The service is examining coral reef bleaching, an effect that occurs when the organisms die or leave the area due to an increase in water temperature. This phenomenon changes the ecological balance of the area and consequently can affect the local economies, Rohmann points out. Government-owned satellites gather only panchromatic images, which are ineffective in gathering information about undersea areas, Rohmann says. Commercial images that include higher resolution multispectral imagery provide the organization with the quality of images it needs to map the reefs accurately and conduct its research, he notes. The service has completed mapping all of the coral reef around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and about 70 percent of the area around the Florida Keys.
Work is currently underway to gather imagery of the coral reef around Hawaii.
Space Imaging is expanding the sale of its imagery through its international reseller network. These affiliates are each operated and financed independently of Space Imaging and are assigned sales and marketing rights within regional territories. Brian L. Soliday, Space Imaging's vice president of sales and marketing, predicts that satellite imagery will continue to be combined with additional information to provide not only a picture of an area but also extensive information about it. Improvements to the company's offerings will include the delivery of images online. Today, customers receive images on a compact disc.