Core monitoring programs

The Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program aims to provide Reef managers with comprehensive, timely information on the Reef. Currently, 12 monitoring and modelling programs operating in Australian waters contribute to the overarching Program.

Information from these and other data sources contributes to helping guide Reef management actions. These are external links and they will open in a new tab.

 

Yellow ocean glider on the surface of the ocean.
IMOS ocean gliders

Autonomous underwater vehicles for ocean data collection

Image © Dani Su, University of Western Australia
Close up of crown-of-thorns starfish sitting on a coral reef.
Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) Control Program

Protecting coral in the Marine Park from COTS predation through manual control so their impact on coral is minimised

Image © Commonwealth of Australia (GBRMPA)
Underwater photograph of a colourful reefscape.
eReefs

Insight into current and historical environmental conditions with visualisations of hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models of the Great Barrier Reef

Image © Commonwealth of Australia (GBRMPA)
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority staff member floating in the water, conducting Eye on the Reef training with tourism staff.
Eye on the Reef program

Eye on the Reef is a reef monitoring, reef assessment and capacity building program run by the Reef Authority for tourism industry staff and the wider community

Image © Commonwealth of Australia (GBRMPA)
Underwater photograph of a colourful reefscape.
Future Reef 2.0

Monitoring ocean acidification; a large-scale assessment of ocean acidity in the Great Barrier Reef region

Image © Commonwealth of Australia (GBRMPA)
Brown water from a river flood plume flowing into the ocean.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program (MMP)

Assessing and reporting on inshore water quality and the health of coral reefs and seagrasses

Image © Commonwealth of Australia (GBRMPA)
People on a boat deploying a float.
Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) 

Systematic observing of Australia’s marine environments

Image © Max McGuire, CSIRO
Person underwater conducting a manta tow survey over a reef.
Long-term Monitoring Program – Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) 

The most comprehensive record of reef condition through time, surveying the Reef for over 30 years

Image © Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
Yellow sea temperature logger fixed to a pole, extending out of a coral reef.
Long-term Temperature Logger Program – Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)

Comprehensive database of Northern Australia’s sea temperature

Image © Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
Panoramic image of a bridge, water and wharf.
Remote sensing – Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS)

Using Earth observing satellites to monitor the Earth’s surface

Image © David Boadle, CSIRO
A group of scuba divers underwater.
Social and Economic Long-term Monitoring Program (SELTMP)

Understanding the human dimension of the Reef

Image © Commonwealth of Australia (GBRMPA) 2018
Aerial drone image of a boat and weather station in clear water on a reef.
Weather stations – Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)

On-reef record of climate and long-term trends

Image © Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
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The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority acknowledges the expertise, wisdom, and enduring connections that have informed the guardianship of the Reef for millennia. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners as the first managers of this land and sea, and value their traditional knowledge which continues to inform the current management and stewardship of the Reef for future generations.