Asian Surveying & Mapping
Breaking News
Advanced Navigation to develop precision navigation for Gilmour Space rocket launches
United States, February 3, 2025 - Advanced Navigation, a...
AICRAFT Signs Collaboration Agreement with Korea’s CONTEC Space Optics
South Australian artificial intelligence company AICRAFT has inked a...
Japan to join U.S.-led space telescope project in search for life
Japan's government has been considering joining a U.S.-led space...
UAE signs agreement to develop EMA Lander for Asteroid Belt Mission
In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin...
MBRSC and SPACEDATA to advance digital twin technology for UAE’s space and economy
Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has signed a...
China launches classified TJS-14 satellite towards geostationary belt
HELSINKI — China sent a classified experimental technology satellite...
ISRO successfully launches NVS-02 satellite; creates history with the 100th launch from Sriharikota
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday (January...
XAG and Chia Tai Present Smart Agriculture Solutions to Enhance the Capabilities of Thai Farmers
KANCHANABURI, Thailand — XAG made a noteworthy debut at...
Japan’s space agency to advance earthquake damage estimation programme
Tokyo: Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has signed an...
Taiwan-made PARUS-T1 CubeSat launched into space orbit: Space agency
Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) A CubeSat designed and made...

Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic enters the oceans. Part of the trash accumulates in five ocean garbage patches, and plastic in these patches breaks down into tiny plastic particles that can be eaten by fish and birds, thereby entering the food chain.

To help fight this growing environmental catastrophe, the Ocean Cleanup’s Aerial Expedition uses a combination of experienced human observers and advanced sensors during low-speed, low-altitude survey flights to count the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The sensors also will be used to convert this count to a weight estimate by registering the size of the found objects.

To properly measure how far the plastic reaches under the surface, The Ocean Cleanup project used the Optech Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar (CZMIL), which can detect objects to depths of tens of meters.

As part of the expedition, sensors surveyed hundreds of square kilometers of the patch aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft. Optech HydroFusion software will combine lidar data with information from the CZMIL’s RGB camera and an ITRES SASI-600 shortwave infrared sensor to create the first 3D visualization of the patch, and help identify the number, size and type of plastic objects present.

csm_MultiLevelTrawl_c2582fdfe2

Part of the objects in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are underwater, so lidar with depth-penetration capability was crucial for surveying. (Credit: The Ocean Cleanup)

“We wanted state-of-the-art sensor technology to supplement the visual observations of our survey team with the data from our Mega Expedition, and to finalize the first detailed plastic data map of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” said Boyan Slat, CEO and founder of The Ocean Cleanup.