Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Towards Underwater Macroplastic Monitoring Using Echo Sounding

Researchers investigated using echo sounding (sonar) technology to detect and monitor underwater macroplastics in rivers and coastal environments, presenting this acoustic approach as a promising tool for measuring submerged plastic loads that surface trawling misses.

2021 Frontiers in Earth Science 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient Classification of Marine Debris using SVM with Noise Removal and Feature Extraction Techniques with Improved Performances

This study evaluated different image processing filters for reducing noise in underwater photos of marine debris, then applied support vector machine (SVM) classification to automatically identify debris types. Automated marine debris detection technology is important for scaling up plastic pollution monitoring in ocean environments.

2023 International Journal of Advanced Research in Science Communication and Technology
Article Tier 2

Enhancing marine debris identification with convolutional neural networks

A deep learning model was developed to identify and classify marine debris components captured by underwater remotely operated vehicle imagery, addressing the challenge of widely distributed ocean waste including microplastics. The convolutional neural network demonstrated improved accuracy for debris detection and classification compared to conventional image analysis methods.

2024 Journal of Emerging Investigators 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Exploring the Potential of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Microplastic Detection in Marine Environments: A Review

This review explores how autonomous underwater vehicles equipped with sensors could detect microplastics directly in the ocean, rather than relying on labor-intensive water sampling. Current detection methods are slow and expensive, making real-time monitoring difficult. Advances in onboard sensing technology could dramatically improve our understanding of where microplastics concentrate in marine environments.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Deep-Feature-Based Approach to Marine Debris Classification

This study applied deep learning to classify marine debris from images, demonstrating that feature-based neural network approaches can effectively distinguish plastic types and other debris categories to support automated ocean monitoring.

2021 Applied Sciences 57 citations
Article Tier 2

A Simplified Experimental Method to Estimate the Transport of Non-Buoyant Plastic Particles Due to Waves by 2D Image Processing

Not a microplastics paper in the strict sense — this study develops and validates an image-processing method to track the movement of non-buoyant plastic debris particles under wave action in a laboratory wave tank, advancing the physical modeling tools used to predict where plastic pollution accumulates in coastal environments.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Aquatic Trash Detection and Classification: a Machine Learning and Deep Learning Perspective

This review examines machine learning and deep learning approaches for detecting and classifying aquatic trash in waterways, evaluating how computer vision algorithms trained on underwater and surface imagery can automate pollution monitoring for faster, more scalable ocean cleanup.

2025 International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science
Article Tier 2

“WAVECLEAN” – An Innovation in Autonomous Vessel Driving Using Object Tracking and Collection of Floating Debris

Researchers designed an autonomous vessel called WAVECLEAN that uses object-tracking technology to identify and collect floating marine debris, including plastics. The system combines camera-based detection with machine learning to navigate waterways and gather waste without human operation. The study demonstrates a technology-driven approach to addressing plastic pollution in harbors, rivers, and coastal areas.

2024 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovative methods for microplastic characterization and detection: Deep learning supported by photoacoustic imaging and automated pre-processing data

Researchers developed an innovative method combining photoacoustic imaging with deep learning to rapidly detect and characterize microplastics. The photoacoustic technology captured high-resolution images of diverse microplastic samples, while the neural network automated the classification process. The study demonstrates that this combined approach could enable faster, more accurate microplastic monitoring compared to conventional methods.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 16 citations
Article Tier 2

An Artificial Intelligence based Optical Sensor for Microplastic Detection in Seawater

Researchers developed an AI-based optical sensor system combining an optical detection subsystem and an image acquisition subsystem to detect and identify microplastic particles in seawater, distinguishing them from naturally occurring marine particles. The device applies AI algorithms to analyze consecutive image frames and classify particles as microplastic or non-microplastic, with the full system housed in two portable cases.

2023 3 citations
Article Tier 2

An Image Analysis of Coastal Debris Detection -Detection of microplastics using deep learning-

Researchers developed a deep learning-based coastal debris detection system using YOLOv7 and the SAHI vision library to identify microplastics in image data collected from shorelines. The system demonstrated effective detection performance and offers a scalable approach for automated monitoring of microplastic litter in coastal environments.

2024 Proceedings of International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics
Article Tier 2

Advancing microplastic surveillance through photoacoustic imaging and deep learning techniques

Researchers developed a new method for detecting and characterizing microplastics using photoacoustic imaging combined with deep learning algorithms. The approach enables high-resolution visualization of microplastic morphology and distribution in environmental samples. The study suggests that this integrated imaging and AI technique could significantly advance environmental monitoring capabilities for tracking microplastic contamination.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Review of Methods for Automatic Plastic Detection in Water Areas Using Satellite Images and Machine Learning

This review surveys methods for automatically detecting floating plastic pollution in water using satellite imagery and machine learning. The study describes key data acquisition techniques and deep learning algorithms being developed to identify plastic accumulation zones, track waste movement, and help address ocean plastic pollution more effectively.

