Project Grant NA24OARX021G0028

PURPOSE: WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NEW FLUORESCENCE-ENHANCED, AUV MOUNTED, HIGH RESOLUTION 3D LASER IMAGING SYSTEM FOR CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH. ADVANTAGES OF THIS SYSTEM WILL INCLUDE: ENHANCED AUTOMATED DISCRIMINATION OF BOTTOM COVER TYPE (E.G., LIVE STANDING CORAL, DEAD STANDING CORAL, CORAL RUBBLE, ALGAE); DETECTION AND COUNTING OF CORAL RECRUITS, DIRECT DETERMINATION AND MENSURATION OF 3D REEF STRUCTURE; AUTONOMOUSLY REPEATABLE SURVEY TRACKS FOR LONG TERM RECOVERY, RESILIENCY AND GROWTH STUDIES. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT FLUORESCENCE IMAGING OF REEFS CAN PROVIDE ENHANCED AUTOMATED DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN DEAD AND LIVE CORAL AND ALGAE COVER, AND POTENTIALLY ALSO OF OTHER SEAFLOOR ORGANISMS BASED ON DISTINCTIVE FLUORESCENCE PROPERTIES. THE COMBINATION OF THE FLUORESCENCE SPECTRAL SIGNAL WITH SHAPE AND STRUCTURE INFORMATION FROM THE 3D IMAGING LIDAR DATA COLLECTION AND THE USE OF MACHINE LEARNING WILL PROVIDE A POWERFUL MULTIDIMENSIONAL TOOL FOR BOTTOM COVER CLASSIFICATION. THE SYSTEM WILL BUILD UPON OUR EXISTING AUV COMPATIBLE SINGLE-CHANNEL 3D LASER IMAGER. SINCE CLASSIFICATION IS DONE TO THE PIXEL LEVEL, AREA COVERAGE CAN BE ASSESSED WITH MANY MORE DATA POINTS THAN CAN BE ACHIEVED BY CONVENTIONAL DIVER-BASED SURVEY TECHNIQUES, AND WITH MORE AUTOMATED CLASSIFICATION THAN EXISTING COLOR VIDEO ANALYSIS APPROACHES. MAKING REPEATED SURVEYS AT USER-SELECTED TIME INTERVALS WILL ENHANCE THE ABILITY TO MONITOR CHANGES IN REEF COMMUNITY AND PHYSICAL STRUCTURE. PER NOAAS CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM, THE ANNUAL ECONOMIC VALUE OF CORAL REEF FOR THE US IS OVER $3.4 BILLION AND OVER 500 MILLION PEOPLE DEPEND ON CORAL REEFS FOR FOOD, INCOME, AND COASTAL PROTECTION. BECAUSE OF THE LARGE THREAT TO CORAL REEFS FROM POLLUTION, GLOBAL WARMING, OVERFISHING, AND DISEASE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT LARGER CORAL REEF AREAS BE PERIODICALLY MONITORED FOR EARLY DETECTION OF DECAY AND THUS TO TAKE MITIGATION MEASURES, IF POSSIBLE, TO PREVENT THE DECLINE OF THE REEF. THE LACK OF A SENSOR THAT IS CAPABLE OF LARGE AREA SURVEY SPECIFICALLY TARGETING CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH PROVIDES A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS PRODUCT. DURING PHASE II AND AFTER, THIS SENSOR WILL BE ENHANCED TO PROVIDE AN EASY TO USE AND COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO OUR NOAA PARTNERS, SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, AND INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS. THEREBY, DUE TO THE IMMEDIATE NECESSITY OF A SURVEY TOOL THAT CAN DETERMINE CHANGING CONDITIONS IN A CORAL REEF, BEAMSEA ESTIMATES SALES REVENUE OF $5 MILLION FROM THIS SENSOR AND DERIVED SUBCOMPONENTS DURING THE FIRST 10 YEARS. ADDITIONAL DERIVED APPLICATIONS TO BE EVALUATED ARE SURVEY OF HYDROCARBON AND POLLUTION IMPACTED AREAS, AND FISHERIES HABITAT SURVEYS.