The first global map of tropical shallow water has been created through joint effort of NASA and NOAA. Nearly 44,000 SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor) scenes collected over five years were processed to 1 sq.km cells by NASA Space Flight Center using algorithms developed by NOAA for water shallower than 20-30 meters. NOAA is working with the UNEP World Consdervation Monitoring Centre to use this data set to improve the database of coral reef locations used in ReefBase.
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Climate zones shift south as Australia’s northern oceans warm
Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
07 August 2008
Since the 1950s, average sea surface temperatures in northeast and northwest tropical Australian waters have increased steadily, causing a 200km shift southwards of climate zones along the northeast coast and an expansion in the area that can be designated "the tropics".
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