Landsat 8 takes a look at Princess Charlotte Bay, Australia, where reefs, river plumes, and sandy islands test the satellite's ability to observe the intersection of land and sea.
Chetumal Bay lies on the Border between Mexico and Belize. To the east of the bay, Ambergris Cay connects the Belize Barrier Reef to the Yucatan Peninsula. The north of the island is Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve. Here, the barrier reef comes very close to the east side of the island. In 1998, reefs in Belize were hit by two major events that led to heavy coral mortality: El Niño-related coral bleaching and Hurricane Mitch.
In 2002, Earth Observatory published one of the site’s most popular images: the Great Bahama Bank. Eighteen years later, the science has advanced but the sand has not.
In February 2017, the Great Barrier Reef continued to be exposed to warm ocean water—the main stressor on this coral system and the reason for its bleaching.
The Îles Eparses (scattered islets) dot the Indian Ocean to the west and north of Madagascar. The islands were protected by the French government in 1975 because of their importance for turtles and seabird nesting. This astronaut photograph, taken on June 17, 2001, from the International Space Station, shows details of the reefs surrounding Îles Glorieuses, one group in the Îles Eparses. The image was used to plan the 2002–03 field expeditions conducted by Agence pour la Recherche et la Valorisation Marines.