You Can See South Korea’s Seaweed Farms From Space
You Can See South Korea’s Seaweed Farms From Space
Seaweed farms offer a sustainable source of vegetable protein
(NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.)
By Marissa Fessenden
smithsonian.com
May 5, 2015
There’s something strange happening off the coast of South Korea. Scattered across shallow waters between jagged-edged islands, squares and rectangles mark the turquoise water with artificial precision. These aren't alien markings though, they're seaweed farms spotted by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Each angular patch is a field of seaweed held near the surface by buoys and ropes. NASA’s Earth Observatory posted an image as a puzzler for their readers to figure out. In the answer, Adam Voiland writes:
The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired this image of seaweed cultivation in the shallow waters around Sisan Island on January 31, 2014. Home to a thriving aquaculture industry, the south coast of South Korea produces about 90 percent of the country’s seaweed crop.
South Korea cultivates two types of seaweed, Voiland explains: Undaria, a type of kelp known as Wakame in Japan, and Pyropia, also called nori. Edible seaweed may not be hugely popular outside of traditional Korean, Chinese and Japanese food, but perhaps that trend should change. For The Atlantic, Brendan Smith writes:
Seaweed farms alone have the capacity to grow massive amounts of nutrient-rich food. Professor Ronald Osinga at Wageningen University in the Netherlands has calculated that a global network of "sea-vegetable" farms totaling 180,000 square kilometers — roughly the size of Washington state — could provide enough protein for the entire world population.
More:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/south-koreas-seaweed-farms-can-be-seen-space-180955155/#xLxflpA3OPc27rd9.99
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