Coral reefs mapping using parasailing aerial photography- feasibility study: Kish Island, Persian Gulf Keivan Kabiri & Hamid Rezai & Masoud Moradi & Fatemeh Pourjomeh Received: 13 August 2014 /Revised: 29 September 2014 /Accepted: 30 September 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract A novel technique of aerial photography was ex- amined using parasailing for mapping the coral reefs located in the coastal waters of Kish Island (central north of the Persian Gulf). A total number of 11 overall and 96 overlapped aerial photos were taken (6 overall and 67 overlapped were selected to use) and then were mosaicked and geo-corrected using ENVI® 5.1 image processing software by considering 8 pre-located diving buoys as ground control points. Afterwards, the corrected overall photos were stitched and used to produce a schematic map while the mosaic was digitized by applying a manual on-screen digitizing method in AutoCAD® raster design software, and a GIS-based topo- logical thematic map was generated as output. The final results revealed that the method is applicable to map the coral reefs, while the ability to distinguish coral types by visual interpretation is the most advantageous factor for the proposed technique. Particularly in the studied area, an area ~4,500 m 2 comprising Porites and Acropora spp. as dominant coral genus could be mapped. Additionally, the low cost, quick and easy to manage and implementation, as well as producing precise thematic maps are considered as advantages of apply- ing the proposed technique, in comparison with other alterna- tive methods such as satellite imagery and field observations. In contrast, the limitation of this method is to use it in remote regions or areas with high turbid waters where it is not possible to interpret the coral types visually on the photos. Keywords Coastal mapping . Close-range photography . Remote sensing . Benthic habitats . Coral reefs Introduction Regular mapping of the coral reefs in the near-shore areas is a necessity for benthic habitats conservations. So far, several methodologies have been implemented to map the benthic habitats and particularly coral reefs, such as direct field obser- vations in shallow (Greene and Alevizon 1989; Kabiri et al. 2012; Lirman et al. 2007; Rezai et al. 2010) and deep waters (Freiwald et al. 1999; Huvenne et al. 2002; Singh et al. 2004), satellite remote sensing (Andréfouët 2008; Kabiri et al. 2013a; Mumby et al. 1997; Purkis and Pasterkamp 2004), side scan sonars (Allen et al. 2005; Prada et al. 2008; Riegl and Purkis 2005), acoustic backscatters (Foster et al. 2009) as well as aerial photography (Cuevas-Jiménez et al. 2002; Lewis 2002; Palandro et al. 2003; Sheppard et al. 1995). Walker et al. (2008) showed the ability of a GIS-based combined method including laser bathymetry, acoustic ground discrimination, sub-bottom profiling, and aerial photography data for mapping the coral reefs. Each of the abovementioned methods has its own pros and cons which are important for managers and decision makers to choose a particular method in each study. For example, while direct field observations are appropriate and most accurate for nearby coastal areas, it is the most costly method. In contrast, satellite imagery can be applied for remote areas with lower cost; but the results will be less accurate. The close range aerial photography is another alternative methodology for benthic habitats mapping. In doing so, a camera with an accurate and high resolution multispectral/ hyperspectral sensor can be embedded in an aerial vehicle (such as airplane or hexacopter), a balloon, a wing aircraft, a drone or even a kite to provide photos from the coral reefs (Rützler 1978; Scoffin 1982; Austin 2010; Añonuevo 2013; Fleur 2013). K. Kabiri (*) : M. Moradi Department Remote Sensing, Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, Tehran, Iran e-mail: Kabiri@inio.ac.ir H. Rezai : F. Pourjomeh Department of Marine Biology, Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, Tehran, Iran J Coast Conserv DOI 10.1007/s11852-014-0345-9