Detecting red tides in turbid waters

As an example of many possible applications of OSMI data, we present a method to detect red tides. In Korean waters, red tides usually occur in the South Sea where the turbidity is usually high due to strong tidal mixing in the shallow sea. The conventional case 1 chlorophyll algorithm cannot be applied since it cannot distinguish chlorophyll from SS (suspended sediments). In October 1998, a red tide outbreak occurred off the coast of KunSan. We analyzed the SeaWiFS data of the outbreak. The standard SeaWiFS chlorophyll algorithm OC-2 was poor in identifying the red tides. However, comparison of spectra of normalized water-leaving radiance indicates that red tide pixels can be distinguished from sediment-laden pixels. Channel 443 and 555 were effective in showing the spectral characteristics. We suggest K490 algorithm as an example in summarizing the information of the spectra and thereby in distinguishing the red tide pixels. Further development is desirable.