Remote sensing of red tide in the Arabian Gulf

In this study, a red tide event in 2008 in the Arabian Gulf was monitored and assessed using multi-source satellite imagery, including MODIS, SeaWiFS, and MERIS. Satellite derived chlorophyll-a and enhanced RGB images were used. Satellite observations revealed the bloom extent and evolution during the 12-month period from August 2008 to August 2009. Analysis suggested that the red tide event could have been initiated offshore and advected onshore by Ekman transportation. The maintenance mechanism supporting the bloom evolution was also discussed. In order to meet the needs of effective detection of red tide and provide insights into its initiation and maintenance mechanisms, marshaling en ensemble of multiple platforms is required. The study presented in this paper demonstrated the benefit of combining multi-satellite observations for interpreting red tide outbreaks and dynamics.