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Remote sensing
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The Remote Sensing Working Group (RSWG) will be developing and testing a wide range of remote sensing tools, including satellite, airborne, acoustic and in-field methods.
Prior to thisTargeted Research effort, the remote sensing of coral reefs has been conducted on an ad-hoc basis with little consistency or general insight into its limitations.
For example, we know that some aspects of coral reef health can be determined on shallow water reefs in French Polynesia but we cannot predict whether this accurate in other locations such as Jamaica, where reefs have a different flora and fauna, are located in deeper water, and where light penetration is slightly reduced because of higher suspended sediment concentrations in the water column.
Without a generic understanding of the limitations of coral reef remote sensing, the technology may continue to be over sold or deployed for unrealistic management objectives, resulting in an inappropriate use of financial resources.
The RSWG will quantify the limitations of coral reef remote sensing by combining modeling and field experiments. Models predict the ability of a given remote sensing instrument to detect the subtleties of bottom reflectance that distinguish reef habitats or the cover of corals and macroalgae within habitats.
While the passage of light through the water column is relatively well understood, the interaction of light between reef organisms, many of which have complex structures, presents a research challenge.
Recent remote sensing research has improved the detail of reef habitat maps but the interpretation and uses of these products for management and measuring and evaluating biodiversity has received relatively little attention. Specifically-
- What do habitat maps mean in terms of biodiversity and reef function?
- How should they be used for conservation planning and to sustain resources?
In addition to improving the capability of remote sensing to help assess coral reefs, this working group will also
- provide technical assistance to the other working groups that might benefit from the use of remote sensing products to complete their investigations.
- organize a wide variety of oceanographic and atmospheric remote sensing products into an International Oceanographic Atlas and will make them available for coral reef and coastal management.
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