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Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema
Associate Professor

Chris Roelfsema

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 56977

Overview

Background

Research interest: Monitoring ecosystem health of coral reefs and seagrass habitats, integrating field and remote sensing image datasets, and the developing applied cost-effective mapping and monitoring approaches. Developed approaches have been adopted as standard practice globally, making a difference in conservation of these valuable habitats. The long term monitoring studies at Heron and Moreton Bay formed the basis for the development of mapping and monitoring over time and space at local to global scale.

Current projects:

1) Long term monitoring of benthic composition at Heron Reef (2002-ongoing). Annual photoquadrate surveys are being collected at Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef. Initiated to develop remote sensing mapping approaches and assess coral composition over time. The resulting Maps, photo quadrate and benthic data, spectral reflectance are accessible online.

2) Long term monitoring of seagrass composition and abundance in Moreton bay Marine Park (2000-ongoing). For Eastern Banks it included monitoring seagrass species, cover and biomass 15x times since 2004 using photoquadrate survey and satelite imagery and for Moreton Bay it included seagrass extent and cover (2004, 2009, 2015, 2021, 2022), all data accessible via Moreton Bay Research Station.

3) Smart Sat CRC Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Seagrass and Coral Reefs 2023-2027. Collaborative effort with CSIRO, Adelaide University, DES Adelaide Coastal Waters.

4) 3D GBR Habitat Mapping Project 2015 - ongoing: Mapping and monitoring geomorphic zonation, bottom type and predicted coral type habitat for every Great Barrier Reef within the Marine Park.

5) Global habitat mapping project 2019-2023 Developed and implemention of global habitat mapping as part of the Allen Coral Atlas resulting in extent, geomorphic and benthic maps for reefs globally, funded through with Vulcan Philanthropies in partnership with; Planet; the Arizona State University and the National Geographic Society.

Other projects: Advisor for Reef Cloud Australian Institute of Marine Science and Coordinated Global Research Assessment of Seagrass System (C-GRASS).

Current position: Associate Professior in Marine Remote Sensing. Academic Director Heron Island Research Station and affiliated researchers with Centre for Marine Science and Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science

Capacity building: under/post graduate courses; Msc/PhD supervision, workshops/courses; Remote Sensing Educational Toolkit, and online courses (e.g. TNC)

Citizen science: Strong supporter of citizen science based projects, as trainer, organiser and advisor for Reef Check Australia, CoralWatch, Great Reef Census and UniDive.

Availability

Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Aerospace engineering Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences Animal behaviour Applied computing Artificial intelligence Behavioural ecology Biological Sciences Carbon sequestration science Cartography and digital mapping Climate change impacts and adaptation Climate change impacts and adaptation not elsewhere classified Cloud computing Computer vision and multimedia computation Conservation and biodiversity Data engineering and data science Data management and data science Data models, storage and indexing Data quality Database systems Deep learning Distributed computing and systems software Earth Sciences Ecological applications Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation Ecology Ecosystem function Ecosystem services (incl. pollination) Engineering Environmental Sciences Environmental assessment and monitoring Environmental education and extension Environmental management Environmental management Environmental management not elsewhere classified Environmental rehabilitation and restoration Fisheries sciences Geology Geomatic engineering Geomatic engineering not elsewhere classified Geomorphology and earth surface processes Geospatial information systems and geospatial data modelling Global change biology High performance computing Image processing Information and Computing Sciences Information extraction and fusion Information retrieval and web search Invertebrate biology Machine learning Machine learning not elsewhere classified Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Marine geoscience Natural resource management Navigation and position fixing Neural networks Oceanography Other biological sciences Pattern recognition Photogrammetry and remote sensing Phycology (incl. marine grasses) Physical geography and environmental geoscience Physical oceanography Planning and decision making Plant biology Satellite, space vehicle and missile design and testing Satellite-based positioning Semi- and unsupervised learning Spatial data and applications Surveying (incl. hydrographic surveying) Vertebrate biology Wildlife and habitat management Zoology

