USGS Pacific Coral Reefs Website

Aerial Photomosaics

The photomosaic above shows a large portion of the South Moloka‘i reef tract. Click in the yellow boxes or links below to view a more detailed image of the reef tract.

1993 NOAA imagery processed and mosaicked by USGS

[Hale O Lono] [Pālā‘au] [Kaunakakai] [Kawela] [Kamalō] [East End]

The Moloka‘i reef tract stretches 30 miles (65 km) along the south coast of the island. High-resolution aerial photomosaics provide the basis for mapping shallow-water structures and features of the coral reef. Aerial photography provides an excellent overview of reef habitats due to the typically clear, shallow water. Aerial photography is relatively inexpensive, and with proper planning can allow for optimum conditions (sun angle, cloud cover) during image acquisition. Two problems with using aerials photography for mapping coral reefs are: 1) lack of light penetration in deeper water (greater than 10 to 15 m) limits the overall usefulness of aerial photography as a single-source of information to infer sediment type, and live coral abundance and type, and 2) highly accurate maps must integrate observations that are based on actual in-the-water field observations.

For more information on mapping coral reefs using aerial photography, visit Terra Web, the USGS Terrestrial Remote Sensing Flagstaff Field Center.

[back to mapping overview] [go to Lidar mapping]