The Coral Reef Environmental Observatory Network is a collaborating association of scientists and engineers from around the world striving to design and build marine sensor networks. Presently this is not a formal organisation but instead the group is bonded by good will and the financial assistance of the Moore Foundation. New members are welcome.

Sensor networks on land are becoming common as this exciting technology allows us to view the environment in real time and in many dimensions such as temperature in 3D. Extending this to the marine environment poses many challenges such as fouling and data transmission. However the benefits are enormous as we attempt to understand the stresses that are shaping the marine world. In particular coral reefs are exhibiting signs of decay around the world as global warming, over fishing and pollution have an impact.

The group presently is deploying sensor networks in locations as diverse as Moorea in French Polynesia to the shores of Taiwan in the Kenting coral reef group and the Great Barrier Reef. Using a variety of platforms and insturments the CREON group hope to solve some of the more technical aspects in a collaborative framework. The report from the previous meeting outlines the objectives and the implementation scheduale.

Photo: Divers position one of the monitoring PAM sensors at Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas to monitor the species (Agaricia agaricites),Photo by Dr. Erich Mueller