In collaboration with the University of Guam, PlanBlue has published a peer reviewed article on the use of PlanBlue’s DiveRay for reef monitoring in the renowned scientific journal Scientific Reports.

Decline of global coral reefs is happening, and some wonder if it is still possible to turn this around. If we want to stand a chance, we need a better understanding of the health of tropical reefs, so effective measures can be put in place to protect them. PlanBlue developed the DiveRay, a diver-operated hyperspectral imager, and a complementary machine learning pipeline, to automate monitoring of benthic ecosystems. Technological innovations that improve the speed, scale, reproducibility, and accuracy of monitoring surveys will speed up our understanding of the global decline in tropical reef health and act before it is too late.

The purpose of the study with the University of Guam was to assess whether PlanBlue’s technology can be used for effective surveying and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems. For this study the team surveyed eight reefs in Guam, USA, and used two approaches for benthic classification. The findings from the DiveRay were compared with concurrently conducted photoquadrat surveys to determine their accuracy and utility as a proxy for reef surveys.

The findings show that dependent on a well-annotated library, underwater hyperspectral imaging can be used to quickly, repeatedly, and accurately monitor and map dynamic benthic communities on tropical reefs using broad benthic categories.

For details on the analysis, methodologies, and findings, please find the article here: Article in Scientific Reports: Assessment of the utility of underwater hyperspectral imaging for surveying and monitoring coral reef ecosystems