A Joint Satellite and UAV Campaign to Observe Floating Plastics

This study is to summarize the lesson learned during the July 2024 experimental campaign where targets, consisting of floating plastics, were jointly observed in a South Italy lake by drone and satellite instruments. The satellite layer consists of the X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) equipped onboard the Italian Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) constellation. The drone layer consists of multi-spectral and thermal camera together with a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) instrument. Experimental results show that the floating plastics result in a well-distinguishable signature in the optical imagery that make them distinguishable from natural floating debris. Non-negligible hints of signals associated to the floating plastic appear in both the co- and the cross-polarized channels of the CSG SAR scene.