Coral Reef Watch
Coral Reef Watch (CRW) is an online platform that uses satellite remote sensing, modelled and in situ data to monitor coral reef ecosystems. The main focus of CRW is to support researchers, decision makers and other key stakeholders to prepare for and respond to coral reef ecosystem stressors, primarily resulting from climate change and warming oceans.
Using remote satellites sensing technology CRW monitors conditions that cause coral bleaching, disease, and death. It is the currently the only provider of early warnings delivered in near real time and operational climate forecasts providing outlooks of stressful environmental conditions at targeted reef locations world-wide. The resources offered by CRW largely focus on sea surface temperature, but also incorporate light, turbidity, and ocean colour as well as other variables.
This resource allows users to access detailed past, present oceanographic data & future forecasts targeted to their reef location. This information can support evidence based reef management as well as advocacy and local community level decision making.
Use case example:
Rimba is a member of a local community group advocating for the protection of their tropical coral reef. Through an NGO Rimba heard about the Coral Reef Watch Platform and how it can provide past, present, and forecast information about potential stressful conditions for coral targeted to their specific location.
Using the platform Rimba discovered that the reef in her local area was facing an extremely hot summer with sea surface temperatures predicted to be well above historical summer averages. Armed with this science-based evidence Rimba and her group started a community education campaign and approached local government officials urging them to take pre-emptive action to take local heat pressure off local coral (as well as an aquaculture facility) during this period of heat stress to give local coral reefs the best chance to survive.
This campaign resulted in the local government instituting tighter regulation and monitoring of reef-based activities such as fishing and diving and better enforcement over the summer to prevent additional stress on the reef.