf
Basingstoke, United Kingdom
Nature, Macmillan Publishers Limited
https://doi.org/10.1038/276059a0
Shinn, Eugene A.
Hudson, James H.
Halley, Robert B.
Lidz, Barbara H.
1977
Topographic control and accumulation rate of some Holocene coral reefs: South Florida and Dry Tortugas
Miami, FL
Proceedings of the 3rd International Coral Reef Symposium, International Society for Reef Studies
http://www.reefbase.org/resource_center/publication/icrs.aspx?icrs=ICRS3
Toth, Lauren T.
Stathakopoulos, Anastasios
Kuffner, Ilsa B.
2018
Descriptive Core Logs, Core Photographs, Radiocarbon Ages, and Accretion Data from Holocene Reef Cores Collected Throughout the Florida Keys Reef Tract
St. Petersburg, FL
U.S. Geological Survey
https://doi.org/10.5066/F7NV9HJX
Walker, Brian K.
2012
Spatial Analyses of Benthic Habitats to Define Coral Reef Ecosystem Regions and Potential Biogeographic Boundaries along a Latitudinal Gradient
Online
PLOSOne, Public Library of Science
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030466
Bush, Shari L.
Santos, Guaciara M.
Xu, Xiaomei
Southon, John R.
Thiagarajan, Nivedita
Hines, Sophia K.
Adkins, Jess F.
2013
Simple, rapid, and cost effective: A screening method for 14C analysis of small carbonate samples
Tucson, AZ
Radiocarbon, University of Arizona
https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16192
Toth, Lauren T.
Cheng, H.
Edwards, R. Lawrence
Ashe, E.
Richey, Julie N.
2017
Local Radiocarbon Reservoir Age (ΔR) Variability from the Nearshore and Open-Ocean Environments of the Florida Keys Reef Tract During the Holocene and Associated U-Series and Radiocarbon Data
St. Petersburg, FL
U.S. Geological Survey
https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P8492Q
Hijma, Marc P.
Engelhart, Simon E.
Tornqvist, Torbjorn E.
Horton, Benjamin P.
Hu, Ping
Hill, David F.
2015
A protocol for a geological sea-level database (in Handbook of Sea-Level Research)
Hoboken, NJ
Wiley Blackwell
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118452547.ch34
Toscano, M.A.
Macintyre, I.G.
2003
Corrected western Atlantic sea-level curve for the last 11,000 years based on calibrated 14C dates from Acropora palmata framework and intertidal mangrove peat
Berlin, Germany
Coral Reefs, Springer
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0315-4
No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted
No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted
Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted
No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted
Sampling of Holocene corals:
This database includes data from samples collected in previous studies as well as new coral samples from Holocene reefs in southeast Florida collected by USGS researchers and collaborators as part of this study. Some samples were collected from rotary core records (Lidz and others 2003; Banks et al. 2007; Stathakopoulos and Riegl 2015) and those samples can be identified by the "Core ID" attribute. Some other samples were collected from existing man-made exposures of the reef framework from dredging (Port Miami samples, this study; Shinn and others 1977), a pipeline installation (Lighty and others 1978), or a ship grounding (Precht and others 2000). The remaining samples were collected from the reef surface using either a hammer and chisel or an underwater drill equipped with a coring bit. Detailed methods related to sample collection and processing are provided in Toth and others (2021). All samples collected as part of this study are stored in the USGS Core Archive (https://doi.org/10.5066/F7319TR3).
2019
Sample elevation:
The water depths where the samples were collected were recorded in the field using underwater depth gauges. For more recent sample collections, the field-based measurements were corrected to mean sea level using data from the nearest NOAA tidal datum. Sample elevations that could not be tide corrected, were assumed to be relative to mean sea level, but an error term equivalent to one-half the tidal depth range at the nearest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tidal datum was applied. We also incorporated elevation errors associated with 1) estimating water depths with underwater depth gauges (0.5 meters [m]), 2) the rotary coring method (0.15 m), and 3) other "sampling depth" uncertainties. For samples collected from rotary cores, the sampling depth uncertainty is the uncertainty associated with determining the location of a sample in a core. This is primarily a consequence of the poor recovery of rotary cores, which allows material to shift within intervals. This uncertainty is scaled based on where the sample was collected within the interval. For samples collected within 0.5 foot (0.1524 m) of the top of the interval, this uncertainty is 0.5 feet (0.1524 m). For samples collected within 1 foot of the top or bottom of an interval, this uncertainty is 1 foot (~0.3 m). For all other samples, the uncertainty is 1/2 the length of the interval. Other sources of sampling depth uncertainty include: a depth range rather than a specific depth for some samples (BR-IR-MR-8.5b,c,d); the full range of depths was applied as an uncertainty and uncertainty associated with whether in place or collapsed Acropora palmata framework was sampled (MD-IR-PM and MD-OR-PM surface samples).
