Skip to the main content

Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, Vol. 12 No. 1, 2024.

Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.d11.0482

Evaluating Microplastic Pollution Along the Dubai Coast: An Empirical Model Combining On-Site Sampling and Sentinel-2 Remote Sensing Data

Tarig Ali ; American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Md Mortula ; American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Batoul Mohsen ; American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Lara Dronjak ; University Rovira and Virgily, Tarragona, Spain
Rahul Gawai ; American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Serter Atabay ; American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Zahid Khan ; AECOM, Aecom, Canada
Kazi Fattah ; Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering, University of, Kansas, United States

Full text: english pdf 4.466 Kb

page 1-20

downloads: 85

cite

Abstract

The study addresses the growing concern of microplastic pollution in environmental matrices, emphasizing the significance of monitoring for understanding their distribution, sources, and mitigation. Laboratory-based spectral reflectance analysis of water samples containing visible microplastics revealed distinctive spectral signatures. Coastal water samples collected over two campaigns were subjected to pre-treatment in order to extract microplastics and microscopic inspection followed by spectroscopic confirmation. Results indicated average microplastics concentrations of 0.633 and 0.324mg/L, along with 7.85 and 5.30 items/L in the datasets. Leveraging these findings, along with Sentinel-2 (Level-1C) data and spectral signatures, an empirical spectral microplastics model was developed to convert Sentinel-2's reflectance into microplastics concentrations. This model displayed an 87.30% R2 and ±0.015mg/L RMSE. Subsequently, the model was employed to estimate microplastics concentrations in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, showcasing its potential for monitoring microplastics pollution in the study area and similar regions.

Keywords

microplastics; remote sensing; Sentinel-2; regression

Hrčak ID:

315387

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/315387

Publication date:

18.12.2024.

Visits: 258 *