A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities recently published a study in the journal Scientific Data proposing the use of remote sensing technology to detect plastic in freshwater rivers. 

According to The Ocean Cleanup, rivers are the primary source of plastic pollution in our oceans. River currents transport plastic waste downriver into estuaries, where they empty into the ocean. Due to this troubling pipeline, the researchers decided to focus their investigation on river pollution, the source of the issue.

Image: Ospan Ali, Unsplash