'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Researchers have completed a comprehensive online map of the world's coral reefs by using more than two million satellite images from across the globe.
The Allen Coral Atlas, named after late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will act as a reference for reef conservation, marine planning and coral science as researchers try to save these fragile ecosystems that are being lost to climate change.
The group announced completion of the atlas Wednesday and said it is the first global, high-resolution map of its kind. It gives users the ability to see detailed information about local reefs, including different types of submarine structure like sand, rocks, seagrass and, of course, coral.
The maps, which include areas up to 15 metres deep, are being used to inform policy decisions about marine protected areas, spatial planning for infrastructure such as docks and seawalls and upcoming coral restoration projects.
"Our biggest contribution in this achievement is that we have a uniform mapping of the entire coral reef biome," said Greg Asner, managing director of the Atlas and director of Arizona State University's Center for Global Discovery and Conservation.
Asner said they relied on a network of hundreds of field contributors who gave them local information about reefs so that they could program their satellites and software to focus on the right areas.
"And that lets us bring the playing field up to a level where decisions can be made at a bigger scale because so far decisions have been super localized," Asner said. "If you don't know what you've got more uniformly, how would the UN ever play a real role? How would a government that has an archipelago with 500 islands make a uniform decision?"
The atlas also includes a coral bleaching monitor to check for corals that are stressed due to global warming and other factors.
Asner said about three-quarters of the world's reefs had not previously been mapped in this kind of in-depth way, and many not at all.
The project began in 2017 when Allen's company, Vulcan Inc., was working with Ruth Gates, a Hawaii researcher whose idea of creating " super coral " for reef restoration was funded by the philanthropic foundation.
Gates and Vulcan brought in Asner because of his work with the Global Airborne Observatory that had been mapping reefs in Hawaii at the time.
Allen, who said he wanted to help save the world's coral reefs, liked the idea of using technology to visualize data, so Gates connected the group with a satellite company called Planet, and Allen funded the project for about US$9 million.
The University of Queensland in Australia used artificial intelligence technology and local reference data to generate the layers on the atlas. Anyone can view the maps for free online.
Both Allen and Gates passed away in 2018, leaving Asner and others to carry on their work.
"Ruth would be so pleased, wouldn't she?" Asner said. "She would just be tickled that this is really happening."
He said about a third of the calls he is getting are from researchers who hope to use the maps to "be sure that their planning and their reef restoration work is going to have its max efficacy."
When Gates found out she was sick, she selected friend and colleague Helen Fox from the National Geographic Society to help communicate with conservation groups about how to use the tool.
"It really was a global effort," said Fox, who is now the conservation science director for Coral Reef Alliance. "There were huge efforts in terms of outreach and helping people be aware of the tool and the potential scientific and conservation value."
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.