‘Āko‘ako‘a Geoportal Update

Breaking News!

Thanks to the ‘Āko‘ako‘a diagnostics team, groundbreaking updates have been made to improve the ‘Āko‘ako‘a geoportal even further. As of Friday November 22nd, GAO airborne imagery is now an available layer on the geoportal to provide the first clear high resolution color mosaic of the full coastline. Combined with other layers on the geoportal, this mosaic should make it easier to understand the health and status of the reef.

Photos were collected during the October 2023 GAO mapping campaign in West Hawaiʻi. On board the GAO there is a 65 megapixel camera, which allows for the imagery of about 25cm (10 inch) resolution on the ground. The team used only the best photos while filtering out water glint and crashing waves, then used Structure from Motion (SfM) software to orthorectify, color balance, and combine the photos into a clean mosaic. The new map covers the full western coastline of Hawaiʻi. Coverage goes up to about 1 mile mauka in most places and coverage in water depends on depth and clarity.

Previously the ‘Āko‘ako‘a geoportal only contained background imagery from satellites in orbit. However, satellite imagery is much less consistent and the companies that provide this never focus on the water. Existing satellite products are either extremely dark in the water or extremely glinty, preventing users from understanding what is on the ocean floor. Combined with other layers on the geoportal, this mosaic should make it easier to understand the health and status of the reef.

The high resolution imagery will be loaded automatically when the geoportal is opened. It can be turned off and on by going to the layer list and, under "Color Imagery", clicking on the checkbox next to "GAO West Hawaii High-resolution Color Imagery".

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