Florida’s Coral Reef Water Quality Data Compilation, Analysis, and Decision Support Year 6

The water quality data compilation, analysis, and decision support project was tasked with creating a single unified water quality monitoring dataset for Florida’s Coral Reef. Initially, the project comprehensively reviewed available water quality data and programs, compiled comparable datasets, and constructed inclusion criteria to support data interoperability. In year 6, the water quality team collaborated with the SEACAR team to develop an automated workflow in SEACAR following previously developed criteria and QA/QC processes to export the aggregated water quality dataset quarterly. After verifying the first SEACAR export in March 2026, the data were used to update the trend analysis, maps, and visualization tools with data through 2025. The team was involved with Florida’s Coral Reef Coordination Team (FCRCT), Florida’s Coral Reef Resilience Program Water Quality Team, and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection Program meetings to support reef-wide water quality monitoring efforts and research. Two inventories of abiotic parameters and biological and ecological monitoring programs were maintained and updated to include additional programs, along with updated contact information, names and newly added monitoring sites on the web maps. These inventories addressed priority actions for the FCRCT and included interactive web maps for users to visualize the spatial patterns of these monitoring programs. The team developed a modular trend analysis tool that includes a step‑by‑step tutorial and accompanying R scripts for conducting both general and seasonal trend analyses on water quality data. Finally, the team examined patterns of precipitation, river discharge, and water quality that link events such as water releases and rainfall events to river discharge patterns and salinity conditions in Florida Bay to water quality conditions on the reefs.