Arizona State University (ASU)

The Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science (GDCS) at Arizona State University leads spatially-explicit scientific and technological research focused on mitigating and adapting to global environmental change. Programs in the Center span data analysis and consensus-building for marine management of the Hawaii Monitoring and Reporting Collaborative (HIMARC), to global geospatial data platforms such as the Allen Coral Atlas, to the multi-scale environmental graphical analysis (MEGA) Lab, and more. Through collaborations across the ASU community and with non-governmental organizations, businesses, governments, and trailblazers in conservation science, we aim to generate innovative scientific discoveries and outcomes that benefit conservation, resource management, and policy efforts. The Center is headquartered in both Hawaiʻi and Arizona.

The Allen Coral Atlas uses satellite imagery to map and monitor the world’s coral reefs. Led by GDCS, the program partners with teams around the globe to utilize high-resolution satellite imagery and advanced analytics to map and monitor threats to the world’s coral reefs in unprecedented detail. These products support coral reef science, management, conservation, and policy across the planet.

The newest of GDCS’s programs, the ʻĀkoʻakoʻa Reef Restoration Program, is a collaborative effort to seed renewed connection between human, coral communities in Hawaiʻi. With major contributions from community leaders, cultural practitioners, ecologists, data scientists and global information systems experts, the initial core focus for restorative work will be on the western side of the Hawaiʻi Island, including in a new state-of-the-art coral research and propagation facility.

HIMARC is a collaboration among research, management, and community organizations that work together to monitor nearshore marine ecosystems in Hawai‘i to inform conservation and management. The program combines existing marine monitoring data into a collaborative database, calibrates the data across methods with novel statistical models, & creates scientific analyses and products in support of marine resource management using these data. HIMARC then convenes, collaborates, and communicates with scientists and stakeholders involved in marine resource management to facilitate consensus-building and collaboration for common outcomes.

The multiscale environmental graphical analysis (MEGA) lab is redefining the way society experiences science by showing that surfers, skaters, and artists are finding new solutions to protect our oceans.