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Coral Reef Awareness Week took place around the world the week of July 15 as an annual reminder of the importance of these underwater ecosystems. But considering how important these structures are to both the waters they call home and the lands we live on, they deserve far more attention than they can get in just seven days, especially in a warming world.
Beyond their natural purposes, these habitats are also extremely important to the economy. Globally, they are responsible for an estimated $9.8 trillion each year; in the United States alone, the services provided by coral reefs in the form of fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection exceed $3.4 billion annually.
On the positive side, thanks to satellitesScientists have been able to better understand these “marine rainforests,” which are home to about 25% of our planet’s marine life and more than 4,000 different species of fish.
Coral Reef Awareness Week took place around the world the week of July 15 as an annual reminder of the importance of these underwater ecosystems. But considering how important these structures are to both the waters they call home and the lands we live on, they deserve far more attention than they can get in just seven days, especially in a warming world.
Relating to: Beavers help combat climate change, satellite data shows
Beyond their natural purposes, these habitats are also extremely important to the economy. Globally, they are responsible for an estimated $9.8 trillion each year; in the United States alone, the services provided by coral reefs in the form of fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection exceed $3.4 billion annually.
On the positive side, thanks to satellitesScientists have been able to better understand these “marine rainforests,” which are home to about 25% of our planet’s marine life and more than 4,000 different species of fish.
“One of the biggest challenges before satellites was seabed coverage. We needed more boat-based technology like sonar to monitor different areas, but it was always spotty,” Andrea Rivera-Sosa, project and outreach manager Global Conservation Science program with Coral Reef Alliance“There were more resources and maps in certain areas and less coverage in other areas that were the least explored. Satellites bring new technologies to increase our coverage with global maps,” he told Space.com.
“When you use satellites,” Rivera-Sosa continued, “depending on the resolution and the type of imagery, you can get a big picture of the extent of the reef. You can see many parameters, like a watercolor, and then you can take that image and process it to see the depth and bathymetry and other parameters. If the water is green, there’s more algae, and if it’s clear, there’s less nutrients. We can also see how turbid it is — how cloudy it is — from suspended particles coming from rivers and other sources.”
![An earth globe on a white background is surrounded by different drawings of various satellites. This diagram shows 9 satellites (5 geostationary). [orange] and 4 polar orbits [blue](Updated July 18, 2023) are products that provide data to daily global 5 km satellite coral bleaching monitoring products.](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/GGpiLZ53K9FM6tvSXSDbhg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/space_311/2c9df432e95d20984541c44a6c1e5792)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been at the forefront of establishing a network to monitor and study global coral reefs. In 2000, the organization actually Coral Reef Watch (CRW)and over the past 20 years, partnerships have grown between reef managers and researchers using images and data from NOAA satellites, computer models, and reality.time observations. CRW has really helped scientists monitor the health of reefs and the threats to these habitats from pollution. climate change and overfishing.
“We know that coral reefs are facing serious challenges, particularly from ocean warming, but we also know that reductions in coastal pollution and increases in reef fish stocks can help reefs become more resilient in the long term,” Greg Asner, director of the Center for Global Exploration and Conservation Science at Arizona State University, told Space.com. Allen Coral Atlas (ACA)“We have an excellent understanding of how our satellite data streams are helping people manage and monitor coral reefs around the world.”
“We have an average of 60,000 users per year and approximately 600 to 800 dataset downloads per month,” Asner continued. “Our users use ACA data to make decisions on marine spatial planning and conservation issues, including the designation of 35 new marine protected areas and similar areas since 2020. Many of our users also use ACA to monitor water quality and coral bleaching—the only global near-real-time source for this information.” Soil“
In April, NOAA shared: For the fourth time in recorded historyA global coral bleaching event is occurring. Imagery and data from satellites have confirmed to scientists and researchers that the event is true and where corals are most stressed by these historically warm ocean waters.
A fleet of watchful eyes space can detect changes in location temperature on a very large scale, even in remote locations that have been difficult to obtain data in the past. This is just one example of how satellite imagery is keeping the world up to date on the impacts associated with climate change, allowing scientists to better understand our planet, identify problems, and push for positive change and adaptation.
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“We are all connected to the ocean in some way. Satellites have also helped provide information about the impacts of climate change at a level we haven’t had before. Satellite data provides support for sea surface temperature, sea level rise, bleaching, and can also provide information about ocean acidification,” Rivera-Sosa said. “The oceans help regulate our climate; they absorb all this energy that we, humans, produce. If we continue to heat up our system, our oceans will get hotter and lose their ability to regulate our climate. We are seeing major coral bleaching events and stronger, more intense hurricanes. And we are seeing that impact us everywhere we live.”