BPM’s bathymetry data adding to knowledge of Great Barrier Reef. Blue Planet Marine is part of the extensive effort by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to monitor and cull crown of thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Over the last couple of months we’ve also joined other ‘citizen science’ vessels and logged GPS and water depth data during our travels on the GBR. These data are supplied to Dr Robin Beaman from JCU: James Cook University, Australia, for analysis and mapping. Dr Beaman is spearheading a team working to improve the accuracy of the 3D depth model of the GBR and enable better understanding of the reef habitats and their management. Several organisations are supporting this work, including the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, which provided the grant funds for the data loggers used on each vessel.
The image below was produced using 3D visualisation software. It shows the latest voyage by BPM’s research vessel Flying Fish V (7-14 September 2019) in the Capricorn-Bunker Group, with the vessel’s navigation and depth data superimposed over the latest 3D depth model of the GBR. These new data are special because Dr Beaman and his team can revise the 3D depth model to be more accurate in those places where the vessel has transited, particularly for remote areas of the reef which may have no existing digital depth data.
It’s an awesome project and we’re thrilled to assist. For more info on the project, see https://www.deepreef.org/projects/246-crowdsourcebathy.html.