Landsat 7 Looks at Coral Reefs: (1 of 2)

  • Released Monday, October 23, 2000
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Coral forms off shore from volcanic islands in tropical latitudes, developing a barrier reef that's separated by a growing lagoon. But over time, while the surrounding ocean wears away the main body of the island, the coral ring remains.

These elegant whorls of color are atolls, enclosed
coral reefs almost always surrounding a lagoon. Generally speaking, atolls
are the products of volcanic islands that have eroded away.

Landsat 7 "sees" the Earth differently than a camera. By detecting light in discretely separate ranges of color or more accurately, electromagnetic bands the instrument can tailor images to highlight particular features being studied by experts. The different shades in these images highlight various features specific to each coral colony. Patches of bright red show places where coral reefs are actively populated with living organisms.

Landsat 7 "sees" the Earth differently than a camera.
By detecting light in discretely separate ranges of color or more accurately,
electromagnetic bands the instrument can tailor images to highlight particular
features being studied by experts. The different shades in these images highlight
various features specific to each coral colony. Patches of bright red show places
where coral reefs are actively populated with living organisms.

Near infrared data instead makes some areas on the reef jump out in bright red relief. The near infrared band best gathers the electromagnetic signature of a thriving ecosystem.

Near infrared data instead makes some areas on the reef
jump out in bright red relief. The near infrared band best gathers the
electromagnetic signature of a thriving ecosystem.

The different shades in these images highlight various features specific to each coral colony.

The different shades in these images highlight
various features specific to each coral colony.

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Scientific Visualization Studio

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This page was originally published on Monday, October 23, 2000.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:58 PM EDT.