Globally, coral reefs are experiencing significant impacts from climate change and direct human activities. Photogrammetry provides an ideal tool for both rapid impact assessments and long-term monitoring. Successive surveys can build up picture of change, allowing quantification of both growth and erosion on multiple scales.
The Great Sea Reef in Fiji is a marine biodiversity hotspot and an important source of marine resources to locals. As part of a WWF funded monitoring programme to ensure reef conservation and sustainable use of resources, benthic organisms and environmental features are being recorded by ZSL and UCL through 3D photogrammetry. These data will compliment acoustic and video surveys of the reefscape, delivering a holistic monitoring toolset to enable responsive ecosystem management of the area.
