Airborne multispectral imagery was collected over various targets on the beach and in the water in an attempt to characterize the surf zone environment with respect to electro-optical system capabilities and to assess the utility of very low cost, small multispectral systems in mine counter measures (MCM) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications. The data was collected by PAR Government Systems Corporation (PGSC) at the Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility at Duck North Carolina and on the beaches of Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in Southern California. PGSC flew the first two of its MANTIS (Mission Adaptable Narrowband Tunable Imaging Sensor) systems. Both MANTIS systems were flown in an IR - red - green - blue (700, 600, 550, 480 nm) configuration from altitudes ranging from 200 to 700 meters. Data collected has been lightly analyzed and a surf zone index (SZI) defined and calculated. This index allows mine hunting system performance measurements in the surf zone to be normalized by environmental conditions. The SZI takes into account water clarity, wave energy, and foam persistence.
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