Since 1970, increased plastic use and waste mismanagement have contributed to environmental pollution leading to the proliferation of microplastics and ocean contamination. Understanding the plastic presence on-land is crucial as most plastic pollution originates from land-based sources. From its vantage point-of-view on the International Space Station, NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) imaging spectrometer can measure surface reflectance spectra across a wavelength range of 380 nm to 2500 nm. We present a study using this instrument to detect distinctive absorption features of High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) plastics in the shortwave infrared. By applying a column-wise adaptive matched filter and using a library of plastic reflectance spectra, we successfully identified signatures of these two types of plastics across multiple continents between +/- 52 degrees, primarily related to agricultural practices. Our study underscores the importance of monitoring land-based sources of plastic pollution to guide future mitigation strategies.

Accurate representation of the interplay between ecosystems and climate in Earth system models (ESMs) is important for understanding and predicting changes in carbon, water, and energy cycles. The traditional land components of ESMs often rely on the categorization of plant functional types (PFTs), a method that may overlook the ecological variations within plant groups. Using the CliMA Land model with surface hyperspectral data primarily sourced from Manuscript draft submitted to Ecosphere-SHIFT collection 2 AVIRIS-NG (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer-Next Generation) during the NASA's SHIFT (Surface Biology and Geology High-Frequency Time Series) campaign, we derive leaf biogeochemical traits, and compare a trait-based land modeling approach to the commonly used PFT one. Our findings reveal significant spatial and temporal variations in traits and other related optical and photosynthetic parameters, not only within the same PFT but also across different seasons. Validation against TROPOMI Solar-Induced Fluorescence (SIF) at 740nm shows that the trait-based approach enhanced model accuracy due to better representation of phenology and spatial heterogeneity. Our findings highlight the limitations of traditional PFTbased approaches in ESMs and underscore the importance of incorporating detailed, trait-based data for a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of ecosystem functions.