National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Photomosaic images of Cheeca Rocks Coral Reef, Islamorada, Florida collected on 2016-07-11 (NCEI Accession 0178832)

Photomosaics are a composite of many underwater images, digitally stitched together into a single cohesive photo. These mosaics have approximately the same resolution and clarity of the component pictures but collectively produce a “landscape view” of the coral reef community within each plot.

To produce a photomosaic, a scuba diver holds the mosaic rig, containing two separate cameras, above the reef plot while swimming back and forth in a crosshatch pattern. Images are taken from roughly one to two meters above the benthos, at a rate of one image per second per camera. This swimming technique allows the mosaic rig to gather 1500-3000 images which are then compiled into a single photomosaic using Photoscan (Agisoft).