The Future of Coral Reef Protection
help save the world’s coral reefs from further decline, primarily caused by bleaching as a result of global warming. In the past two years, 75% of coral reefs worldwide have experienced bleaching-level heat stress.A collaborative project led by the University of South Australia is integrating remote sensing technologies with machine learning, AI and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor the damage.A multimodal platform will distil all research data relating to coral reefs, including underwater videos and photographs, satellite images, text files and time-sensor readings, onto a central
NOC Secures £11M for Early Warning Systems
pioneering technology, we will lead and collaborate on multiple projects to enhance our ability to detect early warning signs and better understand the future of our changing ocean."The NOC-led projects, which are subject to final contract negotiation, are Full Ocean Fibre, Aerial Experimental Remote sensing of Ocean Salinity, heaT, Advection and Thermohaline Shifts (AEROSTATS), and Subpolar gyre Observations, models, and artificial intelligence to Resolve Tipping points and provide Early warning Detection (SORTED). Full Ocean Fibre, with partner National Physical Laboratory, will target the
Integrated Data System for Coral Reefs Enables AI Analysis
Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has been decimated by severe bleaching events since 2016, exacerbated by ongoing crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and coastal development.A collaborative project led by the University of South Australia, with input from Queensland and Victorian researchers, is integrating remote sensing technologies with machine learning, AI and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor and hopefully stall the damage.A multimodal platform will distil all research data relating to coral reefs, including underwater videos and photographs, satellite images, text files and time-sensor readings
Eyesea and SalmonChile Successfully Complete Patagonia Coastal Waste Monitoring Pilot Using Satellite Spectrometry
concentrations over enormous areas using satellite image spectrometry. As a result, our partners and local communities can better organize clean-up work.” The project utilized satellite spectrometry from Eyesea’s partner, Grundo.io, to establish contamination baselines, calibrating remote sensing data with on-the-ground findings.The generated heat maps enabled targeted cleanup efforts by identifying high-accumulation zones, streamlining resource allocation, and improving response strategies. According to the final report, the pilot confirmed the system’s viability for scaling waste
Seals Have Preferences for Different Icebergs
and freshwater runoff streaming from the base of the glacier. Called a plume, this jet of water is more buoyant than the salty ocean water in the fjord. The plume brings plankton and fish to the surface, creating a moving buffet that seals can snack on from icebergs. The researchers used remote sensing data to find the plume and compared it to where icebergs and seals are during the pupping season in June and molting season in August. They found that during the pupping season, seals that were out of the water generally could be found on slower-moving icebergs, with speeds slower than 7-8 inches
Study to Explore Impact of Floating Offshore Wind Farms on Ocean Life
Scientists from the University of Plymouth, Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Biological Association are leading a new project exploring the consequences of floating offshore wind farms on ocean life.The FRONTLINE project will employ AUVs, satellite remote sensing, digital video aerial surveys and seabird and fisheries tracking to investigate how the rapid expansion of these wind farms and climate warming is likely to affect oceanographic processes and marine life.The study will gather data from the Celtic Sea, identified by the UK Government as a prime location for accelerating offshore wind
US Funds New Technology for Fisheries Research
collection to account for the effects of climate change and improve fish and marine mammal stock assessments.The funding will modernize and transform the agency’s technological capabilities and broaden the scope of observations that NOAA collects using innovative methods like uncrewed systems, remote sensing and environmental DNA collection.Another $40 million will fund the Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative to provide resource managers and fishing communities with the information they need to build resilience and adapt to changing marine ecosystems. This initiative will establish an operationa
NOC Appoints Huvenne, Carvalho Chief Scientists
reefs, submarine canyons, hydrothermal vents or seamounts. She is currently Associate Head of Ocean BioGeosciences at NOC.Dr Carvalho is an oceanographer interested in biophysical interactions and the biological carbon pump and uses data from underwater gliders as well as other autonomous platforms, remote sensing and shipboard oceanographic data in her work
Curtin, NASA Tap Ocean Information from Space
.Researchers recently deployed a 15-metre-tall buoy off the coast of Perth, Western Australia, as part of a new project to ensure the data quality for NASA’s newly launched PACE (Plankton, Aerosols, Clouds, Ocean Ecosystems) satellite mission.Professor David Antoine, head of Curtin’s Remote Sensing and Satellite Research Group (RSSRG) in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the new optical system, known as MarONet (Marine Optical Network), deployed near WA’s Rottnest Island will play a critical role in verifying - or ‘ground-truthing’ - PACE’s satellite
February 2025
