Ground Truthing

Satellites reveal many objects on the Earth’s exterior from their vantage point in space, but until recently they’ve never been able to accurately detail what is BENEATH the surface of the ocean. In this film, a team of scientists ‘ground truth’ an innovative use of satellite imagery to produce a new and groundbreaking research tool.

Researchers compare estimates of coral cover calculated from satellite images to what is actually present in the environment. Verifying this satellite image data makes this research tool, and any conclusions drawn from it, much more robust.

References

ETE Team. (2004, March 8). Remote sensing. The Center for Educational Technologies’ Classroom of the Future. Retrieved 8 August 2008 from http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/coralreef/CRremote.html

Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. Remote sensing of coral reefs. Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. Retrieved 29 August 2008 from http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Reefs/

Mumby, P. & Green, E. (2000). Mapping coral reefs and macroalgae. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 8 August 2008 from http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/source/rs12b.htm

Palumbi, S. et al. (2003, March). New wave: High-tech tools to help marine reserve research. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1 (2): 73-79. Retrieved 16 September 2008 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3868033

Planetary Coral Reef Foundation. (2007, September 6). Mapping coral reefs from space. Planetary Coral Reef Foundation. Retrieved 8 August 2008 from http://www.pcrf.org/remotesensing.html