In answer to the “Quit Planet” challenge, we seek solutions that can begin to be developed in the current pandemic period, in order to make the world a better place in the near future. This period caused several reflections on the harmful effects caused by human beings to nature, among them we chose to deal specifically with pollution due to the presence of microplastics in the air.
Because of the pandemic, whether by hospitals or people, there was a drastic increase in the use of easily disposable objects - plastic. While plastics such as gloves, masks and other medical equipment are important for protecting frontline workers, this pandemic is a reminder of the amount of waste we produce and how we manage or mismanage it.
Thus, our Plastic Air project, as it aims to adsorb microplastic materials from the air, will assist in air purification, which will only benefit human health in the future, avoiding serious health problems, especially for those who have respiratory diseases. . In addition, the design of the screen that attracts microplastics in the air will consist of materials that are not environmentally harmful, and the microplastics collected through our screen may be reused in the production of other materials, thus helping to build a peaceful planet.
We chose challenge 1 - Peaceful planet due to the affinity, curiosity and mission of the team with the environment and reduced human impacts. We aim to solve the problems of the present humanity for a more sustainable and clean world for the next generations.
First, we thought about the impacts caused by covid-19 in different areas - atmosphere, water, etc.- and from the data, the drastic increase in the use of plastic was notable, both by the population and hospitals. Thus, we started to map in which scope we would focus and air was chosen, due to few studies in this area and also to injuries caused in the lungs by the virus. As we needed something to document, we developed an application that tells us the amount of plastic obtained by day on each screen made and we provide a website that shows how the application works and inform people about microplastics.
Difficulties were encountered in collecting data on space agency platforms, this difficulty is due to the team's lack of experience in Dataset Search, which we believe to be one of the key points for holding this Hackathon. This difficulty was overcome, but others arose mainly in relation to the use of coding languages, hardware and software.
As for our greatest achievements, we bet a lot on the idea of our project, since it aims to solve an environmental problem not yet explored by science and that it can prevent future health problems. In addition, having overcome our difficulties was another great achievement of our team.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ctnkVX4l80v8f505IN3C7jBNbF8wnDLF/view?usp=sharing
Through Nasa's search platform, EarthData, we intend to provide access to remote monitoring of CO2 and NO2 concentrations on our website. The interactive tool Giovanni made available by NASA would then be integrated into our website.
The Troposphere Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) also shows a decrease in the emission of greenhouse gases, generating images that can be added to our website.
The data obtained by remote sensing obtained through the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) and Advanced Radiometer of very high resolution (AVHRR) allowed the visualization of microplastics in the Arctic and Hawaii. And in the same way, with this type of remote sensing, we intend to provide a platform for real-time visualization of the presence of microplastics on the Earth's surface.
Through the NOAA search platform some information about microplastics and their characteristics can be obtained, as well as their impact on the environment. It is also possible to find studies, such as the NOAA Marine Debris Program, in which there are standardized Field Methods for collecting samples of microplastics from sediments, sand and surface waters and being subjected to tests.
DATA. GOV. Microplásticos na área de recreação nacional de Lake Mead, 2017-2018: divulgação dos dados do US Geological Survey. Acesso 31 mai, 2020.
GOVERNAMENTAL (EUA). NASA. Enriquecimento Indesejável do Ártico. Acesso em 31 mai, 2020. Disponível em: https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/unwelcome-enrichment-in-the-arctic
GOVERNAMENTAL (EUA). NASA. Mapas globais de deposição atmosférica de nitrogênio. Acesso em 31 mai, 2020. Disponível em: https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search/granules/collection-details?p=C179003620-ORNL_DAAC&tl=1575129248!4!!
GOVERNAMENTAL (EUA). NASA. MIRS Terra. SpectroRadiometer da imagem do ângulo múltiplo. Acesso em 31 mai, 2020. Disponível em: https://terra.nasa.gov/about/terra-instruments/misr
GOVERNAMENTAL (EUA). NASA. Espectrorradiômetro de imagem com resolução moderada. Disponível em: https://terra.nasa.gov/about/terra-instruments/modis
NOAA, What are microplastic. Acesso em 31 mai, 2020. disponível em: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html