Monitoring of Large Plastic Accumulations Near Dams Using Sentinel-1 Polarimetric Sar Data

Plastics in the riverine environment are of major concern due to their potential pathways into the wildlife and more generally the ocean. Dams are capable of trapping marine plastics within the riverine environment. This entrapment changes the surface roughness of the area with the marine debris. Radar satellites are sensitive to surface roughness and can therefore detect these changes. This research investigates areas in Serbia and Boznia & Herzegovina using ESA Sentinel-1 polarimetric SAR data. This study shows the feasibility of detecting large accumulations of plastic near dams, with detectors capable of achieving 75-85% positive detection ratings with a 0.1% false alarm rate. Additionally, we find the use of single VV polarization is inadequate for this task and PolSAR data are needed.