Thousands of kilometres of northern Australia's coastline can look deceptively simple from above. Much of the water is clouded by sediment, making coral formations difficult to distinguish from the shifting patterns on the surface. According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), in 2026, scientists found a way to make those hidden structures easier to see without sending a survey vessel into the water. By combining large numbers of satellite images, researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the University of Queensland identified and mapped more than 1,000 coral reefs that had not previously appeared on detailed maps. The work stretches from Western Australia towards western Cape York in Queensland, giving marine planners a much clearer picture of reefs that had remained largely unmapped.
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