Oceans

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Serious Brainpower Tackled SkyTruth Challenge at AWS re:Invent Hackathon for Good

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SkyTruth’s goal to stop oil pollution at sea from bilge dumping is off to a strong start.

The call came two weeks in advance: SkyTruth was chosen to be one of four nonprofits featured at the AWS re:Invent Hackathon for Good held December 2, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our goal: leveraging the collective brainpower of hackathon engineers to automate the detection of bilge dumping at sea by vessels violating international law and polluting the ocean.

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Systematic GPS Manipulation Occuring at Chinese Oil Terminals and Government Installations

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Analysis reveals precise location and timing of GPS interference but purpose remains unclear.

Last month, an article in MIT Technology Review described strange GPS anomalies in Shanghai. I began investigating, and have now found evidence of a novel form of GPS manipulation occurring at at least 20 sites on the Chinese coast during the past year.

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Christian Thomas Works to Protect his Home State of West Virginia

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Christian had a choice: The Peace Corps or SkyTruth. He chose SkyTruth.

“It was no contest,” Christian Thomas told me when I asked him about choosing between the Peace Corps and SkyTruth. Born and raised near Shepherdstown, West Virginia, Christian first met SkyTruth President John Amos at the Shepherdstown Farmer’s Market when he was a student at West Virginia University. When John learned that Christian was studying geography and environmental geoscience, he encouraged Christian to send his resume to SkyTruth.

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Multiple Accounts of Oily Pollution Found in the Mediterranean Sea

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SkyTruth recently discovered two oil slicks in the Mediterranean Sea — just the most recent examples of an ongoing bilge dumping problem we’ve found in one of the most heavily used marine water bodies in the world.

This year, SkyTruth discovered multiple likely bilge dumps in the Mediterranean Sea; two in just the past month. The Mediterranean Sea is a very prominent shipping route, but finding so many spills here is surprising, and concerning, considering how closely Europe monitors its waters.

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Unusual Behavior by Tankers Near Brazil Oil Spill

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The source of the massive oil spill affecting Brazil remains unclear, but unusual tanker activity raises questions.

For months now, oil has been washing up on the beaches of northeast Brazil. Government officials, scientists and non-governmental organizations around the world — including SkyTruth — have been trying to identify the source of the pollution; so far, unsuccessfully. SkyTruth analyst Bjorn Bergman recently decided to take a look at AIS ship-tracking data in the region and found some unusual behavior from oil tankers passing through the area.

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