The University of Oldenburg, Germany, is using satellite communication technology to study the trajectory of floating plastic pollution in the North Sea. The purpose of this project is to achieve a clear picture of the plastic drift pattern by using SPOT Trace and Globalstar technologies. Small Satellite Tracker Embedded on a buoy floating on the water. The tracker includes an integrated GPS receiver, simplex transponder and a motion sensor.
Speaking about this project, doctoral student Jens Meyerjürgens said: 'These buoys provide a lot of information about plastics moving over the surface of the sea. This helps us understand how debris is affected by the complex interactions of wind, tide and tide.'
Mathias Heckroth, managing director of conservation and research organization Mellurat eV, said: 'On the shores of our island (Melum, North Sea), 75% of the waste is plastic. The mode of salvage mainly comes from fishing activities.
'This study plays an important role in helping to identify the source of plastic waste. It also exhibits unexpected drift trajectories - we usually drift from west to east, but sometimes tracking buoys show drift in the opposite direction. We are studying why . '
After gathering information, the university intends to use modeling tools to analyze ocean currents, and will also pay particular attention to wave depth and height.
