Nutrient and water chemistry data of Nu’uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef in American Samoa from samples collected along a water quality gradient between 2024-11-08 to 2024-11-20 (NCEI Accession 0307818)

The data described here are from water samples collected during NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) led fly-in Mission to Nu'uuli, American Samoa from November 4-21, 2024. Five seawater samples were collected at each site, with a total of 20 sites established across a locally known water quality gradient. The seawater samples were processed in the field, then sent to the University of Hawaii at Manoa's SOEST S-Lab to be analyzed for water chemistry and nutrients. This water quality and chemistry data includes chlorophyll-a, dissolved nitrogen, dissolved phosphorus, total suspended solids, seawater salinity (measured at NOAA), and seawater pH (measured in the field).

The analysis of water samples was one of several surveys conducted at the same sites across Nu'uuli Pala lagoon and backreef in November 2024. Other surveys are described separately and accessible under 'Related Items' and include surveys of coral demography, benthic imagery/benthic cover, subsurface temperature loggers, non-coral communities, and coral demography.

The project was funded by NOAA CRCP under project number 31454. Samples were collected by NOAA snorkelers Joy Smith, Juliette Verstaen, and Isabelle Basden.