Other types of corals that do not require warm water or sunlight are found in deep water, providing important habitats for commercial, recreational and other species. .
Satellite imagery provides a scale that can be used to determine reef from non reef. Satellite data can also be used to provide information on oceanic processes and current patterns around reefs. Aerial photographs can provide a much finer scale but without the spectral resolution and measure of absolute radiance.
"The application of remote sensing for coral reef management include baseline cartographic mapping, mapping reef geomorphology, and mapping reef habitats. Generally, more detailed mapping objectives require more sophisticated remote sensing techniques. Most satellite mounted sensors are able to provide information on reef geomorphology and limited ecological information such as the location of corals, sand, algal and seagrass habitats with an accuracy ranging from 50-70%. The most cost effective satellite sensor for habitat mapping are Landsat TM, and SPOT XS . Color aerial photography can resolve slightly more detailed ecological information on reef habitats but, for general purposes mapping, satellite imagery is more effective. At low altitude, infra-red aerial photography can be used to estimate live-coral cover over shallow reef flats. However, since the low altitude restricts the areal coverage of each photograph this method is only appropriate for small area. The most accurate means of making detailed reef habitat maps appear to be use of airborne multi-spectral instruments such as CASI. (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager)". (CSI, bib.#1).
Over the past decade, there have been increased efforts to establish better management and conservation measures to protect the diversity of the biologically rich areas of coral reefs and related benthic habitats. Remote sensing can be used as a management tool to map and monitor the geographic extent of coral reefs to a limited degree given the available satellite imagery, but perhaps its true value is in its ability to identify areas of change over time.