Virtual Reality meets marine science in 360⁰

1st June 2016

This is a 360⁰ video. Use you mouse or device to look around the scene. This video is also available at Vrideo and 360Heroes

Harnessing technology popularised by the computer gaming industry, AIMS scientists are jumping in to explore the immersive technology of 360⁰ video as a supplementary tool for underwater video survey methods.

This exciting new video technique removes the limits of the traditional video frame, allowing viewers to explore an entire recorded scene as if they were there. While the most popular uptake of this exciting platform has been within the entertainment and gaming industries, the technology has enormous potential within marine science with a number of projects, such as the Catlin surveys, already recording 360⁰ still images.

Over the past 30 years, AIMS has collaborated in pioneering video survey techniques that are now used all over the world. Current methods such as the baited remote underwater video (BRUVS) and towed video methods are a valuable way of capturing and archiving information from the field and are used regularly for AIMS coral reef health monitoring, benthic habitat mapping and population studies.

Video has a number of advantages over human observers. Cameras can journey far deeper for longer periods than divers, and the information is consistent regardless of camera or conditions. The footage can also be archived for future use and be accessed by a range of expertise.

However, unlike divers, they are restricted to a relatively limited field of view. What happens beyond the frame of the camera is largely unknown. Using this new approach, researchers will have entire panoramas providing contextual information that can be stored and revisited for further analyses months or years later.

“360⁰ video provides us with a greater capacity to determine ‘cause and effect’ from our marine survey videos” explains AIMS Visual Systems Researcher Scott Bainbridge. “Using our current video methods, we can see, for example, that a particular coral on the transect is stony white, but we can’t see what might have caused that. Using this new technique, we can potentially see the Crown-of-thorns starfish nearby that has eaten that coral. 360⁰ video recreates what a diver can do; to be able to both focus on a small area but still be aware of the surrounding environment. The potential for unlocking this extra contextual information is incredibly exciting”.

In the future, this platform can be seamlessly integrated with current high-resolution techniques using data fusion. With 360⁰ video providing the overall context, researchers can “drill down” into features or creatures of interest with ever-increasing detail, all from the one interface.

An AIMS diver carries a 6-camera, 360⁰ video rig on the Great Barrier Reef

The immersive video platform is currently created from six, wide-angle action cameras held in a specially designed rig to capture an entire sphere of vision. The videos are then stitched together using dedicated software.

Viewers can choose to watch the videos in a number of ways. "The full immersive power of the technology is utilised by watching the videos on a dedicated headset, which gives the viewer the impression of being physically present during the scene and in the science" says Patrick Buerger,AIMS@JCU PhD student and 360⁰ video science filmmaker. “This immersive experience is a great science communication tool, and allows the public, our stakeholders and other researchers to become involved in our research activities. Using the headset, viewers turn their head to discover another part of the scene. They can also view the video on their mobile phone, or on a computer, using the mouse to ‘spin’ their viewpoint.

A student dives virtually on the Great Barrier Reef at a recent discovery day at AIMS in Townsville. Off-the-shelf headsets provide a fantastic, immersive experience for 360⁰ videos.

Still in its infancy, AIMS scientists are discovering how to best incorporate the platform with current techniques, including the current video-less manta tow method developed for our Long-term Monitoring Program. Scientists are also solving how to efficiently analyse and manage the large volume of data and files captured by this technique. 

Source :aims.gov.au

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Townsville sector reefs continue to improve since Cyclone Yasi – latest monitoring report now available

8th June 2016

Coral cover was very high on Rib Reef that had the highest coral cover recorded since systematic manta tow surveys began in 1986. Coral cover across the sector was variable.

Mid and outer-shelf reefs within the Townsville Sector of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) continue to show signs of recovery, 5 years after suffering significant damage during Cyclone Yasi in 2011. The latestLong Term Monitoring Program (LTMP) surveys report that the key coral reef health indicator, live coral cover, has increased on 11 out of the twelve reefs surveyed since the previous surveys in 2014 and 2015. Coral cover on seven of these reefs is the highest it has ever been since they were first surveyed by manta tow, over 30 years ago.
 

Despite this upward trend, the surveyed reefs did not escape recent warm ocean conditions that recently affected the Great Barrier Reef. Bleaching was apparent on all reefs and was highest on the outer reefs, where between 10 to 30% of the coral community has bleached. This level of bleaching is consistent with other reefs surveyed in the central sector of the GBR. Coral loss (mortality) as a result of bleaching was, at the time of the surveys, very low.

