Coral reefs are larger than expected
: those
in shallow water
cover a total area of
348,000 square kilometers
.
This is demonstrated by the
satellite images
collected as part of the
Allen Coral Atlas
project by the international team of experts led by the University of Queensland in Australia.
The study, published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability, will help to
better plan conservation strategies
for these ecosystems increasingly threatened by man and climate change.
To create a
high-resolution global coral map
, researchers used more than 1.5 million samples and 100 trillion pixels from the
Sentinel-2
and
Planet Dove CubeSat
satellites .
“This is the first accurate representation of the distribution and composition of the world's coral reefs, with clear and consistent terminology,” explains Mitchell Lyons of the University of Queensland.
“It's more than just a map – it's a tool for positive change in coral reefs and coastal and marine environments in general.”
The eye of the satellites made it possible to identify 348,000 square kilometers of coral reefs in shallow waters (up to 20-30 meters), also allowing the composition of these habitats to be determined.
“We found that 80,000 square kilometers of coral reef have a hard bottom, where coral tends to grow, as opposed to a soft bottom made of sand, gravel or aquatic plants,” adds Lyon.
“This data will allow scientists, conservationists and policy makers to better understand and manage coral reefs.”
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