This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: From a drone flying above the waves to a camera just inches from the seafloor, University of Miami researchers are transforming how scientists observe coral reefs and measure changes that were once difficult, costly or time-consuming to document. Two studies from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science's Aircraft Center for Earth Studies (ACES) demonstrate how advanced imaging and artificial intelligence can offer both broad and highly detailed views of reef ecosystems.
One maps an entire reef system from the air at the scale of individual coral colonies. The other extracts coral boundaries and measurements from routinely collected underwater photographs. Both studies appear in Frontiers in Marine Science.
Together, the technologies could help scientists and resource managers detect reef decline sooner, assess damage after hurricanes and bleaching events, evaluate restoration projects and direct limited conservation resources where they are most needed. "Coral reefs are changing at a pace that requires us to collect and analyze information much more efficiently," said Ved Chirayath, Vetlesen Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences and director of ACES, based in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the Rosenstiel School. "By combining advanced imaging with artificial intelligence, we can examine reefs across much larger areas without losing the fine-scale detail needed to understand what is happening to individual coral colonies." In one study, researchers used NASA Airborne Fluid Lensing and artificial intelligence to create detailed maps of more than 5 square kilometers (about 2 square miles) of coral reef habitat in Tumon Bay, Guam.
Developed by Chirayath while at NASA and now advanced at ACES, Fluid Lensing addresses a longstanding challenge in aerial reef imaging: the constantly moving ocean surface. Waves bend and distort light traveling from the seafloor, causing reefs to appear blurred or displaced in conventional aerial images. The technology captures thousands of images in rapid succession and uses the waves' natural magnifying effect to computationally reconstruct a clear view of the reef.
The resulting imagery resolves the seafloor at the centimeter scale, down to features as fine as half a centimeter (0.2 inches), in water up to about 20 meters (66 feet) deep. Researchers surveyed Tumon Bay in 2022 and again in 2024, allowing them to compare the reef before and after Category 4 Typhoon Mawar struck Guam in May 2023 with winds of 140 mph (225 kilometers per hour). The maps revealed a 59% decline in massive coral cover and a 35% decline in coral fore-reef habitat.
Algae, which can compete with corals for space and impede reef recovery, increased by 105%. Unlike conventional assessments based on a limited number of dive sites, the maps provided a location-by-location record of changes across the entire bay. This level of detail can help managers identify areas that sustained the greatest losses, locate sections of reef that survived and determine where restoration or additional protection may be most effective.
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