Detection of Red Tides by IRS/OCM Imagery

We present a simple algorithm for detection of red patches by remote sensing in coastal waters of Korea. The red tide patches can by identified by the relative intensity of red band signal with respect to the blue-green background signal, provided the radiometric signals only in the sea area are properly stretched. We tested our algorithm by Ocean COlor Monitor(OCM) data of Indian Satellite IRS-P4, which has been received from 2001 by National Fisheries Research and Development Institute of Korea. A comparison of our results with observation shows that the locations of red tides derived from remote sending imagery by our algorithm are in accordance with observations.