Queensland researchers have started analysing half a million photographs in a bid to understand and, hopefully, improve the health of coral reefs around the world.
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Catlin Seaview Survey researchers have spent about 350 hours underwater to take more than 500,000 360-degree photographs, which will be analysed at the University of Queensland.
The Catlin Seaview Survey, of which UQ's Global Change Institute is the leading scientific partner, has photographed underwater ecology from 20 countries, spread across 662 kilometres of coral reef.
UQ researcher Manuel Gonzales-Rivero said the Global Change Institute's automated image recognition software could monitor and analyse reefs up to 30 times faster than was previously possible.
"We've been studying coral reefs for a long, long time and it's always been difficult to properly measure on a large scale because, obviously, under water there are limitations to how much time we can spend there, what information we can gather," Dr Gonzeles-Rivero said.
"Most of the research done at this sort of scale is done via satellite, but the satellites cannot reach the outer reefs.
"It can reach lagoons and shallow environments, but when it comes to the slopes that make up a lot of the reef, there's quite a very limited reach from satellite images to actually detect changes.
"So what we're doing is to try to complement the research that's been done through satellites and trying to provide a bit more information in terms of those areas that are actually quite important but are difficult to monitor."
The technology matched detailed underwater surveys with satellite and GPS data, which Dr Gonzales-Rivero said enabled Global Change Institute researchers to study areas of up to 300 square kilometres.
The software was being used to classify habitats, analyse coral reef coverage and study the three-dimensional structure of the reefs.
Dr Gonzales-Rivero was buoyed last week when US President Barack Obama put coral health front and centre of the political debate during a speech hosted by his own university.
The timing of the UQ speech was not lost on Dr Gonzales-Rivero.
"It's fantastic timing, but there are many things happening at the same time in the natural environment and it's our responsibility to take some actions," he said.
"But yeah, [the speech] was certainly quite complementary.
"When it comes to world leaders, the fact that goes into the agenda is quite a good thing.
"The fact that he can promote a greater awareness of what's happening in terms of the coral reef and the natural environment just solidifies the effort that's actually being put in, in terms of what we need to do."
Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop told Sky News she did not believe the Great Barrier Reef was threatened, insisting Australia was doing everything possible to protect it.
And, in New York for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, she said there was "an issue" with Mr Obama's remarks.
The US President was "right on the money", Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, director of the University of Queensland's Global Change Institute, said.
"He was stating a fact," Dr Hoegh-Guldberg said.
"We have one of the jewels of the planet in our possession and we should care a lot about climate and he wasn't getting that from our leader [Prime Minister Tony Abbott]."
- with Peter Hannam
