. Scientific Frontline: Mapping project completed, helping to save world’s reefs

Friday, September 10, 2021

Mapping project completed, helping to save world’s reefs

 
Ailinginae Atoll - Ailinginae Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Photo credit: Greg Asner
All of the world’s shallow coral reefs have been digitally mapped, thanks to a three-year project combining two million satellite images, enormous amounts of field data and University of Queensland-developed mapping techniques.

The Allen Coral Atlas project has officially launched its high-resolution maps of the world’s reefs which, together with the Atlas’s coral monitoring tool launched in May, will revolutionize reef management.

The project is an international research collaboration led by Arizona State University in partnership with UQ, Planet Ltd, National Geographic and Vulcan Inc.

UQ’s Remote Sensing Research Centre researcher Dr Chris Roelfsema said the digital atlas is a comprehensive and continually updated tool, perfect for scientists, policy makers and planners.

“To manage environmental assets like the world’s reefs, you need to know what’s happening at any given time,” Dr Roelfsema said.

“The Allen Coral Atlas provides maps that accurately describe the composition and extent of our reefs globally, and at a level of detail not seen before.

“These maps are connecting people with the data they need to save our reefs – it’s momentous.”

The Allen Coral Atlas, now available online, has been a global effort with UQ scientists playing the leading role in gathering verification data, developing and implementing the mapping approach for the world’s coral reefs.

“The verification and mapping approaches we’ve developed are based on 20 years of experience UQ has in combining reef knowledge, field data and earth observation processes to map and monitor coral reefs,” Dr Roelfsema said.

“This work combined 450 field data sets from global collaborators with machine learning and automated contextual-editing approaches, which helps us achieve the highest spatial and thematic resolution of coral reefs anyone has ever seen.”

The data is needed now more than ever, with models predicting 70 to 90 per cent of coral reefs will be lost by 2050, because of warming, polluted and acidic oceans.

Professor Greg Asner, Director of Arizona State University's Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science and Managing Director of the Atlas project, said he was thrilled to announce the platform.

“It is a gratifying milestone after years of dedicated non-stop teamwork to bring this global map to fruition,” Dr Asner said.

“But the true value of the work will come when coral conservationists are able to better protect coral reefs based on the high-resolution maps and monitoring system.

“We must double down and use this tool as we work to save coral reefs from the impacts of our climate crisis and other threats.”

The Allen Coral Atlas is named for the late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, and founder of Vulcan Inc.

Source/Credit: University of Queensland

en091021_01

Featured Article

Autism and ADHD are linked to disturbed gut flora very early in life

The researchers have found links between the gut flora in babies first year of life and future diagnoses. Photo Credit:  Cheryl Holt Disturb...

Top Viewed Articles