Identification of Reef Characteristics Using Remote Sensing Technology in Ayau Islands, Indonesia

Abstract

The Ayau Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean in Indonesia, has an extensive reef formation. However, information about the characteristics of shallow water, including coral reef and seagrass distribution, is measly in those islands. The aim of this study is to provide the lack of information by utilizing remote sensing technology and field data that was collected by Research Center for Oceanography (RCO-LIPI) through Nusa Manggala Expedition. This study uses Landsat 8 OLI as primary data besides measured field data and Ocean Color data which provide Sea Surface Temperature information. All the data used are processed using image processing and Geographic Information System techniques to obtain the result that reveals the Ayau Islands has 32,347.08 hectares of a shallow areas. The area is dominated by the MIX class due to the long tide time in a reef flat zone and occurs almost throughout the day. The coral reef cover spreads in the deeper and cooler areas while the seagrass cover grows along the coastline, which is nutrient-rich. Moreover, most of the shallow areas are not suitable for the maximum growth of coral reefs in general, which is 78.28% and 21.72% remaining requires protection mainly from anthropogenic factors.