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While we know plastic is terrible for marine life, detecting plastic pollution in the ocean is notoriously challenging. Plastics come in many colors, break down to microscopic sizes, and are made of a variety of chemicals. Adding to the problem is the vast size of the ocean, to which millions of tons of plastic are added each year. It is essential to identify which parts of the ocean collect the most plastic to effectively target cleanup and pollution prevention efforts. Might satellites bolstered with machine learning be up for the oceanic task of tracking plastic pollution? According to research recently published in Nature Communications, yes.
