The final count: Timor-Leste expedition completed

Oliver Vetter, Max Sudnovsky, Noah Pomeroy, and Daniel Merritt of the PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) have returned from a field mission in Timor-Leste in the Coral Triangle region. This operation was part of a partnership that NOAA has with the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID) Timor-Leste Mission and this young nation’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to provide technical assistance and build capacity to monitor and better manage coastal and fisheries resources in a changing climate. Here, we review what was accomplished over the period of Oct. 16–27 during an expedition aboard the 12-m catamaran Cattitude. For more information about our recent activities in Timor-Leste, see this previous blog post: Team embarks on field mission in Timor-Leste.

The reef at Com, off the northeastern coast of Timor-Leste, as seen during our latest mission in the Coral Triangle, a region that hosts the highest diversity of corals and coral reef fishes in the world. Corals of the genus Porites, large, hard-bodied, mounding corals, were numerous in the shallow water here. NOAA photo

Across 10 sites around the coast of Timor-Leste at depths primarily of 12–15 m, the team deployed 50 calcification accretion units (CAUs) to investigate net rates of reef calcium carbonate accretion, 32 autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) to assess the diversity of reef cryptobiota, and 17 subsurface temperature recorders (STRs) to collect data on long-term water temperatures. To asses past changes in calcification rates of mounding corals, 6 coral cores were collected (each ~40 cm long). At each site, the team conducted a survey in which photographs of the benthos were taken along two 25-m transects. Throughout this cruise, data were collected with a depth sounder and GPS on the Cattitude to validate water depths that CRED mapping specialists are deriving from recently acquired WorldView 2 satellite imagery around the entire coastline of Timor-Leste.

Map of Timor-Leste that shows the 10 sites where CRED staff conducted field activities during an 11-day expedition in October. At each site, calcification accretion units, autonomous reef monitoring structures, and subsurface temperature recorders were deployed. In addition, at 2 sites—Com and the east side of Atauro Island—coral cores were collected. Satellite image data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO. © 2012 Cnes/Spot Image © 2012 Google

Here’s a breakdown of what was completed at each of the 10 sites, which are named after nearby towns or geographic features:

At Dili Rock, we deployed 5 CAUs and 4 ARMS, installed 3 STRs at depths of 5, 15 and 25 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Batugade, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 1 STR at a depth of 15 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

On the south side of Atauro Island, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 1 STR at a depth of 15 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Baucau, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 1 STR at a depth of 15 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Jaco Island, we deployed 5 CAUs and 4 ARMS, installed 1 STR at a depth of 15 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Betano, the southernmost site in our latest mission to Timor-Leste, we observed live if patchy reef and conducted our typical field activities there despite murky water that made visibility less than 3 m. NOAA photo

At Betano, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 1 STR at a depth of 15 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Lore, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 1 STR at a depth of 12 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Com, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 3 STRs at depths of 5, 15 and 25 m, took 3 (40 cm) coral cores, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

At Ilimano, we deployed 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 2 STRs at depths of 5 and 15 m, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

On the east side of Atauro Island, we deployed: 5 CAUs and 3 ARMS, installed 3 STRs at depths of 5, 15 and 25 m, took 3 (40 cm) coral cores, and conducted a photo-transect survey.

By Oliver Vetter

The 12-m catamaran Cattitude, shown here at Com in a photo taken during work near the northeastern point of Timor-Leste, served as the base of operations for the live-aboard expedition in which a suite of activities was conducted in October to help partners in Timor-Leste monitor the ecological effects (on calcification and biodiversity) of climate change and ocean acidification in their coral reef ecosystems. NOAA photo