In 2022, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched a satellite sensor to map minerals in the dust, arid regions of the Earth. But that is not useful – in a new study, scientists have used the spectroscopic tool to study massive amounts of sewage flowing into the sea off the southern California coast.
Every year, millions of gallons of untreated and treated water waters are unconsciously thrown into the Tijuana River, ferry pollution through communities on both sides of the US-Mexican border before reaching the ocean. In a study published in the newspaper Science of the whole environmentresearchers used Surfacial mineral dust survey (Emit), a hyperopekter imaging instrument on the International Space Station, to examine this disgusting water pen at the Tijuana Rivera Delta.
Pollution of dams is not beautiful. It can bring toxic chemicals, harmful algal flowers and unpleasant bacteria that can affect the health of beachmen.
People typically rely on water-quality boards to tell them when it is unsafe to swim, but these often depend on field samples that do not always cover the full scope of contamination. Collecting these samples also need time and money, especially in heavily contaminated areas.
There there To output comes in. It uses imaging spectroscopyA technique that captures both spatial and spectral information by measuring sunlight reflected from the surface of the Earth. Each image can capture hundreds of wavelengths with a pixel, giving scientists detailed insights into the molecular composition and material properties of what is on Earth.
This allowed researchers to measure the spectral signature of the water water. The researchers compared the hyperactral satellite images taken from emission with the spectra of untreated water water, diluted water and seawater sampled near the plumage. They also compared Emit images with readings of a spectrometer on the ground. They found that water with high water pollution emit a particular red spectral function, which could allow researchers to monitor the scope of pollution in the future – although the source of that feature is not yet clear.
The researchers hope that the data can complete efforts to sample water quality near the mouth of the river saying to scientists of water where to try.
“From orbit you can look down and see that cleaning plumage extends to places you haven’t sampled,” study co -author Christine Lee, JPL scientist in Southern California, said in A Statement. “It’s like a diagnosis with the doctor who tells you, ‘Hey, let’s look in more detail.’
Broadcast also turned out to be useful for detecting emissions of methane and carbon dioxide from leaks of gas, assessing forest health, and Rating a snow package fusion rates.
Now Emit has yet another job. “The fact that Emit’s findings over the coast are in line with measurements in the field is convincing to water scientists,” Eva Scrivner, a doctoral student at the University of Connecticut and the main author of the study, said in a statement. “It’s really exciting.”
