Caribbean Coastal Data Centre: Navigating the Depths of Caribbean Marine Insights!
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Caribbean Coastal Data Centre
The Caribbean Coastal Data Centre (CCDC) of the Centre for Marine Sciences (CMS), archives data on the coastal and marine resources for more than 30 countries in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Coastal Data Centre, in keeping with the mandate of the Centre for Marine Sciences, is committed to excellence in providing an accessible data archiving facility, with important, accurate and reliable data on national and regional research, monitoring and other projects implemented within the coastal zone.
Explore CCDC
The CCDC archives data for CARICOMP from institutions throughout the Wider Caribbean that have been collecting since 1993. The datasets includes percentage coral cover, sea urchin density, gorgonian density, seagrass (growth, biomass and leaf area), mangrove forest structure and productivity, sea water temperature, salinity and clarity as well as daily maximum and minimum air temperature and rainfall.
Our History
The CCDC was initially established in 1993 as the Data Management Centre (DMC) of Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) programmes, with funding from the McArthur Foundation.
This regional scientific initiative involved a network of marine laboratories, marine parks and reserves, established to study the land-sea interaction process in the wider Caribbean region. CARICOMP focused on understanding the structure and function of the three main coastal ecosystems (mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs) in the Caribbean.
In 1998 the DMC established links with the Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) project through the provision of technical and data management support to the pilot coral reef monitoring component. The DMC was renamed the Caribbean Coastal Data Centre to reflect its expanded vision of becoming a regional data archiving and management centre.
Our main focus areas
Our main focus areas
The main areas of focus are the provision of data management services and technical support to coastal and marine projects in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. The current functions of the CCDC include:
Marine Data Integrity
Providing data archival support to various regional and international marine and monitoring programs, including data entry, error-checking and quality control.
Program Data Distribution
Disseminating data, reports and summaries as required by the monitoring programmes.
Facilitating CARICOMP Communications
Being the focal point for communication, facilitating discussion between CARICOMP site directors and the Steering Committee as well as other individuals and agencies.
Leading GCRMN's Caribbean Node
Coordinating the Northern Caribbean and Western Atlantic node of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN).
Anchoring JCRMN Operations
Being the focal point for the local Jamaica Coral Reef Monitoring Network (JCRMN).
Research Activities
At the heart of the Caribbean, the Caribbean Coastal Data Centre (CCDC) is the nexus of marine research, continually pushing the boundaries of our understanding of coastal ecosystems. Here's a snapshot of our core research activities:
The Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) Program is an international collaboration of
On June 27, 2003, the local arm of GCRMN, Jamaica Coral Reef Monitoring Network (JCRMN) was launc