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, unknown
  • Masters (Coursework) of Engineering, Delft University of Technology
  • Postgraduate Diploma of Marine Science, The University of Queensland
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Science, The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Volunteer, Australian Coral Reef Society, Australian Coral Reef Society
  • Member, Australian Marine Science Association, Australian Marine Science Association
  • Volunteer, Coral Watch, Coral Watch
  • Volunteer, Great Reef Census, Great Reef Census
  • Member, International Coral Reef Society, International Coral Reef Society
  • Member, Professional Assosciation of Diving Instructors, Professional Assosciation of Diving Instructors
  • Volunteer, Reef Check Australia, Reef Check Australia

Research impacts

See Research Impact on Mapping a better future for coral reefs

Works

Search Professor Chris Roelfsema’s works on UQ eSpace

259 works between 1995 and 2024

1 - 20 of 259 works

Featured

2024

Journal Article

Fine-scale interplay between decline and growth determines the spatial recovery of coral communities within a reef

Vercelloni, Julie, Roelfsema, Chris, Kovacs, Eva M., González-Rivero, Manuel, Moores, Matthew T., Logan, Murray and Mengersen, Kerrie (2024). Fine-scale interplay between decline and growth determines the spatial recovery of coral communities within a reef. Ecography, 2024 (1) e06818, 1-13. doi: 10.1111/ecog.06818

Fine-scale interplay between decline and growth determines the spatial recovery of coral communities within a reef

Featured

2023

Conference Publication

The AquaSat-1 mission concept: actionable information on water quality and aquatic ecosystems for Australia and Western USA

Bright, C., Ardila, D., Hestir, E., Malthus, T. J., Matthews, M., Thompson, D. R., Carter, N., Dekker, A. G., Frasson, R. P.M., Green, R. O., Held, A., Joehnk, K., Kravitz, J., Pease, J., Roelfsema, C., Seubert, C. and Wojtasiewicz, B. (2023). The AquaSat-1 mission concept: actionable information on water quality and aquatic ecosystems for Australia and Western USA. IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Pasadena, CA USA, 16-21 July 2023. New York, NY USA: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/IGARSS52108.2023.10282912

The AquaSat-1 mission concept: actionable information on water quality and aquatic ecosystems for Australia and Western USA

Featured

2021

Journal Article

How Much Shallow Coral Habitat Is There on the Great Barrier Reef?

Roelfsema, Chris M., Lyons, Mitchell B., Castro-Sanguino, Carolina, Kovacs, Eva M., Callaghan, David, Wettle, Magnus, Markey, Kathryn, Borrego-Acevedo, Rodney, Tudman, Paul, Roe, Meredith, Kennedy, Emma V., Gonzalez-Rivero, Manuel, Murray, Nicholas and Phinn, Stuart R. (2021). How Much Shallow Coral Habitat Is There on the Great Barrier Reef?. Remote Sensing, 13 (21) 4343, 4343. doi: 10.3390/rs13214343

How Much Shallow Coral Habitat Is There on the Great Barrier Reef?

Featured

2021

Journal Article

Reef Cover, a coral reef classification for global habitat mapping from remote sensing

Kennedy, Emma V., Roelfsema, Chris M., Lyons, Mitchell B., Kovacs, Eva M., Borrego-Acevedo, Rodney, Roe, Meredith, Phinn, Stuart R., Larsen, Kirk, Murray, Nicholas J., Yuwono, Doddy, Wolff, Jeremy and Tudman, Paul (2021). Reef Cover, a coral reef classification for global habitat mapping from remote sensing. Scientific Data, 8 (1) 196, 196. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00958-z

Reef Cover, a coral reef classification for global habitat mapping from remote sensing

Featured

2021

Journal Article

Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatio-temporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

Roelfsema, Chris, Kovacs, Eva M., Vercelloni, Julie, Markey, Kathryn, Rodriguez-Ramirez, Alberto, Lopez-Marcano, Sebastian, Gonzalez-Rivero, Manuel, Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove and Phinn, Stuart R. (2021). Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatio-temporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs, 40 (4), 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s00338-021-02104-y

Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatio-temporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

