Full Title: Image Ocean Microplastic Dynamics with Spaceborne Radar
Presented by: Prof. Christopher Ruf, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI USA
Organised by: Ocean Remote Sensing TC and Italy Chapter
How to join
Date and Time: 19 jan 2022, 3.30 pm CET.
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Abstract
A new approach to the imaging of microplastics from space is presented. Spaceborne radar measurements of ocean surface roughness are used to infer the reduction in responsiveness to wind-driven roughening caused by the presence of surfactant tracers of the microplastics. On a global scale over monthly time scales, time lapse images derived from the satellite radar observations reveal seasonal changes in the microplastic mass density within the major ocean basin gyres which appear to be related to seasonal changes in ocean circulation patterns. On smaller spatial and temporal scales, weekly time lapse images near the mouths of major rivers reveal episodic bursts of microplastic outflow from the river into the sea. The physical relationship between the presence of surfactants and the suppression of ocean surface roughening caused by winds has been investigated via a series of controlled wave tank experiments. Varying concentrations of surfactants are introduced onto the water surface, near-surface winds are generated in a controlled manner with variable speeds, and the surface roughness is measured directly. The results are found to be consistent with the empirical relationship found from the satellite measurements.
About the Speaker
hris Ruf (Fellow, IEEE) received the B.A. degree in physics from the Reed College, Portland, OR, USA, in 1982, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA, in 1987.,He is currently a Frederick Bartman Collegiate Professor of climate and space science with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, and a Principal Investigator of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) NASA Earth Venture Mission. He was with Intel Corporation, Hughes Space and Communication, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Penn State University. His research interests include GNSS-R remote sensing, microwave radiometry, atmosphere and ocean geophysical retrieval algorithm development, and sensor technology development. Dr. Ruf is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the Commission F of the Union Radio Scientifique Internationale. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. He was on the editorial boards of Radio Science and the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. He was a recipient of four NASA Certificates of Recognition and seven NASA Group Achievement Awards, the 1997 TGRS Best Paper Award, the 1999 IEEE Resnik Technical Field Award, the 2006 IGARSS Best Paper Award, and the 2014
IEEE GRSS Outstanding Service Award.