Agency gets advanced reef assessment tool

A Teardrop Platform records videos underwater which can be stitched into panoramas. It also captures salient data such as depth and location of coral reefs. DENR REGION 6

ILOILO City – The University of the Philippines – National Institute of Physics (UP-NIP) in Diliman, Quezon City turned over a unit of Teardrop Platform to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6.

Teardrop Platform is a tool developed under the Automated Rapid Reef Assessment System (ARRAS) project – a collaboration of efforts, expertise and funding among national government agencies and the academe.

It was first tested in the waters of the Sagay City Marine Reserve in Negros Occidental.

It has a global positioning system echosounder that records videos that can be stitched into panoramas and captures salient data such as depth and location of the reef.

Once geotagged, the photos can be uploaded as PNG file to Google Earth and can be viewed from there.

By comparison to underwater transect, a traditional manual monitoring done by a licensed diver, this ARRAS tool can be used to monitor the health of coral reefs in less time and is cost-effective.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6 director Jim O Sampulna (middle) receives the Teardrop Platform from representatives of the University of the Philippines – National Institute of Physics. DENR REGION 6

It is an automated reef assessment which can photograph and assess 25 kilometers of a coastline a day.

The tool creates permanent visual records of coral reefs.

On estimate, a 30-hectare area can be surveyed by a Teardrop Platform within four days. The same area is completed in sixty days with underwater transect.

Data taken using the ARRAS tool also comes with a Geographic Information System that contains many types of data.

It also analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visuals using maps and 3D scenes.

“With this Teardrop Platform, we can now have reliable data of the real scenarios of our coral reefs in the region. This can help us make sound decisions on the interventions we will implement to improve the health of our coastal and marine ecosystems,” said DENR Region 6 director Jim O Sampulna.

This new technological advancement also supports Environment secretary Roy Cimatu’s thrust on clean water and healthy coral reefs.

The ARRAS project was done in collaboration of the DENR, Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, UP-NIP, UP Marine Science Institute, UP Department of Computer Science and Mapua Institute of Technology School of Mechanical Engineering. (With DENR Region 6/PN)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here