Featured

2020

Journal Article

Remote sensing of shallow waters – a 50 year retrospective and future directions

Kutser, Tiit, Hedley, John, Giardino, Claudia, Roelfsema, Chris and Brando, Vittorio E. (2020). Remote sensing of shallow waters – a 50 year retrospective and future directions. Remote Sensing of Environment, 240 111619, 111619. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2019.111619

Remote sensing of shallow waters – a 50 year retrospective and future directions

Featured

2020

Journal Article

The global distribution of seagrass meadows

McKenzie, Leonard, Nordlund, Lina Mtwana, Jones, Benjamin Lawrence, Cullen-Unsworth, Leanne C., Roelfsema, Chris M. and Unsworth, Richard (2020). The global distribution of seagrass meadows. Environmental Research Letters, 15 (7) 074041, 074041. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab7d06

The global distribution of seagrass meadows

Featured

2020

Journal Article

Conservation value of a subtropical reef in south-eastern Queensland, Australia, highlighted by citizen-science efforts

Grol, Monique G. G., Vercelloni, Julie, Kenyon, Tania M., Bayraktarov, Elisa, van den Berg, Cedric P., Harris, Daniel, Loder, Jennifer A., Mihaljević, Morana, Rowland, Phebe I. and Roelfsema, Chris M. (2020). Conservation value of a subtropical reef in south-eastern Queensland, Australia, highlighted by citizen-science efforts. Marine and Freshwater Research, 72 (1), 1-13. doi: 10.1071/mf19170

Conservation value of a subtropical reef in south-eastern Queensland, Australia, highlighted by citizen-science efforts

Featured

2018

Journal Article

Coral reef applications of Sentinel-2: coverage, characteristics, bathymetry and benthic mapping with comparison to Landsat 8

Hedley, John D., Roelfsema, Chris, Brando, Vittorio, Giardino, Claudia, Kutser, Tiit, Phinn, Stuart, Mumby, Peter J., Barrilero, Omar, Laporte, Jean and Koetz, Benjamin (2018). Coral reef applications of Sentinel-2: coverage, characteristics, bathymetry and benthic mapping with comparison to Landsat 8. Remote Sensing of Environment, 216, 598-614. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.07.014

Coral reef applications of Sentinel-2: coverage, characteristics, bathymetry and benthic mapping with comparison to Landsat 8

Featured

2016

Journal Article

Remote Sensing of Coral Reefs for Monitoring and Management: A Review

Hedley, John, Roelfsema, Chris M., Chollett, Iliana, Harborne, Alastair, Heron, Scott, Weeks, Scarla J., Skirving, William, Strong, Alan E., Eakin, C. Mark, Christensen, Tyler R. L., Ticzon, Victor, Bejarano, Sonia and Mumby, Peter J. (2016). Remote Sensing of Coral Reefs for Monitoring and Management: A Review. Remote Sensing, 8 (2) 118, 1-40. doi: 10.3390/rs8020118

Remote Sensing of Coral Reefs for Monitoring and Management: A Review

Featured

2014

Journal Article

Multi-temporal mapping of seagrass cover, species and biomass: A semi-automated object based image analysis approach

Roelfsema, Chris M., Lyons, Mitchell, Kovacs, Eva M., Maxwell, Paul, Saunders, Megan I., Samper-Villarreal, Jimena and Phinn, S.R. (2014). Multi-temporal mapping of seagrass cover, species and biomass: A semi-automated object based image analysis approach. Remote Sensing of Environment, 150, 172-187. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.05.001

Multi-temporal mapping of seagrass cover, species and biomass: A semi-automated object based image analysis approach

Featured

2013

Journal Article

Challenges of remote sensing for quantifying changes in large complex seagrass environments

Roelfsema, Chris, Kovacs, Eva M., Saunders, Megan I., Phinn, Stuart, Lyons, Mitchell and Maxwell, Paul (2013). Challenges of remote sensing for quantifying changes in large complex seagrass environments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 133, 161-171. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.026

Challenges of remote sensing for quantifying changes in large complex seagrass environments

Featured

2013

Journal Article

Mapping coral reefs at reef to reef-system scales, 10s-1000s km(2), using object-based image analysis

