Satellites And Light Reflections Help Spot Coastal Plastic Waste
Source: http://spaceref.com/earth/satellites-and-light-reflections-help-spot-coastal-plastic-waste.html
The study, published in Remote Sensing, used the unique infrared signals reflected by plastics to identify even tiny scraps amongst vast stretches of sand and rocks. This sets the foundation for allowing plastics to be detected within satellite images where plastics are smaller than a pixel. Lead author of the study and PhD candidate Jenna Guffogg of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia said monitoring beaches rather than oceans made sense because it's easier to remove the rubbish. "Stopping plastic from entering the ocean is a global challenge. But if we can find and remove them quickly, it's the next best thing," she said.