ACQUACLEAR

https://youtu.be/_k7zfsxDrYg

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18tzNOMF8qUY65JbY0-KOdzsbI7rj18xl?usp=sharing

PROBLEM

The waters of oceans and rivers have been used as debris deposits by a large part of humanity, however, the problem has been aggravated due to the amount and kind of waste that started to be released and mainly due to the difficult decomposition. It is easy to perceive that the environment has been plagued by different types of pollution, the pollution of water resources is a highly worrying fact, since water is vital for the human species and other organisms

 The super consumerist societies, in their daily exaggerations, have been causing an accumulation of gigantic garbage that ends up leaking into the sea. There are currently an estimated eight million tons of plastic going to sea, representing 80% of the marine debris present. These debris can injure or kill marine fauna, damaging and degrading habitats, in addition to generating economic losses for maritime and fishing industries, which can become threats to human health.

Among the various negative possibilities to occur with these plastic debris, the one that has been causing the most concern is their ingestion by animals. When ingesting the small particles, unknown reactions will occur inside their stomachs, not to mention that larger animals and even humans may have these animals as a meal, causing new reactions.

Observing the high consumption, some studies show that of all the plastic produced, only 9% goes through a recycling process and is used again. In 2017 it was already estimated that by 2030 the amount of waste would increase by up to 70% more than what already existed, others estimated that this amount would double in volume.

Highlighting the rankings of countries that generate the most waste, Brazil currently ranks 4th in the world ranking of waste generation, generating 11.3 million tons a year.

IMPACTS CAUSED BY DUMPING WASTE INTO THE OCEAN

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, stated that we have a “unique opportunity and responsibility to correct our relationship with the environment, including the world's seas and oceans”. The area covered by seas and oceans corresponds to about 71% of the planet's surface.

Seaweeds produce excess oxygen, which is released into the water, goes into the atmosphere and becomes available to other living things. In this process, marine algae are responsible for producing 54% of the world's oxygen, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Forests.

The International Solid Waste Association conducted a study on marine pollution and found that 25 million tons of waste is dumped into the oceans every year, 80% of which comes from cities. Waste discarded in the ocean has different origins, such as plastics, paper, food waste, tires, glass, among other materials, however the most expressive source of waste is plastic. The study also indicated that half of the garbage that ends up in the oceans is plastic, or 12.5 million tons of plastic (eCycle, 2018).

According to the United Nations Environment Program, plastic debris constitutes 90% of all garbage floating in the oceans. The program estimates that 46,000 floating plastic pieces kill more than a million birds and 100,000 other marine mammals each year. Syringes, lighters and brushes have been found in the stomachs of dead marine animals.

As a report released by the science department of the UK government mentioned that by 2025, the planet's oceans will be three times more polluted with plastic. The problem is that, according to estimates, there are currently at least 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic with an average size of five millimeters that dirty marine waters. 

A study released in 2016 by the World Economic Forum in Davos said that by 2050 the oceans will have more pieces of plastic than fish. According to studies, these materials take at least 450 years to fully decompose. 

In an interview given to Natura in 2019, Professor Alexander Turra (Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo – USP) warned that “the ingestion of plastic residues causes the perforation of the animals' digestive tract, which can lead to death. Those who concentrate too many microplastic particles in their interior get a false feeling of satiety and do not feed properly. Thus, they lose energy, mobility, growth and reproduction capacity, generating their fraying”.

 Marine pollution, which is characterized by the alteration of the physical-chemical properties of water, results in several negative results such as: Deaths of marine animals, contamination of plants, algae, fish and other marine animals, beaches that are unsuitable for bathing.

OBJECTIVE

This project aims to carry out monitoring, detection and quantification of marine debris, re cleaning up the affected areas, in addition to capturing, compressing and making available data on the presence of garbage in real time to the general public.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT IDEA

The project as a whole aims to be applied on the coasts of the busiest beaches, considering the high level of access and the large amount of garbage that is generated. It uses Artificial Intelligence and Manchini Learning to generate data collected in real time, together with statistical and probabilistic analysis of waste found at sea. This data is compiled, stored in a database and broadcast via a satellite.

The functioning of this system takes place in three stages: identification of the material, removal of garbage and sharing of the data found and projected.

