Satellites found to have the capability of tracking harmful ocean microplastics daily
Satellite-driven tracking of microplastics in the ocean is generating more data in one day than data collected in twenty years using more traditional measurement methods. University of Michigan researchers used NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) to source data for analysis. The team learned that CYGNSS-tracked patterns of surfactants (roughly soapy/oily residue) are likely to correlate with patterns of microplastics in the ocean.
With eight million tons of garbage entering the ocean each year, CYGNSS could have the ability to identify patterns in the paths of these waste plastics, their common collection areas, and the geographic places that are contributing these plastics to the ocean. The satellite program works by scattering radar signals off the surface of the ocean.
This latest research was led by Yulin Pan, assistant professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, and Chris Ruf, Frederick Bartman Collegiate Professor of Climate and Space Science.
https://name.engin.umich.edu/people/p...
https://clasp.engin.umich.edu/people/...
Paper:
"Effects of microplastics and surfactants on surface roughness of water waves"
Journal: Scientific Reports
February 3, 2023
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29088-9
Learn more:
https://news.engin.umich.edu/2023/02/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/scienc...
https://www.nasa.gov/cygnss
Photo credits:
https://flickr.com/photos/noaaphotoli...
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https://flickr.com/photos/noaaphotoli...
CC BY 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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