Nasa to study coral reefs from up in the sky
CORAL reefs have almost always been studied up close by scientists in the water looking at small portions of larger reefs to gather data. But Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking a step back and getting a wider view, from about 7 010 metres above.
Nasa and top scientists from around the world are launching a three-year campaign to gather new data on coral reefs.
Using specially designed instruments mounted on high-flying aircraft, the scientists plan to map large swathes of coral around the world in hopes of better understanding how environmental changes are impacting these delicate and important ecosystems.
The researchers hope to discover how environmental forces, including global warming, acidification and pollution, impact coral reefs in different locations by creating detailed images of entire reef ecosystems.
“CORAL (Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory) is an airborne mission to survey reefs at select locations across the Pacific,” Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences’ Eric Hochberg, who is principal investigator for the project, said.
“The idea is to get a new perspective on coral reefs, to study them at a larger scale than we have before, and then relate reef condition to the environment.”
Hochberg and the project’s lead Nasa scientist Michelle Gierach were in Oahu’s Kaneohe Bay last week to gather baseline data in the water.
While the primary science will be conducted using instruments that map the sea floor from above, the team must also take baseline measurements in the ocean to validate the data they get from the air, Gierach said.
Her main role is to decipher the data gathered from the aircraft.
“PRISM, the instrument that we’re using, is the state-of-the-art instrument for addressing coastal and in-water science questions,” Gierarch said. “CORAL wouldn’t be possible without an instrument like PRISM.”
Coral reefs drive many tourist economies around the world, but they are also critical habitat for the majority of the fish humans consume and also protect shorelines from dangerous storm surges and rising ocean levels. – AP