A GEE toolkit for water quality monitoring from 2002 to 2022 in support of SDG 14 and coral health in marine protected areas in Belize

Abstract

Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems that provide many goods and ecosystem services globally. Coral reef ecosystems are also threatened by environmental stressors from anthropogenic sources and shifting climates. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 (“Life Below Water”) addresses the need to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas, and marine ecosystems, including reef systems. Belize’s coral reef system is the second largest in the world, providing sources of income to Belizeans through tourism and fisheries as well as coastline protection. In order to conserve their marine ecosystems, Belize has a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) throughout their coastal waters. Using Aqua MODIS satellite imagery from 2002 to 2022, Google Earth Engine, and RStudio, we present a workflow to calculate stress days on MPAs and a coral vulnerability index based on sea surface temperature (SST) and Kd (490), a proxy of water clarity. The Corozal Bay, Swallow Caye, Port Honduras, and South Water Caye MPAs had the highest percentages of stress days and coral vulnerability stress index score based on these two parameters among the 24 MPAs analyzed. Additionally, SST in the warmest month of the year in Belize were seen to increase across all MPAs from 2002 to 2022 (p < 0.01). This GEE toolkit provides a straightforward and accessible tool to help governments monitor both water quality and risks to coral reefs in accordance with SDG 14.