USGS Archive of Computed tomography (CT) Scans of Coral Cores

This data release presents computed tomography (CT) imagery generated from coral core samples curated within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral-Core Archive. These data were collected as part of ongoing USGS coral-reef research activities and include samples originating from multiple locations and collection efforts. A Geotek Rotating X-ray CT (RXCT) system was used to acquire x-ray images and perform CT reconstructions of archived coral cores. The full three-dimensional CT dataset consists of individual axial slices which are reconstructed images in TIFF format. These axial slices are oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the core. Two-dimensional orthogonal views are also provided that illustrate representative downcore slabs of each core. Geotek software-proprietary XML files are provided in each folder containing axial slices and orthogonal views, containing more image-scaling and information on x-ray system settings and reconstruction parameters. This data release allows future expansions of the archive to incorporate CT imagery scanned under the same consistent methodology from additional coral cores, locations, and collection efforts.