1. Material identification: The material will be identified through spectroradiometer-type sensors that work by analyzing the radiation emitted by the materials, in which each chemical compound emits, transmits or reflects light over a range of wavelengths, which may so classify what kind of material is there in the waters and what is its quantity. These sensors will capture this information and compile it into a database and transmit it in real time through a satellite so that the information reaches the garbage removal stage.

2. Garbage removal: For this part of the idea, the team designed a material collector that will work from information it will receive regarding the amount of garbage and location. It will trigger its cleaning function and move to the place where garbage is present and collect it. As soon as its maximum capacity is reached, it stops collecting garbage, sends a signal to the central and travels to the beach so that a person in charge can remove the collected material and he goes back to redoing the process.

3. Data sharing: The data to be collected throughout the process will be shared in real time by an application, which in addition to showing them will perform a statistical and probabilistic analysis and will project future scenarios with the presence of garbage, warning and making people aware of their negative actions that they commit to future problems.

Function of the maritime buoy: The buoy will act as a support for the sensors that will scan the debris at sea. These sensors will be able to identify different types of materials due to their ability to analyze radiation, characterizing each material according to its light emission that reflects different colors over the wavelength range.

The information obtained will be stored in a database and sent to the collector, through a triangulation between sensor, collector and satellite.

This database will also be used to quantify the concentrations of materials enumerating the locations according to the amount found by the sensor. Such device can also be used in buoys that already exist in the ocean, thus being able to reduce costs and help with monitoring in more distant places.

Collector's function: He is responsible for collecting the garbage, after receiving the information that there is garbage in a certain location, moving there to collect it, sending an alert signal when its limit is reached and returning to the beach to be emptied and return the process.

Satellite function:It will be responsible for performing the data triangulation between the float and the collector in real time.

Function of artificial intelligence and machine learning: The artificial intelligence will be responsible for moving the data extracted by the sensors, measuring the results and comparing them with past data, performing the projection of garbage to be found in the coming days in such location. The machine will learn to identify beach patterns and generate statistical and probabilistic data on the amount of waste, for example, during festive periods such as Carnival and New Year's Eve.

Impact on un sustainable developments: The idea designed by AQUACLEAR impacts four of the seventeen sustainable development goals of the United Nations, and they are:

· Objective 3: Health and well-being

· Objective 10: Reducing inequality

· Objective 12: Sustainable consumption and production

· Objective 14: Life in the water 

To accomplish this challenge and project our idea, we used a good part of open data, which were:

· Oceanic Data from NASA Earth

· Toxicological threats from | EPA plastic

 · Unwanted enrichment in the | data from NASA Earth

· DAAC National Snow and Ice Data Center | NASA Earth Data

· Scientists use NASA data to track oceanic microplastics from space | NASA

· Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) | NASA JPL

· OR&R's Marine Debris Program | NOAA

· Marine debris quick facts | NOAA

· Marine Debris: Garbage Patch Experiment (drifters and model) | NOAA

· Marine Wreckage | US Department of the Interior

 ·Impacts of marine debris | US Department of the Interior

For ACQUACLEAR members, the experience is a mixture of emotions and challenges. It is a very important experience to develop and train our logical thinking, our speed and especially our ability to be creative and assertive when designing an idea to solve a problem. We believe that the main learning experience is agility in decision making.

Among the various challenges, working with solutions to identify marine debris caught our attention as it is already something close to the reality of team members who are associated in NGO's who work with beach cleaning throughout Brazil, then propose an idea that helps to solve a problem so close and at the same time it can act all over the world. The main approach to compacting our idea was to think beyond what is expected, analyzing the scenario and applying a simple solution that addresses root problem prevention.

The setbacks that arose were solved by a new strategy, where we analyzed what was inconsistent and quickly thought about how we could revert and continue the project without wasting time and focusing on the central idea.

Our sincere thanks go to the team of mentors who did a fantastic job, instructing us to better target our idea, streamlining it and making it clearer and simpler, without losing its initial essence. 

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REDDY, Simon. Plastic Pollution Affects Sea Life Throughout the Ocean. Availabre in: <https://www.unep.org/pt-br/noticias-e-reportagens/reportagem/como-os-paises-estao-virando-mare-da-poluicao-plastica-nos-mares> Accessed in> 10/02/2021.

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This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.