While not currently experiencing crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) outbreaks, low numbers of the coral-eating starfish were present on the reefs in this sector. Small adult COTS were seen on 2 of the twelve reefs surveyed, which indicates the starfish are recruiting to the area. COTS numbers are expected to increase in coming years, as reefs to the north are currently experiencing outbreaks. COTS outbreaks typically move southward along the Great Barrier Reef.

For detailed information, read the latest report for the Townsville sector here. 

The AIMS Long Term Monitoring Program has been collecting valuable information from across the Great Barrier Reef for over 3 decades. It provides a large-scale, systematic overview of changes to the coral communities of the Great Barrier Reef, and is used by scientists and management to better understand coral reef dynamics over time.

Visit here for more information about AIMS monitoring programs on the Great Barrier Reef and other tropical marine ecosystems.

Source : aims.gov.au

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Nature’s history books all tell the same story

13 June 2016

Lines of change - coral cores, tree rings and fish ear bones are all showing the effects of climate change. Image: AIMS/UWA/WA Fisheries.

Annual growth rings found in trees, corals and even fish ear-stones have shown that climate change has the same, wide-ranging impact on life, whether at sea or on land. This is according to an international team of scientists who found that annual growth rates over the past two decades were very similar for species collected from both coral reefs and the savannah of northwest Australia.

The result, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, provides critical insight into the future of life both on land and at sea. By examining the effects of past climate change, the scientists are better able to predict survival and health of species under present day climate change. For example, during El Niño years – periods with less rain and cooler seawater – growth was slower in all study species, but during La Niña years, when it’s warmer and wetter, growth rates increased across all species.

However, the authors caution that because events such as La Niña are becoming more extreme under present day climate change, their impacts today may differ from those historically. For example, in the summer of 2011, higher sea surface temperatures had disastrous effects, killing fish and bleaching corals.

The growth bands in fish ear bones (top), trees and coral cores tell the story of past climates. Scientists have found they are telling the same story. Image: A.O'Donnell (UWA), J.Lough (AIMS); and J.Ong (AIMS/UWA).

Most importantly, the study showed that different species, even from different environments such as coral reefs and savannahs, respond in the same way to climate phenomena. This means that historic data from one species can be used to explain patterns in others. Given the large historical archives of fish ear-stones, coral cores and trees rings held in collections worldwide, there are many further opportunities to expand this research and improve climate models going forward.

The paper "Evidence for climate-driven synchrony of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in northwest Australia" by J. Ong et al. is published in Global Change Biology. 

Source : aims.gov.au

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Limiting global warming to save coral reefs

Limiting global warming to save coral reefs

23rd June 2016

Extensive coral bleaching on many of the world’s reefs over the past two years has highlighted their susceptibility to thermal stress with global warming already at 0.9°C to date.

“Climate is changing rapidly for tropical coral reef ecosystems which are already showing their vulnerability, even with relatively modest increases in global average temperatures observed to date,” says Dr Janice Lough, Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science and Partner Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Townsville.

The early 2016 mass coral bleaching, that significantly affected the northern Great Barrier Reef of Australia, was linked to the 2015-2016 El Niño.  El Niño events typically result in warmer than normal sea surface temperatures across large parts of the tropical oceans – home to coral reefs. 

The magnitude of natural climate variability has, however, been compounded by global warming. 

A global index of thermal stress (when temperatures exceed the normal seasonal maximum) at 42 reef sites has tripled in intensity since the late 19th century recording 1.3°C during the 1877-1878 El Niño, 2.8°C in 1997-1998 (another major global bleaching event) and 3.9°C in 2015-2016. 

“This is clear evidence that global warming is increasing the intensity of thermal stress events on tropical coral reefs,” says Dr. Lough.

Dr Janice Lough, AIMS Senior Principal Research Scientist

Coral bleaching at Scott Reef, northwestern Australia in April 2016.

Tropical sea surface temperature reconstructions, developed from annually-banded massive coral skeletons, herald a new era for coral reefs. The combination of these results with recent observations, show that 1998 and 2016 were the warmest years for the world’s reefs in at least the past 400 years.

“Over the last 18 months we have observed the impacts of thermal stress causing bleaching of coral reefs across the planet. It is becoming clear that if we are to avoid increases in the number and severity of bleaching events, we need to limit global warming to well below 1.5°C.”

Dr Janice Lough will deliver the plenary presentation, 'A changing climate for coral reefs' at the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium in Hawai'i on Thursday.

Source : aims.gov.au

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