Roelfsema, Chris, Phinn, Stuart, Jupiter, Stacy, Comley, James and Albert, Simon (2013). Mapping coral reefs at reef to reef-system scales, 10s-1000s km(2), using object-based image analysis. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34 (18), 6367-6388. doi: 10.1080/01431161.2013.800660

Mapping coral reefs at reef to reef-system scales, 10s-1000s km(2), using object-based image analysis

Featured

2010

Journal Article

Integrating field data with high spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery for calibration and validation of coral reef benthic community maps

Roelfsema, Chris and Phinn, Stuart (2010). Integrating field data with high spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery for calibration and validation of coral reef benthic community maps. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 4 (1) 043527, 043527.1-043527.28. doi: 10.1117/1.3430107

Integrating field data with high spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery for calibration and validation of coral reef benthic community maps

2024

Journal Article

New global area estimates for coral reefs from high-resolution mapping

Lyons, Mitchell B., Murray, Nicholas J., Kennedy, Emma V., Kovacs, Eva M., Castro-Sanguino, Carolina, Phinn, Stuart R., Acevedo, Rodney Borrego, Alvarez, Alexandra Ordoñez, Say, Chantel, Tudman, Paul, Markey, Kathryn, Roe, Meredith, Canto, Robert F., Fox, Helen E., Bambic, Brianna, Lieb, Zoë, Asner, Gregory P., Martin, Paulina M., Knapp, David E., Li, Jiwei, Skone, Matthew, Goldenberg, Eldan, Larsen, Kirk and Roelfsema, Chris M. (2024). New global area estimates for coral reefs from high-resolution mapping. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1 (2) 100015, 100015. doi: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100015

New global area estimates for coral reefs from high-resolution mapping

2023

Journal Article

Close-range underwater photogrammetry for coral reef ecology: a systematic literature review

Remmers, Tiny, Grech, Alana, Roelfsema, Chris, Gordon, Sophie, Lechene, Marine and Ferrari, Renata (2023). Close-range underwater photogrammetry for coral reef ecology: a systematic literature review. Coral Reefs, 43 (1), 35-52. doi: 10.1007/s00338-023-02445-w

Close-range underwater photogrammetry for coral reef ecology: a systematic literature review

2023

Journal Article

Network analysis reveals overlapping roles of stakeholders related to seagrass-data provisioning in Indonesia

Sjafrie, Nurul Dhewani Mirah, Wicaksono, Pramaditya, Hernawan, Udhi E., Triyono,, Yuwono, Doddy M., Hafizt, Muhammad, Adi, Novi Susetyo, Ambo-Rappe, Rohani, Prayudha, Bayu, Selamat, Muhammad Banda, Sani, Sofia Yunia, Harahap, Setiawan Djody, Salsabila, Huwaida Nur, Wijaya, Jennifer and Roelfsema, Chris (2023). Network analysis reveals overlapping roles of stakeholders related to seagrass-data provisioning in Indonesia. Marine Policy, 157 105837, 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105837

Network analysis reveals overlapping roles of stakeholders related to seagrass-data provisioning in Indonesia

2023

Journal Article

Control efforts of crown‐of‐thorns starfish outbreaks to limit future coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef

Castro‐Sanguino, Carolina, Bozec, Yves‐Marie, Condie, Scott A., Fletcher, Cameron S., Hock, Karlo, Roelfsema, Chris, Westcott, David A. and Mumby, Peter J. (2023). Control efforts of crown‐of‐thorns starfish outbreaks to limit future coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef. Ecosphere, 14 (6) e4580, 1-16. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.4580

Control efforts of crown‐of‐thorns starfish outbreaks to limit future coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef

2022

Journal Article

Global conservation potential in coral reef halos: consistency over space, time, and ecosystems worldwide

Madin, E. M. P., Precoda, K., Roelfsema, C. M. and Suan, A. (2022). Global conservation potential in coral reef halos: consistency over space, time, and ecosystems worldwide. American Naturalist, 200 (6), 857-871. doi: 10.1086/721436

Global conservation potential in coral reef halos: consistency over space, time, and ecosystems worldwide

2022

Other Outputs

Ecological Assessment of the Flora and Fauna of Mooloolaba Reefs, Queensland: Final Report

