Coral reefs worldwide are rapidly decreasing due to global warming, with 75% of reefs experiencing bleaching-level heat stress in the past two years. Consequently, researchers are designing a global real-time monitoring system to help save the world’s coral reefs from further decline.
The collaborative project led by the University of South Australia (UniSA), with input from Queensland and Victorian researchers, is integrating remote sensing technologies with machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor and help stall the damage to the world’s most fragile ecosystems.
Coral reefs, often considered the ‘rainforest of the sea’, only cover 1% of the world’s ocean area but host 25% of all marine life. However, this important ecosystem is under threat from climate change and human activities.
The World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef (GBR), considered the jewel in the crown of coral reefs worldwide and one of Australia’s most significant ecological and tourism assets, has been decimated by severe bleaching events since 2016, exacerbated by ongoing crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and coastal development.
“Our coral reefs are dying very fast due to climate change — not just in Australia but across the world — so we need to take serious action pretty quickly,” says Central Queensland University PhD candidate Musfera Jahan, a GIS data expert.
According to Miss Jahan, by centralizing all data in real-time, researchers can generate predictive models that will help conservation efforts, enabling earlier intervention.
A multimodal platform will distill all research data relating to coral reefs, including underwater videos and photographs, satellite images, text files, and time-sensor readings, onto a central dashboard for real-time global monitoring.
“At the moment we have separate models that analyze substantial data on reef health — including bleaching levels, disease incidence, juvenile coral density, and reef fish abundance — but these data sets are not integrated, and they exist in silos,” says UniSA data analyst and lead researcher Dr Abdullahi Chowdhury.
He further adds that a single centralized model will integrate all factors affecting coral reefs and provide environmental scientists with real-time predictions.
The researchers say an integrated system will track bleaching severity and trends over time; monitor crown-of-thorns starfish populations and predation risks; detect disease outbreaks and juvenile coral levels; and assess reef fish abundance, diversity, length, and biomass.
The technology will bring together datasets from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), and Australia’s CSIRO.
