NCCOS National Status and Trends Bioeffects Assessment: Chemical contaminant data in the St. Thomas East End Reserves, U.S. Virgin Islands, from 2010-05-04 to 2012-06-22 (NCEI Accession 0146168)

This dataset provides valuable baseline data on sediment chemical contamination for the St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER), U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). From 2010-2012, NOAA scientists collected samples as part of a larger, long-term monitoring National Status and Trends Program (NS&T). A broad suite of chemical contaminants were analyzed in sediment, coral (Porites asteroides) and conch (Strombus gigas) samples. These contaminants included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated pesticides including DDT and its metabolites, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), major and trace elements, and butyltins.

Partners in the CRCP project “Characterization of Land-Based Sources of Pollution and Effects in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)” included the Coastal Oceanographic Assessment, Status and Trends (COAST) Branch, and the Biogeography Branch of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) in Silver Spring, MD, the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR), the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).