Investigating Optical Properties of Red Tide in a Turbid Coastal Area Near Tongyeong, South Korea

This study investigates the optical properties of oceanic waters around Tongyeong, where the aquaculture farms are repeatedly damaged by red tide since 1995. Through the field data sets obtained from a cruise campaign, absorption by optically active water constituents was obtained to analyze the spatial distribution of the variables, and also to relate to the observation of above-water radiometry for remote sensing of red tide outbreak or intensity. The experiment shows that the area has quite a large variation in both chlorophyll concentrations and suspended sediment concentration, which could complicate the retrieval process. The optical measurements from red tide water shows it has significantly different absorption spectrum and remote sensing reflectance, which will help differentiation between diatom and dinoflagellate blooms