The EO Dashboard is derived from a suite of different satellites from the EO observation (EO) programs of the three collaborating space agencies: NASA, ESA, and JAXA. Your challenge is to devise a way to visually fuse information from diverse Earth observation datasets of different missions.
This project proposes monitoring microplastic pollution by utilising satellite imagery and correlating any possible pollution to increase or decrease of vehicular movement. As a society, it is necessary that we understand how our behaviours impact on the wellbeing and balance of our oceans.
We as a society surpassed the "information is power" motto with the rise of internet. We are in an era where accessing trustworthy information and knowing where to look is a bigger challenge. Additionally, plastics are one of nature's villains and the world is pledging to reduce their usage, nations and businesses are setting ambitious targets, but in the end of the day if we cannot come up with smart ways of monitoring and educating ourselves regarding plastic pollution, we stand no chance of holding governments, corporations and people to account.
The idea of this project is to utilise several satellite images/information to monitor microplastic pollution as a water quality indicator and correlate with human activities, such as vehicular movement.
Friction between tyres and surface generate a large amount of tyre fragments, which is a type of microplastic. These fragments are washed away with rainfall and eventually enter waterbodies, where they bioaccumulate.
Covid forced people to stay home due to lockdowns, and changes in human movement where noticeable via satellite images, as shown in the Mobility Data.
If mobility data is utilised along side, precipitation, wind, current, surface roughness like the scientists from the University of Michigan have done with data from CYGNSS, patterns can be studied, which should lead us to a better understanding of how transport impacts on water quality from a completely different perspective.
I hope that this concept gives food for thought and more research is done in the area.
This is more of a concept than it is a programme or code, and its inspiration came to me from thinking of how we utilise materials we do not fully understand to later find out how harmful to human health and environment they can be, for example asbestos.
A lot of information is gathered by NASA and to holistically analyse it, great knowledge of how our ecosystems and their cycles function as well as what indicators to utilise was one of the challenges.
In order to develop this concept I had to read a lot of articles to try and understand whether monitoring microplastics via satellite is even possible. Gathering information and digesting it all was the main challenge.
I looked into the mobility data and Jaxa satellites to understand how images come about and, in practical terms, their resolution. I also navigated through the Dashboard to read through some of the other indicators.
https://1drv.ms/p/s!ApcNbjHy_AOjqDbG-Q7xJ6z6E67H?e=zvjC7r
I believe this information can be implemented into the Dashboard, but it would require people to run programmes, write codes and scientists to observe the correlations.
[1] Scientists Use NASA Data to Track Ocean Microplastics From Space | NASA
[2] Satellites and AI team up to spot tiny ocean plastics (anthropocenemagazine.org)
[3] DETECTING MICROPLASTICS POLLUTION IN WORLD OCEANS USING SAR REMOTE SENSING, Davaasuren N. et al. (IGARSS_final_Narangerel_Davaasuren.pdf (stir.ac.uk))
[4]Fate of microplastics and mesoplastics carried by surface currents and wind waves: A numerical mode approach in the Sea of Japan, IWASAKI S. et Al. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17304435)
[5]Methodology Used for the Detection and Identification of Microplastics—A Critical Appraisal, Martin G. J. Löder & Gunnar Gerdts
#waterquality #microplastics #monitoring #mobility
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.