This Satellite-Based Monitoring System Could Be a Game-Changer for Coral Reef Conservation
An innovative monitoring system would allow researchers, policymakers, and environmentalists to track reef damaging events across the globe in near-real time.
Rhett A. Butler
Jun 6, 2018
A school of fish pass over a coral reef at Hanauma Bay on January 15th, 2005, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Coral reef conservation efforts will soon get a major boost with a global monitoring system that will detect physical changes in coral cover at high resolution on a daily basis, enabling researchers, policymakers, and environmentalists to track severe bleaching events, reef dynamiting, and coastal development in near-real time. The satellite-based system—which is the product of a partnership between Paul G. Allen Philanthropies, Planet, the Carnegie Institution of Science, the University of Queensland, and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology—will launch at five pilot sites this fall, before rolling out globally in 2020.
https://psmag.com/environment/monitoring-the-worlds-coral-reefs
