How Satellite Images Can Help Scientists Monitor The Health Of Coral Reefs 0 Researchers are learning more about how coral reef halos are formed, and that hold significant promise for conservation.
An extremely low-cost and accessible tool for conservation is on the horizon after decades of research into the natural phenomenon of coral reef halos, scientists say.
Jack Randall, the former senior ichthyologist at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, first wrote about coral reef halos over 50 years ago. Since then, Elizabeth Madin, a marine ecologist and assistant professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, has become a leading expert in the field.
Her latest research would be a game-changer for reef managers in places where there are a plethora of reefs to monitor and fewer resources. Instead of spending time and money to send out dive teams down to count fish and examine the reef in person, they could glean much of the same information just by looking at satellite imagery — using the halos that appear in the photos as indicators for reef health.
