Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches
Floating and washed ashore marine plastic debris (MPD) is a growing environmental challenge. It has become evident that secluded locations including the Arctic, Antarctic, and remote islands are being impacted by plastic pollution generated thousands of kilometers away. Optical remote sensing of MPD...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e8f7085b95644903a8f4df23a94e4fc5 2023-05-15T14:01:29+02:00 Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches Jenna A. Guffogg Mariela Soto-Berelov Simon D. Jones Chris J. Bellman Jennifer L. Lavers Andrew K. Skidmore 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091850 https://doaj.org/article/e8f7085b95644903a8f4df23a94e4fc5 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1850 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs13091850 2072-4292 https://doaj.org/article/e8f7085b95644903a8f4df23a94e4fc5 Remote Sensing, Vol 13, Iss 1850, p 1850 (2021) Cocos (Keeling) Islands plastic debris proximal remote sensing macroplastics spectral absorption features shortwave infrared Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091850 2022-12-31T16:16:32Z Floating and washed ashore marine plastic debris (MPD) is a growing environmental challenge. It has become evident that secluded locations including the Arctic, Antarctic, and remote islands are being impacted by plastic pollution generated thousands of kilometers away. Optical remote sensing of MPD is an emerging field that can aid in monitoring remote environments where in-person observation and data collection is not always feasible. Here we evaluate MPD spectral features in the visible to shortwave infrared regions for detecting varying quantities of MPD that have accumulated on beaches using a spectroradiometer. Measurements were taken from a range of in situ MPD accumulations ranging from 0.08% to 7.94% surface coverage. Our results suggest that spectral absorption features at 1215 nm and 1732 nm are useful for detecting varying abundance levels of MPD in a complex natural environment, however other absorption features at 931 nm, 1045 nm and 2046 nm could not detect in situ MPD. The reflectance of some in situ MPD accumulations was statistically different from samples that only contained organic debris and sand between 1.56% and 7.94% surface cover; however other samples with similar surface cover did not have reflectance that was statistically different from samples containing no MPD. Despite MPD being detectable against a background of sand and organic beach debris, a clear relationship between the surface cover of MPD and the strength of key absorption features could not be established. Additional research is needed to advance our understanding of the factors, such as type of MPD assemblage, that contribute to the bulk reflectance of MPD contaminated landscapes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Arctic Remote Sensing 13 9 1850 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands plastic debris proximal remote sensing macroplastics spectral absorption features shortwave infrared Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands plastic debris proximal remote sensing macroplastics spectral absorption features shortwave infrared Science Q Jenna A. Guffogg Mariela Soto-Berelov Simon D. Jones Chris J. Bellman Jennifer L. Lavers Andrew K. Skidmore Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches |
topic_facet |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands plastic debris proximal remote sensing macroplastics spectral absorption features shortwave infrared Science Q |
description |
Floating and washed ashore marine plastic debris (MPD) is a growing environmental challenge. It has become evident that secluded locations including the Arctic, Antarctic, and remote islands are being impacted by plastic pollution generated thousands of kilometers away. Optical remote sensing of MPD is an emerging field that can aid in monitoring remote environments where in-person observation and data collection is not always feasible. Here we evaluate MPD spectral features in the visible to shortwave infrared regions for detecting varying quantities of MPD that have accumulated on beaches using a spectroradiometer. Measurements were taken from a range of in situ MPD accumulations ranging from 0.08% to 7.94% surface coverage. Our results suggest that spectral absorption features at 1215 nm and 1732 nm are useful for detecting varying abundance levels of MPD in a complex natural environment, however other absorption features at 931 nm, 1045 nm and 2046 nm could not detect in situ MPD. The reflectance of some in situ MPD accumulations was statistically different from samples that only contained organic debris and sand between 1.56% and 7.94% surface cover; however other samples with similar surface cover did not have reflectance that was statistically different from samples containing no MPD. Despite MPD being detectable against a background of sand and organic beach debris, a clear relationship between the surface cover of MPD and the strength of key absorption features could not be established. Additional research is needed to advance our understanding of the factors, such as type of MPD assemblage, that contribute to the bulk reflectance of MPD contaminated landscapes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jenna A. Guffogg Mariela Soto-Berelov Simon D. Jones Chris J. Bellman Jennifer L. Lavers Andrew K. Skidmore |
author_facet |
Jenna A. Guffogg Mariela Soto-Berelov Simon D. Jones Chris J. Bellman Jennifer L. Lavers Andrew K. Skidmore |
author_sort |
Jenna A. Guffogg |
title |
Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches |
title_short |
Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches |
title_full |
Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches |
title_fullStr |
Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches |
title_full_unstemmed |
Towards the Spectral Mapping of Plastic Debris on Beaches |
title_sort |
towards the spectral mapping of plastic debris on beaches |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091850 https://doaj.org/article/e8f7085b95644903a8f4df23a94e4fc5 |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic |
op_source |
Remote Sensing, Vol 13, Iss 1850, p 1850 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1850 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs13091850 2072-4292 https://doaj.org/article/e8f7085b95644903a8f4df23a94e4fc5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13091850 |
container_title |
Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1850 |
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1766271322679148544 |