2024 Sensors 11 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Exploring the Potential of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Microplastic Detection in Marine Environments: A Systematic Review

This systematic review explores how autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) could be used to detect microplastics in the ocean in real time, replacing slower traditional sampling methods. While promising, the technology is still developing and faces challenges with sensor accuracy and deep-water operation. Better detection tools like these could help scientists understand how widespread microplastic contamination really is in marine environments.

2025 Drones
Article Tier 2

Detecting Microplastics in Seawater with a Novel Optical Sensor Based on Artificial Intelligence Models

Detecting microplastics in seawater quickly and accurately is a major technical challenge, and this study developed a novel optical sensor that uses artificial intelligence to identify plastic particles from light-scattering data in real time. The AI-powered system was tested on seawater samples and showed promising accuracy for classifying microplastic types without the need for time-consuming laboratory processing. Automated in-situ sensors like this could enable continuous, large-scale ocean monitoring for microplastic pollution.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Developing Beach Litter Monitoring System Based on Reflectance Characteristics and its Abundance

Researchers developed a beach litter monitoring system using optical reflectance characteristics of plastic debris, training a remote sensing model to detect and classify litter items on sandy beach surfaces. The system demonstrated accurate detection of common plastic litter types and offers a scalable, automated alternative to manual beach surveys.

2024 Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of floating riverine macro-debris transport using an image processing approach

A new image-based algorithm was developed to measure how much floating debris is moving across a river surface, using color detection and template matching. This tool could help track macro-debris transport in rivers, which is the primary pathway for plastic litter reaching the ocean.

2020 Scientific Reports 59 citations
Article Tier 2

TECI-YOLO: An Efficient, Lightweight Model for Detecting Small Floating Objects on Water Surfaces

Despite its title referencing floating object detection on water, this paper studies a machine learning model (TECI-YOLO) for detecting small objects on water surfaces using computer vision — not microplastic pollution. It examines improvements in detection accuracy and computational efficiency for real-time marine monitoring and is not directly relevant to microplastics research.

2026 Journal of Computer Science and Frontier Technologies
Article Tier 2

Towards More Efficient EfficientDets and Real-Time Marine Debris Detection

Researchers improved the efficiency of a class of AI-based object detection systems called EfficientDets for real-time identification of marine debris underwater. Their optimized models achieved better accuracy while running faster, making them more practical for use on autonomous underwater vehicles. This technology could help enable automated detection and removal of ocean plastic waste, which breaks down into harmful microplastics over time.

2023 IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Monitoring macro-litter and microplastics in the Venice coastal area (Italy): evaluation of their distribution and potential sources

Researchers evaluated marine litter contamination in the Venice coastal area using acoustic remote sensing for seafloor macro-litter mapping combined with microplastic concentration measurements across water, sediment, and mussel tissue matrices to assess distribution patterns and potential pollution sources.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Sizing Microplastic Particles Using Acoustic Imaging and Deep Neural Network

Researchers developed an acoustic imaging-based deep neural network system to size microplastic particles in real time, comparing Total Focusing Method and Circular Wave Imaging strategies and achieving accurate particle segmentation from acoustic signals.

2025 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Underwater and airborne monitoring of marine ecosystems and debris

Researchers demonstrated that the deep-learning object detection algorithm YOLO v3 can detect underwater sea life and floating marine debris with mean average precision of 69.6% and 77.2% respectively, using autonomous underwater and aerial robots. The study proposes this approach as a foundation for scalable autonomous monitoring systems capable of tracking marine ecosystems and plastic debris across oceanographic scales.

2019 Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of AI Technique for Controlling Micro Plastic on Marine Eco System

This paper developed a machine learning system using Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms to classify microplastic density in ocean water based on oceanographic sensor data, achieving 93% accuracy. The system is proposed as a scalable, automated alternative to labor-intensive manual microplastic sampling in marine environments. AI-driven monitoring tools like this could make it practical to track plastic pollution across vast ocean areas where manual surveys are infeasible.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying Marine Macro Litter Abundance on a Sandy Beach Using Unmanned Aerial Systems and Object-Oriented Machine Learning Methods

Researchers developed an object-oriented machine learning classification strategy using unmanned aerial system imagery to automatically identify and quantify marine macro litter on sandy beaches, comparing three automated methods against manual counts. The UAS-based approach demonstrated capacity for scalable, cost-effective beach litter monitoring to support coastal pollution surveillance programs.

2020 Remote Sensing 82 citations