The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) Version 2 - Global, 4 km Sea Surface Temperature and Related Thermal Stress Metrics for 1982-2008 (NODC Accession Number 0054501)

Published by NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2009-12-04T00:00:00.000+00:00

The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) is a collection of sea surface temperature (SST) and related thermal stress metrics, developed specifically for coral reef ecosystem applications but relevant to other ecosystems as well. The CoRTAD Version 2 contains global, approximately 4 km resolution SST data on a weekly time scale from 1982 through 2008. It is related to the CoRTAD Version 1 (NODC Accession 0044419), with a few important differences. Whereas Version 1 covers the time period from 1985-2005, Version 2 contains 6 additional years of data, extending that period to 1982-2008. Also, whereas Version 1 is in HDF4 Scientific Data Set format, Version 2 is in HDF5. In addition to SST, the CoRTAD contains SST anomaly (SSTA, weekly SST minus weekly climatological SST), thermal stress anomaly (TSA, weekly SST minus the maximum weekly climatological SST), SSTA Degree Heating Week (SSTA_DHW, sum of previous 12 weeks when SSTA >= 1 degree C), SSTA Frequency (number of times over previous 52 weeks that SSTA >= 1 degree C), TSA DHW (TSA_DHW, also known as a Degree Heating Week, sum of previous 12 weeks when TSA >= 1 degree C),and TSA Frequency (number of times over previous 52 weeks that TSA >= 1 degree C). The CoRTAD was created at the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center in partnership with the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, with support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program.

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@type	dcat:Dataset
accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:kenneth.casey@noaa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) is a collection of sea surface temperature (SST) and related thermal stress metrics, developed specifically for coral reef ecosystem applications but relevant to other ecosystems as well. The CoRTAD Version 2 contains global, approximately 4 km resolution SST data on a weekly time scale from 1982 through 2008. It is related to the CoRTAD Version 1 (NODC Accession 0044419), with a few important differences. Whereas Version 1 covers the time period from 1985-2005, Version 2 contains 6 additional years of data, extending that period to 1982-2008. Also, whereas Version 1 is in HDF4 Scientific Data Set format, Version 2 is in HDF5. In addition to SST, the CoRTAD contains SST anomaly (SSTA, weekly SST minus weekly climatological SST), thermal stress anomaly (TSA, weekly SST minus the maximum weekly climatological SST), SSTA Degree Heating Week (SSTA_DHW, sum of previous 12 weeks when SSTA >= 1 degree C), SSTA Frequency (number of times over previous 52 weeks that SSTA >= 1 degree C), TSA DHW (TSA_DHW, also known as a Degree Heating Week, sum of previous 12 weeks when TSA >= 1 degree C),and TSA Frequency (number of times over previous 52 weeks that TSA >= 1 degree C). The CoRTAD was created at the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center in partnership with the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, with support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program.
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identifier	cortadv2_fgdc_meta_nodc_0054501
issued	2009-12-04T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "CoRIS_Metadata", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Coastal Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Climate Indicators", "EARTH SCIENCE > Hydrosphere > Water Quality > Water Temperature", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR > 4km Pathfinder", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR > 9km Pathfinder", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR > MCSST", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR > NLSST", "Numeric Data Sets > Oceanography", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Coastal Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Water Temperature", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR", "The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database", "2068", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean", "OCEAN BASIN > Indian Ocean", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico (18N066W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico (18N066W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Navassa Island > Navassa Island > Navassa Island (18N075W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Navassa Island > Navassa Island > Navassa Island (18N075W0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > U. S. Virgin Islands > U. S. Virgin Islands (17N064W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Lesser Antilles > U. S. Virgin Islands (17N064W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Carolines > Palau ( Belau ) (07N134E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Palau > Palau > Palau ( Belau ) (07N134E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Carolines > Micronesia (07N150E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Micronesia > Micronesia (07N150E0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Marshall Islands > Marshall Islands (09N168E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Marshall Islands > Marshall Islands > Marshall Islands (09N168E0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Mariana Archipelago > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Northern Mariana Islands > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Florida", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Florida", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Gulf of America > Florida", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Texas > West Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0002)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Texas > East Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Gulf of America > Flower Garden Banks > East Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Gulf of America > Flower Garden Banks > West Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0002)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Wake Atoll (19N167E0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Howland Island (00S176W0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Baker Island (00N176W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Wake Atoll > Wake Atoll (19N167E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Johnston Atoll > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Howland Island > Howland Island (00S176W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Baker Island > Baker Island (00N176W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000)", "MHI", "NWHI", "Guam", "CNMI", "AmSam", "PRIA", "Florida", "FGB", "PR", "USVI", "Navassa", "Palau", "FSM", "RMI", "Gulf of Mexico", "Gulf of America" ]
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2009-12-04T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center", "@type": "org:Organization" }
references	[ "http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/groups/rrsl/pathfinder/", "http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/pod-guide/ncdc/docs/intro.htm", "http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/sst/", "http://journals.ametsoc.org/", "http://www.agu.org/journals/jc/jc0105/1999JC000065/0.html" ]
rights	otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial	180.0,-90.0,-180.0,90.0
temporal	1982-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/2008-12-31T00:00:00+00:00
title	The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) Version 2 - Global, 4 km Sea Surface Temperature and Related Thermal Stress Metrics for 1982-2008 (NODC Accession Number 0054501)

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