2019
Radiometric dating:
Radiometric ages of the samples were measured by a combination of radiocarbon and U-series dating. Radiocarbon ages for the majority of the samples were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at either the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (NOSAMS) facility, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, or the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia. Some of the samples included in this study were radiocarbon dated using the rapid methodology developed at the University of California, Irvine (Bush and others 2013). Some samples dated in previous studies were radiocarbon dated using standard, bulk dating methodologies (Shinn and others 1977; Lighty and others 1978; Precht and others 2000; Lidz and others 2003), and some samples from Stathakopoulos and Riegl (2015) and Banks and others (2007) were dated using U-series methodologies. Ages from previous studies reported as conventional radiocarbon ages were corrected for the fractionation of δ13C based on measured δ13C or δ13C=0±4‰, if not measured. All radiocarbon ages were calibrated to years before present (where “present” is 1950) using the temporally-explicit local radiocarbon reservoir age offsets for the nearshore regions of south Florida derived by Toth and others (2017).
2019
GPS coordinates are provided for all data.
Point
0.01
0.01
Decimal degrees
World Geodetic System of 1984
WGS_1984
6378137.0
298.257223563
Mean sea level
0.1
meters
Attribute values
SoutheastFloridaHolocenecoraldata.csv, SoutheastFloridaHolocenecoraldata.xlsx
Comma-separated values (.csv) and Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) files of descriptive data (location, water depth, etc.) and radiometric ages for coral samples collected from the southeast Florida continental reef tract
Lauren T. Toth (USGS-SPCMSC)
Sample ID
Unique identifier for each coral sample dated in this study.
USGS
Sample IDs are generated by abbreviating information about the county/subregion where the sample was collected, the reef terrace (for southeast Florida only), the site name, the core or sample number, and approximate depth from with which each sample was collected in the core and are formatted as: Subregion abbreviation-Reef tract abbreviation-Site abbreviation-Core or sample number-Depth of coral in core. When the depths of multiple samples from a location were the same, the samples were distinguished by adding a letter at the end of the sample ID. Samples that were re-dated are indicated with an "N" for "new" at the end of the sample ID. Note that the sample IDs from Fowey Rocks, which is part of the Florida Keys reef tract, do not include a reef tract ID and the water depths are given in feet rather than meters to be consistent with a previous publication (Toth and others, 2018, USGS Data Release).
Secondary sample ID
The sample ID used in the primary publication where the sample data was first published (see "Primary reference" attribute). This attribute is left blank for samples that do not have a secondary sample ID.
USGS
The sample ID used in the primary publication where the sample data was first published (see "Primary reference" attribute).
Core ID
For samples that were collected from rotary core records, this attribute provides a unique identifier for the core. This attribute is left blank for samples that were not collected using rotary coring.
USGS
For the cores from Fowey Rocks outlier reef (Florida Keys reef tract), this attribute is a combination of the subregion, the site name, and the core number from that site in the following format: Subregion abbreviation-Site abbreviation-Core number (after Toth and others, 2018, USGS Data Release). The other core records from Broward County Florida are taken from Stathakopoulos and Riegl (2015) and simply provide a unique core number (or letter) for the cores collected from the Inner Reef (IR) of Broward County, FL.
Latitude
The approximate latitude (in decimal degrees) where the sample was collected.
USGS
25.5906
26.7230
Decimal degrees
Longitude
The approximate longitude (in decimal degrees) where the sample was collected.
USGS
-80.1100
-80.0168
Decimal degrees
County/subregion
The county in southeast Florida adjacent to the nearshore habitats where the samples were collected or, in the case of Fowey Rocks, the subregion of the Florida Keys reef tract where the samples were collected.
USGS
Biscayne N.P.
The sample was collected from Biscayne National Park (N.P.)
National Park Service
Broward
The sample was collected offshore of Broward County, FL.
Florida Department of Transportation
Miami-Dade
The sample was collected offshore of Miami-Dade County, FL.
Florida Department of Transportation
Palm Beach
The sample was collected offshore of Palm Beach County, FL
Florida Department of Transportation
Reef terrace
The reef terrace (shore-parallel line of reef) where the sample was collected.
