[Coral-List] High Resolution Bermuda Reef Image Online

[Murdoch, Thad]

Ahoy fellow coral-listers

To see spectacular, georeferenced aerial images of the reefs and other
marine habitats of Bermuda please follow the link described below. At
the highest zoom 1 pixel = 50 cm.

www.LookBermuda.com/PhotoMap

The images are derived from the aerial mosaic of the entire Bermuda
platform, produced by the Bermuda Biodiversity Project, Bermuda
Zoological Society in collaboration with the Bermuda Government Dept. of
Conservation Services. In addition, reef and seagrass habitats have been
manually mapped into a GIS database at a resolution of 2500:1 (as have
all roads, houses etc by the Bda Govt). Over 30,000 patch reefs and >20
sq. km of seagrass has been digitized to GIS, providing the framework to
guide better marine science and resource management.

Best Regards,

Thad Murdoch

---News Article Follows---
The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)
Look! A bird's eye view of our Island
July 21, 2005
---
A new high resolution aerial photo map of Bermuda can now be downloaded
online.

The detailed aerial image is a mesh of photographs taken at a height of
4,500 metres in 1997 and can be found at www.LookBermuda.com/PhotoMap.

It was a collaborative effort between LookBermuda Destination Media
Services and the Bermuda Biodiversity Project, which hopes to use the
technology to create the most comprehensive map of Bermuda's coral reefs
and sea-grasses ever produced.

"By adding layers of spatial data over the aerial map in this way, we
may be able to uncover previously poorly understood relationships
between species and their environments, thereby helping us to better
protect our natural heritage," Dr. Annie Glasspool, of the Bermuda
Biodiversity Project said.

"The image, however, has many other uses and we are thrilled that
LookBermuda has been able to develop a truly dynamic interactive system
that will allow people to benefit from this product, and hopefully build
upon it."

LookBermuda's managing director Jean-Pierre Rouja said new technology
enabled them to give free access to the image to anyone with an internet
connection.

"The source image is of a high enough resolution the the user is able to
zoom in to the point of being able to see features such as buildings and
even cars on the road," Mr. Rouja said.

Our system allows this process to happen smoothly even over slow
connections, viewing a several gigabyte source image, that to its size
would otherwise be unmanageable without a high powered computer and
dedicated software."


________________________________________________________________

Thaddeus J. T. Murdoch
Principal Investigator

BREAM: Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping Initiative
Bermuda Biodiversity Programme
Bermuda Zoological Society and Dept. Conservation Services
P.O. Box FL 145, Flatts FL BX, BERMUDA

Tel: 441 293 2727 x144
Fax: 441 293 6451
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