Roelfsema, Chris, Gonchond, Delphine, Hammerman, Nic, Gutierrez Isaza, Nataly, Byrne, Ilha, Kalkowski-Pope, Sophie, Barrenger, Trevor, Stetner, Douglas, Salmond, Jodi, van den Berg, Cedric, McVeigh, Rachel, Twomey, Alice, Kim, Catherine, Johnson, Karen and Loder, Jennifer (2022). Ecological Assessment of the Flora and Fauna of Mooloolaba Reefs, Queensland: Final Report. Brisbane, Australia: UniDive; The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/ff22f0f

Ecological Assessment of the Flora and Fauna of Mooloolaba Reefs, Queensland: Final Report

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2026
    Understanding the threats to the endangered seahorse, Hippocampus whitei, in south-east Queensland
    Threatened Species Research Grants
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2026
    Developing capability to assess live coral cover and seagrass species using satellite based hyperspectral imagery
    SmartSat CRC
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    The Lott Support Seagrass - Coral Monitoring
    Golden Casket Lottery Corporation Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Delivery of a 3D live habitat map for the full extent of the Great Barrier Reef (Phase Two)
    Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2026
    Robust citizen science for reef habitat assessment in support of management
    Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Locating Unidentified Reef and Habitat Features in the Northern Australian Seascape
    Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2024
    Improving data on the distribution and ecological value of temperate subtidal seagrass in tayaritja (Furneaux Group of Islands), Tasmania
    University of Tasmania
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023
    Impact and Recovery Mapping of Tongan Coral Reefs Based on Satellite Imagery
    The University of Queensland in America, Inc
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2024
    Indo Pacific Seagrass Mapping
    CSIRO
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2024
    Westport: Benthic Habitat Mapping (WAMSI project administered by UWA)
    University of Western Australia
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Project ARK: Generating critical knowledge to support resilience-based management of Lady Elliot Island (Great Barrier Reef Foundation project administered by The University of the Sunshine Coast)
    University of the Sunshine Coast
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2022
    Allen Global Coral Atlas - Phase 2 (Vulcan Inc. funding administered by Great Barrier Reef Foundation)
    Great Barrier Reef Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2020
    GBRF Habitat Mapping support
    Great Barrier Reef Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Delivery of a 3D live habitat map for the full extent of the Great Barrier Reef
    Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
    Open grant
  • 2018
    Desktop Analysis Reef Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program (RimRep): Technical Innovation
    Australian Institute of Marine Science
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    Global Dynamic Coral Reef Map
    Vulcan Inc
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    Delivering a reef resilience plan for the Cairns management area through an integrated spatial decision support environment
    Great Barrier Reef Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    Marine plant habitat survey and monitoring program
    Griffith University
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    Great Barrier Reef common 'live' habitat maps: Capricorn pilot
    Great Barrier Reef Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Development of new capabilities in Earth System monitoring
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    Seagrass connectivity, community composition and growth: attributes of a resilient Great Barrier Reef (led by JCU)
    James Cook University
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Seagrass as an ecological indicator: resolving challenges of scale and complexity
    UQ Collaboration and Industry Engagement Fund
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    Integration of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Remote Satellite Sensing for Automated and Persistent Monitoring
    CSIRO Flagships Collaboration Fund
    Open grant
  • 2008
    Benthic Habitat Mapping of Aitutaki Reef, Cook Islands
    South Pacific Applied Geosciences Committee (SOPAC)
    Open grant
  • 2004 - 2007
    Conserving the Marine Biodiversity of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands
    MacArthur Foundation (John & Catherine MacArthur)
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Coral Reef Dynamics Integrating Geospatial/Earth Observation/Ecology

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema, Dylan Cowley, Nikki Brown, Stuart Phinn UQ, Julie Vercelloni QUT/AIMS, Emma Kennedy, Juan Carlos Ortiz AIMS and relevant others

