Utilization of Different Remote Sensing Platforms for Monitoring Marine Mucilage Assemblages

Anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment, coupled with the increasing sea surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea, can lead to an increase in the frequency of marine mucilage formations. Marine mucilage is a potentially harmful phenomenon with both environmental and economic impacts, as observed in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey, in 2021. The phenomenon occurs in coastal and enclosed marine regions, but in extreme cases, it has also been observed in open seas, making monitoring and assessment challenging. This research explores the potential of remote sensing, utilizing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and satellite platforms with varying spatial resolutions, to track and map marine mucilage formations in an expansive marine geographic region. The exploratory results suggest that fine-resolution data are efficient in mapping assemblages but fail to capture the extension of the impact in the water column. On the other hand, ocean color application-designed sensors, such as Sentinel-3’s OLCI, reveal the degraded status of the waters but are not efficient in tracking floating patches.