Walker, 2012
Outlier
The sample was collected from an outlier reef.
Walker, 2012
IR
The sample was collected from the Inner Reef (IR).
Walker, 2012
IR?
The original researchers (Shinn and others 1977) said this sample came from the Inner Reef, but a recent study (Banks and others 2007) suggested that it instead came from an "intermediate ridge" between the Middle Reef and Outer Reef.
USGS
OR
The sample was collected from the Outer Reef (OR).
Walker, 2012
MR
The sample was collected from the Middle Reef (MR).
Walker, 2012
NR
The sample was collected from the Nearshore Ridge Complex (NR).
Walker, 2012
IR/OR
The sample was collected from a location where the Inner Reef (IR) and Outer Reef (OR) meet.
USGS
Site
The name of the reef or site where the sample was collected.
USGS
A unique site name, either chosen by the researchers who originally collected the sample (see "Primary reference" attribute) or determined by the researchers who conducted the present study (Toth and others, 2021).
Dating method
The methodology used to determine the radiometric age of the sample.
USGS
Standard Radiometric 14C
Indicates that the sample was radiocarbon (14C) dated using standard (bulk) methodologies (i.e., gas proportional counting or liquid scintillation counting).
USGS
AMS
The sample was radiocarbon (14C) dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).
USGS
U-series
The sample was dated by U-series methodologies (i.e., by Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry [TIMS] or Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry [ICP-MS]).
USGS
Rapid 14C
The sample was radiocarbon (14C) dated using the rapid methodology developed at University of California, Irvine by Bush and others (2013).
USGS
Measured 14C age
This attribute is only included for radiocarbon ages measured by standard radiometric radiocarbon dating, where measured, rather than corrected, conventional 14C were reported by the laboratory. These values have not been corrected for the isotopic fractionation of 12C and 13C.
USGS
3340
9440
Years
Measured 14C age error (1-sigma)
The one standard deviation (1-sigma) laboratory error on the measured radiocarbon (14C) age.
USGS
50
120
Years
delta 13C
The measured δ13C of the sample, used to correct for isotopic fractionation of 12C and 13C. When the measured value was unknown or unmeasured, this attribute is left blank.
USGS
-3
3.16
parts per thousand (‰)
Conventional 14C age
The conventional 14C age is the measured 14C age corrected for the isotopic fractionation using either the measured δ13C value or an assumed value of 0±3‰.
USGS
775
32900
Years
Conventional 14C age uncertainty (1-sigma)
The one-standard deviation (1-sigma) uncertainty on the conventional radiocarbon (14C) age
USGS
15
510
Years
Delta-R
Marine radiocarbon reservoir age correction, ΔR (Delta-R) values (in years), based on the conventional radiocarbon age of the sample. The values are based on the time-varying models of ΔR for the nearshore and open ocean regions of south Florida developed by Toth and others (2017, USGS Data Release).
USGS
-55.49
10.74
Years
Delta-R uncertainty (1-sigma)
The one-standard deviation (1-sigma) uncertainty in the marine radiocarbon reservoir age correction, ΔR (Delta-R) values (in years), based on the conventional radiocarbon age of the sample. The values are based on the time-varying models of ΔR for the nearshore and open ocean regions of south Florida developed by Toth and others (2017, USGS Data Release).
USGS
24.81
42.03
Years
Calibrated age (yrs BP)
The calibrated radiocarbon or U-series age in years before present (where "present" is 1950).
USGS
462
10806
Years before 1950
Calibrated age BP uncertainty (2-sigma, younger)
The minimum (youngest age) of the two-standard deviation (2-sigma) uncertainty (95% confidence interval) of the calibrated age.
USGS
333
10530
Years before 1950
Calibrated age BP uncertainty (2-sigma, older)
The maximum (oldest age) of the two-standard deviation (2-sigma) uncertainty (95% confidence interval) of the calibrated age.
USGS
533
11110
Years before 1950
Depth in core (m)
Approximated depth in the core (measured from the top of the core) of where the sample was collected in meters (m). This attribute is left blank for samples that were not collected from cores.
USGS
0
16.8
meters
Sample elevation (m MSL)
The elevation in meters (m) of the sample relative to mean sea level (MSL). For samples collected from cores, this value was calculated by subtracting the depth of the sample in the core from the depth of the reef surface where the core was collected. Elevations of non-core samples were estimated in the field.
USGS
-30
-2
meters relative to mean sea level (m MSL)
Water depth uncertainty (2-sigma)
The two-standard deviation (2-sigma) uncertainty in meters (m) associated with estimating the water depth in the field, assumed to be 0.5 m for measurements using an underwater depth gauge (after Hijma and others, 2015).
