Abstract Summary
One of the greatest challenge in global coral reef restoration is to quantify what is the status of coral reefs around the world, and where we should direct our active restoration efforts. In this lunchtime workshop, we will learn how to use a new tool to plan, implement and quantify coral reef restoration success. Paul G. Allen Philanthropies in collaboration with Planet, Carnegie Institution of Science, University of Queensland, and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology have produced the first-ever seamless mosaic of high-resolution satellite imagery of the world’s coral reefs. The global coral reef satellite imagery provided by Planet at 3.7-m resolution will be processed and corrected for distortions from the atmosphere, sun glint, materials in the water column and surface waves. The images will deliver accurate information on sea-floor reflectance which is essential for mapping depth, benthic and geomporphic systems around the globe. In this workshop, we demonstrate the mapping tool capabilities by teaching participants how to navigate our global coral reef mosaic and our initial five sites where field verification was completed: Heron Island, Australia; Moorea, French Polynesia; Lighthouse Reef, Belize; west Hawaii and Karimunjawa, Indonesia. Future partnerships will expand mapping from sites to regions in 2019 and then the entire planet in 2020. Also in 2019, the use of artificial intelligence will be applied to detect changes on the reefs and alert conservationists and governments to the situation so that resources can be immediately engaged. Therefore, workshop participants will learn how to use the new tool and how to engage in the developing of the global scale mapping.