    Coral Reef research can focus on work on the Heron Reef but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    Since 2002 UQ Team have used Heron Reef as basis to develop integrated earth observation and field data monitoring, modelling and mapping approaches. Part of that work was establishing a detailed field-based baseline of the reef, which is completed annually and has produced a 20+ year annual data set. Since 2011, the Reef Check Australia Coral Watch Field teams have joined the surveys and collected their associated data sets. Iin 2023 we collected orthomosaics of 20-50 m for 10 sites around Heron Reef, this provide the possiblity to get more detail benthic information and higher spatial scale locally.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building coral reef science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also coral morphologies, or algae cover or other
    2. Developing approaches in GEE for time series analysis to link field data to image date to get high resolution thematic maps of Heron reef.
    3. Ecological assessment over time of benthic components, but also impacts, fish, inverts and general coral healthy using coral health chart, reef check data and geolocated photos
    4. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    5. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

    Title: Use of a semi-automated object based analysis to map benthic composition, Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef

    Title: Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatiotemporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Seagrass Dynamics Integrating Geospatial/Earth Observation/Ecology

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema, Dylan Cowley, Nikkie Brown, Carissa Klein, Stuart Phinn UQ, Julie Vercelloni QUT/AIMS, and relevant others

    Seagrass research can focus on work in the Moreton Bay but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    Since 2000 the UQ Team have used Moreton Bay as basis to develop integrated earth observation and field data monitoring, modelling and mapping approaches. Part of that work was establishing a detailed field-based baseline of the seagrass in the Moreton Bay and specificly Eastern Banks. In the last 20+ years seagrass has been mapped regulary in this region.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building seagrass science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also seagrass species, composition and biomass or other
    2. Developing approaches in GEE or other for time series analysis to link field data to image date to get high resolution thematic maps of Eastern Banks Moreton Bay.
    3. Ecological assessment over time of seagrass composition, but also impacts, fish, inverts and geolocated photos or other field data for the Eastern Banks or the Moreton Bay Marine Parks
    4. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    5. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Multi-Temporal Mapping of Seagrass Cover, Species and Biomass: A Semi-Automated Object Based Image Analysis Approach. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.05.001

    Title: A Multi-date seagrass species and percentage cover field data set, derived from georeferenced photo transects for the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2015.40

    Title: Challenges of Remote Sensing for Quantifying Changes in Large Complex Seagrass Environments https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.01.015

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Coral community assamblage from 3D photogrammetry

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema(UQ), Dylan Cowley(UQ) Tiny Remmers (UQ/AIMS) Stuart Phinn(UQ), Nikkie Brown (UQ) Julie Vercelloni AIMS, Emma Kennedy AIMS, Juan Carlos Ortiz AIMS and relevant others

    Coral Reef research can focus on work on the Heron Reef but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    In 2023 orthophotomosaics were collected around Heron Reef as basis to integrate with satellite imagery and to understand the site level changes in benthic composition. The work can be supported by detailed field-based baseline of the reef, which is completed annually and has produced a 20+ year annual data set. Since 2011, Iin 2023 we collected orthomosaics of 20-50 m for 10 sites around Heron Reef, this provide the possiblity to get more detail benthic information and higher spatial scale locally.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building coral reef science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also coral morphologies, or algae cover or other at site level scale over time and space
    2. Developing approaches for time series analysis of the orthophoto mosacis.
    3. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    4. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

    Title: Close-range underwater photogrammetry for coral reef ecology: a systematic literature review

    Title: Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatiotemporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Encounter Climate Change by Developing Method for Estimating Seagrass Carbon Stock and Sequestration Using Remote Sensing Technology in Indonesia

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Hyperspectral Earth Observation to monitor seagrass species and live coral

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Using space based Earth Observation to map Australia's kelp forests for a stronger Blue Carbon economy

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding tsunami sources and frequency in northern Tonga

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Annie Lau

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Identification of coral deposition, accretion, and erosional zones from detailed benthic and substrate mapping using hyperspectral image data

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn, Professor Gregory Webb, Dr Daniel Harris

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Sustaining life on Pacific atoll islands in the face of accelerating coastal change: insights from three-dimensional change detection analysis

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Daniel Harris, Professor Stuart Phinn

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema directly for media enquiries about:

  • Algae
  • Coral reefs
  • Field methods
  • global
  • Habitat mapping and monitoring
  • Remote sensing
  • Seagrass
  • Water quality

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au