[Coral-List] satellite images to monitor Sargassum landing in the southern Caribbean

[Chuanmin Hu]

Last year the Antilles Islands experienced enormous amount of Sargassum 
landing, and this year it may repeat. But one thing different is that we 
now have a better way to monitor the potential landing using MODIS 
imagery - check this out:
http://optics.marine.usf.edu/cgi-bin/optics_data?roi=C_ATLANTIC&Date=4/3/2012&Pass=A1725 

The AFAI image shows Sargassum slicks near the islands, while the CI 
image shows Amazon's plume and other circulation features. What is even 
better is that you can bring both images to Google Earth by clicking the 
GE button, and then you can visualize ocean currents from HYCOM model 
results.
Images are updated everyday in near real-time. We are still trying to 
improve, so comments are welcome.
Cheers,
Chuanmin Hu, University of South Florida