Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery
Plastic litter floating in the ocean is a significant problem on a global scale. This study examines whether Sentinel-2 satellite images can be used to identify plastic litter on the sea surface for monitoring, collection and disposal. A pilot study was conducted to determine if plastic targets on t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/16/2648 |
| _version_ | 1827709250744352768 |
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| author | Kyriacos Themistocleous Christiana Papoutsa Silas Michaelides Diofantos Hadjimitsis |
| author_facet | Kyriacos Themistocleous Christiana Papoutsa Silas Michaelides Diofantos Hadjimitsis |
| author_sort | Kyriacos Themistocleous |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plastic litter floating in the ocean is a significant problem on a global scale. This study examines whether Sentinel-2 satellite images can be used to identify plastic litter on the sea surface for monitoring, collection and disposal. A pilot study was conducted to determine if plastic targets on the sea surface can be detected using remote sensing techniques with Sentinel-2 data. A target made up of plastic water bottles with a surface measuring 3 m × 10 m was created, which was subsequently placed in the sea near the Old Port in Limassol, Cyprus. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to acquire multispectral aerial images of the area of interest during the same time as the Sentinel-2 satellite overpass. Spectral signatures of the water and the plastic litter after it was placed in the water were taken with an SVC HR1024 spectroradiometer. The study found that the plastic litter target was easiest to detect in the NIR wavelengths. Seven established indices for satellite image processing were examined to determine whether they can identify plastic litter in the water. Further, the authors examined two new indices, the Plastics Index (PI) and the Reversed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (RNDVI) to be used in the processing of the satellite image. The newly developed Plastic Index (PI) was able to identify plastic objects floating on the water surface and was the most effective index in identifying the plastic litter target in the sea. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:19:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-79bb3ec95b0b47e1a3f176cca585dab1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:19:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-79bb3ec95b0b47e1a3f176cca585dab12023-11-20T10:24:09ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-08-011216264810.3390/rs12162648Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 ImageryKyriacos Themistocleous0Christiana Papoutsa1Silas Michaelides2Diofantos Hadjimitsis3ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Saripolou 2-6, Achilleos 2 Building, Lemesos 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Saripolou 2-6, Achilleos 2 Building, Lemesos 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Saripolou 2-6, Achilleos 2 Building, Lemesos 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Saripolou 2-6, Achilleos 2 Building, Lemesos 3036, CyprusPlastic litter floating in the ocean is a significant problem on a global scale. This study examines whether Sentinel-2 satellite images can be used to identify plastic litter on the sea surface for monitoring, collection and disposal. A pilot study was conducted to determine if plastic targets on the sea surface can be detected using remote sensing techniques with Sentinel-2 data. A target made up of plastic water bottles with a surface measuring 3 m × 10 m was created, which was subsequently placed in the sea near the Old Port in Limassol, Cyprus. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to acquire multispectral aerial images of the area of interest during the same time as the Sentinel-2 satellite overpass. Spectral signatures of the water and the plastic litter after it was placed in the water were taken with an SVC HR1024 spectroradiometer. The study found that the plastic litter target was easiest to detect in the NIR wavelengths. Seven established indices for satellite image processing were examined to determine whether they can identify plastic litter in the water. Further, the authors examined two new indices, the Plastics Index (PI) and the Reversed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (RNDVI) to be used in the processing of the satellite image. The newly developed Plastic Index (PI) was able to identify plastic objects floating on the water surface and was the most effective index in identifying the plastic litter target in the sea.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/16/2648Sentinel-2satellite imagesplastic litterspectral indicesspectroscopyremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Kyriacos Themistocleous Christiana Papoutsa Silas Michaelides Diofantos Hadjimitsis Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery Remote Sensing Sentinel-2 satellite images plastic litter spectral indices spectroscopy remote sensing |
| title | Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery |
| title_full | Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery |
| title_fullStr | Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery |
| title_short | Investigating Detection of Floating Plastic Litter from Space Using Sentinel-2 Imagery |
| title_sort | investigating detection of floating plastic litter from space using sentinel 2 imagery |
| topic | Sentinel-2 satellite images plastic litter spectral indices spectroscopy remote sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/16/2648 |
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