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NASA images may help track sewage in coastal waters

The feat is based on a newfound way that contaminated water interacts with light

An image taken from the International Space Station shows a stream of sewage flowing off the San Diego coast from the Tijuana River.

A discovery that sewage absorbs orange wavelengths of light may allow scientists to use images from space to track contamination. This image, taken from the International Space Station, shows a stream of sewage flowing off the San Diego coast from the Tijuana River.

E. Scrivner et al/Science of the Total Environment 2025

By Sofia Caetano Avritzer

As summer temperatures soar, a dip can seem like a great way to cool off.