Journal Article
The USGS Rotating X-Ray Computed Tomography (RXCT) Coral-Core Archive: Scope, Access, and Standardization
Ferdinand K. J. Oberle; Lauren T. Toth; Nancy G. Prouty; Brooke Santos; Jessica A. Jacobs; Sierra Bloomer; Kian Bagheri; Breanna N. Williams; Jason S. Padgett; Anastasios Stathakopoulos; SeanPaul La Selle
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering · Vol. 14, Issue 5 · pp. 490 · 2026
Abstract
We announce the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Rotating X-ray Computed Tomography (RXCT) Coral-Core Archive, a digital resource derived from ~360 coral reef cores curated at the USGS Pacific and St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Centers. The archive delivers calibrated 3-dimensional image volumes that enable reproducible values of skeletal density, linear extension, and calcification from decadal- to centennial-scale records of coral growth and bioerosion. Cross-study comparability within the archive is supported by a unified RXCT workflow that minimizes imaging artifacts. This includes rejecting image-intensity–density calibrations with r2