USGS
0.5
0.5
meters
Tidal uncertainty (2-sigma)
For samples whose water depth could not be corrected to mean sea level using a tidal datum, the two-standard deviation (2-sigma) tidal uncertainty in meters (m) is calculated as one-half the tidal range of the nearest tidal datum (after Hijma and others, 2015).
USGS
0.3335
0.4585
meters
Coring uncertainty (2-sigma)
The two-standard deviation (2-sigma) uncertainty in meters (m) associated with determining sample elevation from rotary cores, assumed to be 0.15 m (after Hijma and others, 2015).
USGS
0.15
0.15
meters
Sampling depth uncertainty (2-sigma)
This attribute includes all other sources of sampling uncertainty and is reported as two-standard deviations (2-sigma).
For samples collected from rotary cores, this value is the uncertainty associated with determining the location of a sample in a core. This is primarily a consequence of the poor recovery of rotary cores, which allows material to shift within intervals. This uncertainty is scaled based on where the sample was collected within the interval. For samples collected within 0.5 foot (0.1524 m) of the top of the interval, this uncertainty is 0.5 feet (0.1524 m). For samples collected within 1 foot of the top or bottom of an interval, this uncertainty is 1 foot (~0.3 m). For all other samples, the uncertainty is 1/2 the length of the interval.
Other sources of uncertainty include: a depth range rather than a specific depth for some samples (BR-IR-MR-8.5b,c,d); the full range of depths was applied as an uncertainty and uncertainty associated with whether in place or collapsed Acropora palmata framework was sampled (MD-IR-PM and MD-OR-PM surface samples).
USGS
0.1524
1.524
meters
Total elevation uncertainty (2-sigma)
The total two-standard deviation (2-sigma) elevation uncertainty of the sample calculated by taking the root-sum-square of the Water depth uncertainty, the Tidal uncertainty, the Coring uncertainty, and the Sampling uncertainty.
USGS
0.50
1.65
USGS
Coral taxon dated
The taxa of the dated coral sample. Corals were generally identified to the species level, but some taxa could only be identified to the genus level.
USGS
Acropora palmata
The sample was collected from an Acropora palmata coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Orbicella spp.
The sample was collected from an Orbicella spp. coral skeleton. Includes corals belonging to the genus Orbicella (O. faveolata, O. fanksii, and O. annularis).
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Montastraea cavernosa
The sample was collected from a Montastraea cavernosa coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Pseudodiploria strigosa
The sample was collected from a Pseudodiploria strigosa coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Siderastrea siderea
The sample was collected from a Siderastrea siderea coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Dichocoenia stokesii
The sample was collected from a Dichocoenia stokesii coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
carbonate reef rock
The sample was non-coral carbonate reef rock.
USGS
Mancinia aerolata
The sample was collected from a Mancinia aerolata coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Dendrogyra cylindrus
The sample was collected from a Dendrogyra cylindrus coral skeleton.
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/home/
Included in Toth et al. 2021 (Y/N)
If the sample was included in the reconstruction of Holocene reef development in southeast Florida described in Toth and others (2021). Only samples from in-situ Acropora palmata coral skeletons with ages that passed screening (see Stathakopoulos and others 2020) were included.
USGS
Y
Y=yes. The sample was included in the Toth and others (2021) reconstruction.
USGS
N
N=no. The sample was not included in the Toth and others (2021) reconstruction.
USGS
Reason for exclusion
If the attribute Included in Toth et al. 2021 (Y/N) has a domain value of N, this attribute describes why the sample was excluded from the Toth and others (2021) reconstruction.
USGS
Description of why some samples were not included in the Toth and others (2021) reconstruction.
Primary reference
For previously published data, this attribute provides the citation for the original study where those data can be found.
USGS
For previously published data, this attribute provides the citation for the original study where those data can be found. Abbreviated citations (lead author(s) last name(s) and year of publication) for publications that have described the core previously. See cross-references for full citations.
Lauren T. Toth
USGS, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Research Oceanographer
mailing and physical
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
US
727-502-8029
ltoth@usgs.gov
Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The USGS shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described or contained herein. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
CSV, XLSX
None
https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/data-release/doi-P9Z21NMU/data/SFCRT_Holocene_coral_data.zip
None
None.
20210412
Lauren T. Toth
USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Research Oceanographer
mailing and physical
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
US
727-502-8029
ltoth@usgs.gov
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998