Continuous bottom temperature measurements in strategic areas of the Florida Reef Tract at Looe Key-Back Reef, 2008 and 2011 - 2012 (NODC Accession 0093064)

The purpose of this project is to document bottom seawater temperature in strategic areas of the Florida Reef Tract on a continuing basis and make that information available to management and research user groups. This ongoing project began in 1988. A total of 38 subsurface recording thermographs have been deployed in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and at other selected locations on the Florida Reef Tract and associated hydrologic ecosystems. These instruments were originally programmed to record at 2 hour intervals; however starting in 2011, they are being refurbished and programmed to operate every ten minutes. Also, to avoid confusion, they are programmed to record on Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), also known as Greenich Mean Time, which is independent of Daylight Saving Time changes. They are placed in permanent housings attached to suitable substrate. Data retrieval, servicing and reprogramming for continuous deployment have occurred, on average, annually. Initially, the collected data are made available to FKNMS Managers and others who monitor and assess environmental conditions that influence FKNMS areas of the Florida Reef Tract. An archival copy of these data is maintained and available from the U.S. U.S. National Oceanographic Data Center.