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Finding Plastic Patches in Coastal Waters using Optical Satellite Data
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Researchers demonstrated for the first time that floating macroplastic patches can be detected in optical data from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites, validating detections against ground-truth observations and identifying characteristics that distinguish plastic from other floating material.
Satellites collecting optical data offer a unique perspective from which to observe the problem of plastic litter in the marine environment, but few studies have successfully demonstrated their use for this purpose. For the first time, we show that patches of floating macroplastics are detectable in optical data acquired by the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellites and, furthermore, are distinguishable from naturally occurring materials such as seaweed. We present case studies from four countries where suspected macroplastics were detected in Sentinel-2 Earth Observation data. Patches of materials on the ocean surface were highlighted using a novel Floating Debris Index (FDI) developed for the Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI). In all cases, floating aggregations were detectable on sub-pixel scales, and appeared to be composed of a mix of seaweed, sea foam, and macroplastics. Building first steps toward a future monitoring system, we leveraged spectral shape to identify macroplastics, and a Naïve Bayes algorithm to classify mixed materials. Suspected plastics were successfully classified as plastics with an accuracy of 86%.
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Detection and Dynamic Imaging of Ocean Microplastics from Space
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Researchers developed a remote sensing approach using satellite imagery to detect and dynamically image ocean microplastic concentrations, offering broader spatial coverage than traditional net trawling methods. This study demonstrates that optical signatures of floating plastic patches can be identified from space under certain sea and lighting conditions.
Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery
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Researchers tested whether Sentinel-2 satellite imagery could detect floating plastic debris on the ocean surface, using a 3 by 10 meter plastic bottle target deployed off Cyprus. A newly developed Plastic Index proved more effective than existing indices at identifying the target, offering a promising tool for large-scale ocean plastic monitoring from space.
Towards Detecting Floating Objects on a Global Scale with Learned Spatial Features Using Sentinel 2
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Researchers developed a machine learning approach using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to detect floating plastic debris and marine litter on a global scale, demonstrating that learned spatial features can improve detection of large aggregations of floating objects on water surfaces.
Advancing floating macroplastic detection from space using hyperspectral imagery
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Researchers evaluated the use of hyperspectral satellite and airborne imagery to detect floating plastic debris in rivers and oceans, addressing major challenges related to plastic spectral properties in field conditions. Remote sensing tools for plastic detection are important for large-scale monitoring of the macro-scale plastic that eventually becomes microplastics.
Detection of potential plastic accumulations using spectral signature and remote sensing indices
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Researchers applied Sentinel-2 satellite imagery with spectral signature analysis and remote sensing indices to identify floating plastic debris in Galway Bay, Ireland, finding the technique effective for detecting dense accumulations but limited for true microplastics given the sensor's 10-meter spatial resolution.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.