Plastic-i: Mapping marine plastic pollution with satellites & AI

海洋塑料污染是人类面临的最重大的环境挑战之一。每年约有1400万吨塑料垃圾流入海洋。到2040年，这一数量可能会增加两倍。已知有800多种海洋和沿海物种受到这种污染的影响，通过摄取、缠绕和其他危险。大型塑料降解为微型塑料并进入食物链。最近的科学研究发现，近80%的健康参与者的血液中存在微塑料，85%的肺部手术患者的肺组织深处，甚至母乳中也存在微塑料。此外，到2050年，与塑料生产、使用和处置相关的温室气体排放量预计将占到《巴黎气候变化协定》允许排放量的15%。塑料污染与气候危机有着千丝万缕的联系。这些对环境、人类和水生健康的威胁是严重的，需要大量的资源来解决。Plastic-I是一家总部位于牛津的初创公司，成立于2021年，旨在利用技术来解决这些问题。该团队在海洋环境、遥感、机器学习和数据分析方面拥有世界领先的专业知识。通过利用卫星技术和机器学习，塑料一号将极大地降低监测大片海洋的成本。这将使人力资源集中在能够产生最大影响的领域。Plastic-I致力于促进海洋塑料的识别和清除，并正在建立全球塑料地图。卫星数据和机器学习被用于自动识别世界各地的海洋塑料。这涉及访问和处理大量卫星数据。部署人工智能算法来检测、绘制地图和对漂浮垃圾进行分类。结果在交互式网络仪表板上可视化，或合并到定制报告中。这些方法使决策者和清理人员能够针对特定地区并衡量干预措施的效果。

Marine plastic pollution presents one of humankind's most significant environmental challenges.Approximately 14 million tonnes of plastic waste flow into the ocean each year. This volume could triple by 2040\. More than800 marine and coastal species are known to be affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers.Macroplastics degrade into microplastics and enter the food chain. Recent scientific studies have found microplastics in the blood of almost 80% of healthy participants, deep in the lung tissue of 85% of patients undergoing lung surgery, and even in breast milk.In addition, by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions associated with plastic production, use, and disposal are predicted to account for 15 percent of emissions allowed under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Plastic pollution is inextricably linked to the climate crisis.These threats to the environment and human & aquatic health are grave and will require enormous resources to tackle.Plastic-i, an Oxford-based start-up founded in 2021, aims to tackle these problems using technology. The team possesses world-leading expertise in the marine environment, remote sensing, machine learning, and data analysis.By utilising satellite technology and machine learning, Plastic-i will dramatically reduce the costs of monitoring large areas of the ocean. This will allow human resources to be focused on areas where the largest impact can be achieved.Plastic-i is committed to facilitating the identification and removal of marine plastic and is building a global plastic map. Satellite data and machine learning are used to automatically identify marine plastic around the world. This involves accessing and processing large volumes of satellite data.AI algorithms are deployed to detect, map, and classify floating debris. Results are visualised on an interactive web dashboard or incorporated into bespoke reports. These methods allow decision makers and clean-up operators to target specific areas and measure the efficacy of interventions.