Great Pacific Garbage Patch
North Pacific Ocean Gyre is One of Most Polluted Areas on Earth
Aug 5, 2009
Garbage that ends up in the ocean, and especially plastic as it does not biodegrade, eventually collects in swirling "black holes" of debris. They get trapped in the natural oceanic currents. Though they cannot be seen by satellites because a lot of the plastic is either too small or too deep to view from space, the pollution does pose a large problem to marine life. Currently, there is no plan to clean up the mess, but researchers are currently studying the issue.
Since Captain Charles Moore discovered this garbage dump during a 1997 yacht race, he has been passionately learning and bring attention to the mass of pollution in the Pacific Ocean, founding the Alagalita foundation and commanding its research vessel. Alagalita has been helping lead the way in the understanding and impact of the plastic island of trash.
Why the "Great" in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
There are five major ocean gyres, with the North Pacific Ocean Gyre being the largest (enlarge the map at the bottom of the article to view). The North Pacific Ocean Gyre is large enough to warrant its own nickname, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and is also the world's largest garbage dump.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest collection of plastic trash on the planet. It is estimated to be nearly twice the size as Texas, nealy one-hundred feet deep, and contain approximately 3.5 million tons of garbage. Everything from fishing nets and shoes to plastic bottles, toothbrushes, and pacifiers swirl around the gyre. Most of the trash, however, are small particles roughly six times the weight of zooplankton.
View videos of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on Youtube.com
How Did This Plastic Island Form?
The formation of the plastic island in the North Pacific Ocean Gyre happened gradually from pollution being collected and then corralled by ocean currents. It is estimated that eighty percent is land-based and twenty percent is from ships. It takes about five years for currents to carry garbage from the west coast of North America and about one year from the east coast of Asia, in order to arrive at the plastic island.
What's the Danger and What's Being Done
The problem can be summed up by Moore:
“In the central North Pacific Gyre, pieces of plastic outweigh surface zooplankton by a factor of 6 to 1,” according to a report based on Moore’s research. “Ninety percent of Laysan albatross chick carcasses and regurgitated stomach contents contain plastics. Fish and seabirds mistake plastic for food. Plastic debris releases chemical additives and plasticizers into the ocean. Plastic also adsorbs hydrophobic pollutants like PCBs and pesticides like DDT. These pollutants bioaccumulate in the tissues of marine organisms, biomagnify up the food chain, and find their way into the foods we eat.”
The solution is much more difficult to attain than the problem was to manifest. Currently research is underway to determine the environmental impact and clean-up methods.
Otherwise, "Moore says the only solution is to prevent more debris from entering the ocean; it is futile to try to clean out whatever exists there now. And without changing our habits, the garbage patch will only continue to grow." Source: The World's Largest Dump: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, DiscoverMagazine.com
As the impact and severity of the issue is being discovered, the largest focus of pollution on the planet is now getting more study and attention.
 |
