Tropical algal bloom monitoring by sea truth, spectral, and simulated satellite data

This research assesses the potential of using remote sensing ocean colour measurements in algal bloom monitoring by the simulation of 9 different types of ocean colour and high resolution visible sensors. After 2 years of research, the results suggest that large scale (500 m to 1 km) algal blooms may be detected from the ocean colour measurements. The GLI sensor onboard the upcoming ADEOS-II satellite provides the highest spectral capability in bloom type differentiation. In terms of the combination of spectral and spatial capability, the results show that the ENVISAT MERIS sensor provides the best combination. The high resolution mode (300 m) of MERIS is expected to be a very powerful tool in the coastal area as smaller scale algal blooms (150 m-300 m) can also be detected.