Blog
Notes on floating debris and planning sea time.
Field notes: the day we chased a patch that turned out to be pumiceA field-notes account of diverting a cleanup vessel toward a bright patch that turned out to be pumice, and what it taught us about false debris sightings.
What is ghost gear, and why it looks different from plastic in satellite imageryGhost gear and plastic sheet debris don't form or drift the same way, and multispectral imagery sees that difference. Here's what to know before a transit.
- Sun glint or debris slick: reading satellite imagery right
How to separate sun glint artifacts from real plastic debris windrows in multispectral satellite imagery before you send a vessel.
The spectral absorption feature behind floating plastic detectionHow multispectral satellites spot floating plastic using near-infrared absorption anomalies, and what that signal can and can't tell a cleanup team.
Field notes: the pass that caught a slick nobody predictedA drift model said the convergence zone was forty miles south. The imagery said otherwise. Notes on when the model and the surface disagree.
- What is a convergence zone in ocean surface currents?
A convergence zone is where surface currents meet and sink, concentrating floating debris into lines. Here's why that matters for vessel planning.
- How to prioritize which debris hotspot to send a cleanup vessel to first
A practical framework for ranking debris sightings and windrows before committing vessel days to a cleanup transit.
How to tell a debris aggregation from background ocean litterHow marine researchers and cleanup planners tell a real debris aggregation from scattered background litter before sending a vessel out.
- Telling plastic debris from kelp rafts in satellite imagery
Why kelp mats and plastic windrows look alike from orbit, what the spectral signature tells you, and where false positives still creep in.
- What satellite resolution do you need to spot a floating debris patch?
Why 10-30m ground sample distance beats sub-meter imagery for scoping where floating debris is aggregating before you send a vessel.
- How long does a debris windrow stay together before it disperses?
Why a floating debris windrow can hold for half a day or scatter in an hour, and how wind, sea state, and currents set the clock.
- Sargassum mat or plastic windrow? Reading the spectral difference
How to tell a sargassum mat from a plastic debris windrow in satellite imagery using spectral bands, not just shape.
- Ocean current models vs satellite imagery for predicting debris convergence zones
Drift models forecast where debris should converge. Satellite imagery shows what's floating there before a vessel gets tasked.
- What is a windrow? How ocean debris lines actually form
A windrow is a wind-driven streak of floating debris on the sea surface. Here's how they form, why they're temporary, and why that matters for vessel ops.