Estimating Coral Reef Carbonate Budgets Using Structure-From-Motion Photogrammetry

Carbonate budget assessments quantify rates of calcium carbonate production and erosion from habitat-altering marine taxa and can be used to evaluate the potential for reef growth and the persistence of coral reef frameworks. Tracking the key ecosystem processes that control carbonate budgets is increasingly critical as climate change threatens to shift reefs toward net erosional states. However, the complex and time-intensive nature of traditional in-water carbonate budget surveys have limited their application in logistically challenging locations. Here, we introduce a new field-efficient methodology for collecting benthic carbonate production, endolithic bioerosion, and urchin erosion data for census-based carbonate budget assessments using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry.

Barkley, H.C., Halperin, A.A., Torres-Pulliza, D. et al. 2025. Estimating coral reef carbonate budgets using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry Coral Reefs.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-025-02660-7