Catlin has made its research on the world’s coral reefs freely available through the online Global Reef Record.

The insurer says the images and scientific data collected by the Catlin Seaview Survey will allow the public and the scientific community to monitor the effects of climate change, pollution and over-exploitation.

Last year Catlin sponsored a major expedition to study the composition and health of sections of the Great Barrier Reef, led by the University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute.

Institute director Ove Hoegh-Guldberg says the Seaview Survey is essential in helping scientists understand problems affecting reefs.

“The Great Barrier Reef is undergoing many changes,” he said. “One of those is that we’ve lost 50% of the coral on the reef over the past 30 years.”