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Remote Sensing of Mangrove, Seagrass and Coral Reef Habitats
Chris Chris Roelfsema - Marine Remote Sensing - Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia 4072

c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au


The main focus in the research I am involved in, is on:
“How Remote Sensing can be used as a tool to study the health of tropical marine ecosystems; Mangrove, Seagrasses, and Coral Reef habitats.”

Key factors which make marine remote sensing challenging is:
· the remoteness of the study areas
· the water column characteristics which are influencing the passive and active signals used in Remote Sensing.

spectra coralreef

Research and Application Interests:
• Remote sensing for monitoring coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove habitats
• Field methods and community involvement for calibration and validation of remotely sensed imagery in marine environments
• Using remote sensing as an ecosystem health indicator in marine environments.

Marine remote sensing projects:
• Coral Reefs (Change Detection, Reef Check, Video Surverys and Image Classification)
• Developing field calibration and validation methods for substrate classification.
• Mapping seagrasses in Moreton Bay
• Monitoring Lyngbya majuscula in Moreton Bay
• Monitoring Coral Bleaching, Great Barrier Reef
• Development of Underwater Spectrometer
• Conserving the Marine Biodiversity of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Island
• Mapping coastal waterquality.
• Mapping historical change of mangrove communities along Queensland Coastline
Phd Research

Other Projects:
• GIS and Remote sensing support (ongoing)
• Marine Remote Sensing Workshop, University of South Pacific Fiji (2004, 2006)
• Remote Sensing of the Oceaan Environment Workshop, University of South Pacific Fiji (2005)
• Biology & Oceanography of the GBR” program 2004
• Semester at Sea (2002)
• Coral Reef Remote Sensing Workshop on Heron Island August 2002
• Distribution of Benthic Microalgae on Coral Reefs 1999

Project locations:
• Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia
• Capricorn Bunker Group, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Keppel Islands, Southern Great Barrier Reef Lagoon, Australia
• Swains Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Herald Cay Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
• Suva, Navakavu and Solo Reef, Fiji
• Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands
• Palau
• Glovers Reef, Belize

The research closely linked with the different disciplines at University of Queensland:
- Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science (/crssis/ )
- Center for Marine Studies (http://www.marine.uq.edu.au/ )
- Vision Touch and Hearing (http://www.vthrc.uq.edu.au/ecovis/ )

and national and international organisations
- CSIRO Land and water (http://www.clw.csiro.au/research/sensing/remote/ )
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter (http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/msel/ )
- South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commitee SOPAC, Suva, Fiji (http://www.sopac.org/ )
- Environmental Unit, Institute of Applied Science, University of South Pacific Suva (http://ias.fst.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=2784/ )

Important project links:
• Coral Reefs – Innovative Satellite Image Mapping Techniques.
• Coastal Estuarine Waterways CRC, (http://www.ozcoastal.org.au/ )
• Vision and Remote Sensing ARC Linkage grant (http://ilc00f.facbacs.uq.edu.au/VTHRC/ecovis/prawns%20in%20space.htm) ,
• World Bank GEF Coral Reef Targeted Research: Remote Sensing Working Group (http://www.gefcoral.org/) ,
• Underwater Spectrometer (/CRSSIS/publications/UW%20Spec%20Manual%2029August06.pdf)
• Conserving the Marine Biodiversity of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Island(http://www.cms.uq.edu.au/marbot/Solomons/overview.htm) ,
• Lyngbya Monitoring (http://www.ehmp.org/estuarinemarine_methods_and_indicators.html)
• Ecological Health Monitoring Program (http://www.ehmp.org/)
• several smaller projects.

Marine Remote Sensing Poster Series:
• General
• Coral Reefs
• Seagrass
• Ocean Colour