• The phenomenon of 'killer rip tides' is being studied by ISRO in collaboration with a private lifeguard agency appointed by the Goa government to safeguard its beaches.
• Rip tides are one of the most common causes for drowning in the shallow waters off Goa's popular coastline.
• The study Ripex 2017 is being conducted by a team of scientists at Space Applications Centre, ISRO Ahmedabad, along with Drishti Lifesaving, a private agency appointed by the state tourism ministry to maintain a lifeguard force..

About Red Tides

• Red tides are strong, narrow currents that flow away from the beach.
• There are many different types of rip currents, and they form in several ways.
• Quickly changing wave heights can trigger a rip current, such as from large sets of swells.
• Rip currents can also occur at sandbar breaks, where water is funnelled out to sea.
• These channels in sand bars lie just off the beach. When water returns to the ocean, it follows the path of least resistance, which is typically through these channels.
• The key ingredient in all rip currents is breaking waves. If there are no breaking waves, there won't be any rip currents.
• The risk of rip currents is determined by many factors, including weather, tides, local variations in beach shape and how waves break offshore. Some beaches may have rip currents nearly all the time, while other beaches almost never see the dangerous flows.
• Rip currents can speed up dramatically in a short time. The unsteady flow of a rip current is similar to standing in a river on land.
• Heavy breaking waves can trigger a sudden rip current, but rip currents are most hazardous around low tide, when water is already pulling away from the beach. In the past, rip currents were sometimes called rip tides, which was a mistake. Tides are really slow changes in water level and by themselves do not induce a rip current.