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Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS)
Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project Output Products
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Thematically, our goals require:
1. A regional classification scheme that is relevant to multiple images. The scale of the work and the time allowed for the project obviously limit the details that can be mapped. The level of detail depends first on the type of reefs and their complexity as visible on the images and the processes they suggest. Then ground-truthing data on representative areas, and the abundance/quality of easily available literature help in providing more details. Classes will be labeled as much as possible following accepted geomorphological descriptions. They may sound like broad categories for scientists and managers alike, but in many cases, the geomorphological label will be a convenient symbolic shortcut to embody the different properties we discussed previously. 2. The classification scheme is designed after all the images (anywhere between 2 and 30) within a region have been examined to highlight all the possible configurations of reefs (by compiling catalogues of reef structures). As much as possible, final classes are mutually exclusive and exhaustive (i.e., every pixel of reef/lagoon areas must be classified). The first principle (mutually exclusion) is sometimes difficult to follow. There are areas that can be part of two different classes, reflecting natural transitions or results from the action of complex geological/biological processes. This is where most of the disagreement can occur. Each image is processed independently, but within a given regional classification scheme. We do not create mosaics of images, except for specific projects or for communication purposes. 3. The geomorphological layers are helpful to categorize, locate and inventory reefs. The USF maps are (or will be) the first accurate maps of reef areas, built in a consistent way for every reef within the same reference system. They are thematically much more detailed than any hydrographic chart or the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) maps that provide only reef/no-reef areas, in most cases at 1 km resolution. One of our goals is indeed to improve the UNEP-WCMC database, recently released in the form of the "Atlas of coral reefs of the world" (Spalding et al. 2001), a document considered for the moment as the most consistent global scale inventory of reefs and a useful document for the present study. On request, the following documents can be consulted. Some of them are still under revision by our collaborators. We want these documents to be dynamic, with possible updates provided every time that a new protocol has been designed. For instance, Maldives protocol highlighted some structures that also occur in New Caledonia but were not presented in the same way. This is the main reason we process the reefs in parallel and not sequentially. S. Andréfouët, A. Spraggins, J.A. Robinson. Protocol for mapping and inventories of coral reef formations in Pacific atolls using SPOT and Landsat data. University of South Florida/Johnson Space Center, NASA. April 2002 S. Andréfouët, J. Akl, H. Guzman. "Protocol for mapping and inventories of coral reef formations in San Blas Archipelago, Panama, using Landsat data", University of South Florida/Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. May 2002 S. Andréfouët, C. Payri. "Cartographie et inventaire du système récifal barrière de Mayotte par imagerie satellitaire Ikonos, SPOT-HRV et Landsat 7 ETM+", University of South Florida/Université de la Polynésie Francaise. June 2002 S. Andréfouët. "Protocol for geomorphological mapping of New Caledonia coral reefs using Landsat and SPOT satellite data", Report USF/IFRECOR. University of South Florida. August 2002 S. Andréfouët , A. Naseer, B.G. Hatcher. "Protocol for geomorphological mapping of Maldives coral reefs using Landsat satellite data", University of South Florida/Dalhousie University. September 2002 S. Andréfouët, P. Alcolado, S. Cerdeira, P. Kramer, R. Ginsburg, J. Lang. "Protocol for mapping and inventories of Cuba coral reef formations using Landsat data", In prep (released in February 2003). University of South Florida/Instituto de Oceanologia-Cuba/University of Miami-RSMAS. S. Andréfouët, A. Lewis. "Protocol for mapping and inventories of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, coral reef formations using Landsat data", In prep. University of South Florida/Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. S. Andréfouët. "Protocol for mapping and inventories of non-atoll South Pacific islands", University of South Florida. In prep. The scientific and management community will eventually have open, unconditional access to:
Examples of map products:
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University of South Florida > College of Marine Science > Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS) > Millennium Corals Project Home > Output Products University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS) http://imars.usf.edu/corals/products.html Address questions and comments to Webmaster Updated Fri Oct 19 12:47:31 EDT 2007 (BJM) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
