Monitoring marine litter from space
A new ESA Discovery study showcased using satellites to monitor marine plastic litter, identifying dense patches in the Mediterranean Sea. Findings offer insights for pollution management and suggest potential for enhanced detection technology.
Read original article
Monitoring marine litter from space has become a reality thanks to a new ESA Discovery study reported in Nature Communications. The study demonstrated the feasibility of using satellites to monitor floating plastic litter, detecting dense patches known as 'slicks', 'streaks', or 'litter windrows'. By analyzing 300,000 satellite images over six years, researchers identified thousands of litter windrows in the Mediterranean Sea, some over a kilometer long. This effort resulted in the most comprehensive map of marine litter pollution to date. The project's automation, powered by supercomputers and advanced algorithms, made this extensive mapping possible. The study's findings have practical implications, such as identifying pollution hotspots, guiding cleanup operations, and assessing the effectiveness of action plans against marine litter. While the current satellite technology used was not specifically designed for plastic detection, the study highlights the potential for dedicated sensors in orbit to significantly enhance detection capabilities. This innovative approach not only aids in monitoring marine litter but also holds promise for applications like oil spill monitoring and search and rescue operations at sea.
Related
The Delusion of Advanced Plastic Recycling
The plastics industry promotes pyrolysis as a solution for plastic recycling, but investigations reveal drawbacks. Pyrolysis yields little reusable plastic, relies on fossil fuels, and uses deceptive marketing practices.
More evidence against the "ecocide" theory of Easter Island
A study led by archaeologist Carl Lipo challenges Easter Island's collapse narrative, suggesting sustainable population practices. AI analysis estimates lower population capacity, supporting sustainable agriculture theories and resilience against ecocide.
Pi Gazing is a project to build meteor cameras using Raspberry Pi
A project called Pi Gazing uses Raspberry Pi computers and CCTV cameras to monitor the night sky, tracking objects like shooting stars and satellites. Users can access open-source code and observations on GitHub.
Mip-Splatting: Alias-Free 3D Gaussian Splatting
The paper introduces Mip-Splatting, enhancing 3D Gaussian Splatting by addressing artifacts with a 3D smoothing filter and a 2D Mip filter, achieving alias-free renderings and improved image fidelity in 3D rendering applications.
Microsoft shelves its underwater data center
Microsoft has ended its underwater data center experiment, noting improved server longevity underwater. Despite success, Microsoft shifts focus to other projects like AI supercomputers and nuclear ambitions, discontinuing further underwater endeavors.
13 commentsI wonder why this is. Perhaps people can still see the ocean as a wilderness, where litter doesn't belong, whereas we are very used to seeing highways etc lined with rubbish?
Edit: the ghost nets come from ships. We need to pinpoint the “fishing vessels who continue to dump their old nets into the sea with impunity.”
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/plastic-problem/pla....
Cost of products sold must include recycling and waste management costs.
Otherwise, the manufactures will keep making devices/items with built-in-obsolescence to make it 'fashionable' for consumers to replace them at the first opportunity.
But I guess the chemistry behind all of this is beyond me. It sure seems like the 3D-printing revolution needs to be followed up with a plastics-deconstruction phase, so that 3D printers don't get factory-produced spools of future ocean-bound plastics, but rather a giant hopper into which one can pile collected plastics from the environment. Some sort of primordial proto-Feed, I guess ..
Related
The Delusion of Advanced Plastic Recycling
The plastics industry promotes pyrolysis as a solution for plastic recycling, but investigations reveal drawbacks. Pyrolysis yields little reusable plastic, relies on fossil fuels, and uses deceptive marketing practices.
More evidence against the "ecocide" theory of Easter Island
A study led by archaeologist Carl Lipo challenges Easter Island's collapse narrative, suggesting sustainable population practices. AI analysis estimates lower population capacity, supporting sustainable agriculture theories and resilience against ecocide.
Pi Gazing is a project to build meteor cameras using Raspberry Pi
A project called Pi Gazing uses Raspberry Pi computers and CCTV cameras to monitor the night sky, tracking objects like shooting stars and satellites. Users can access open-source code and observations on GitHub.
Mip-Splatting: Alias-Free 3D Gaussian Splatting
The paper introduces Mip-Splatting, enhancing 3D Gaussian Splatting by addressing artifacts with a 3D smoothing filter and a 2D Mip filter, achieving alias-free renderings and improved image fidelity in 3D rendering applications.
Microsoft shelves its underwater data center
Microsoft has ended its underwater data center experiment, noting improved server longevity underwater. Despite success, Microsoft shifts focus to other projects like AI supercomputers and nuclear ambitions, discontinuing further underwater endeavors.