Stitching It Together: Photogrammetry and Photomosaics

February 4, 2026

Donavon French, Research Specialist, Cardinal Point Captains for Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

Coral reef monitoring through photography is a long-standing tradition at NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, with data collected for over 30 years. As technology advances, the sanctuary's research team is introducing modeling methods through photogrammetry to enhance their long-term monitoring efforts. Donavon French is leading up the effort to better understand the health of the reef by stitching photos together to get a 3-D view and larger-scale 2-D images of the reef.