A 2014 study estimated that 8 million metric tons of plastic trash. The extent of the patch has been compared to the u. According to national geographic, it is estimated that 1. You can think of them as big whirlpools that pull objects in. Great pacific garbage patch ocean pollution awareness. Isnt it an irony that the worlds biggest garbage dump is located in the worlds biggest ocean. This is located in a constantly moving and changing swirl of water roughly midway between hawaii and california, in an atmospheric area known as the north pacific subtropical high. The claim that the great pacific garbage patch covers 8. The great pacific garbage patch is a gigantic collection of marine debris and waste found in the middle of the north pacific ocean. The great pacific garbage patch is composed of 2 landfill masses the eastern and western garbage patch. Great pacific garbage patch now three times the size of. The great pacific garbage patch is in the pacific ocean between hawaii and california.
Even so, the eastern garbage patch rooted square between california and hawaiiis most intriguing and draws the greatest attention. The center of the south pacific gyre is the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, the site on earth farthest from any continents and productive ocean regions and is regarded as. The eastern pacific garbage patch aka great pacific garbage patch in most cases when people talk about the great pacific garbage patch, they are referring to the eastern pacific garbage patch. It is located halfway between hawaii and california. The great pacific garbage patch is not what you think it is youtube. How did the great pacific garbage island get there in the first place. To be sure, the eastern garbage patch isnt a lone phenomenon. This is located in a constantly moving and changing swirl of water roughly midway between hawaii and california, in an atmospheric area known as.
Islands of plastic waste larger than the usa are killing. The great pacific garbage patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between hawaii and california. There was also substantial variation in the latitude which was dependent on the year. Sea life can get tangled up in even the smallest pieces of plastic, or mistake it for food, and scientists are working hard to determine just how the. The great pacific garbage patch contains even more trash. Some of the larger items are consumed by seabirds and other animals, which mistake them for prey. As wide and deep as the pacific ocean goes, there are still things hidden in its waters.
We contribute to it everyday by littering and using unbiodegradable materials. These garbage patches are comprised of many different kinds of materials and, although they are located in the same region, often change shape and form. Smaller pieceslike the microbeads in your toothpaste and cosmeticsare choking hundreds of. The number appeared to come from a 2008 quote from marcus eriksen, the. It formed because currents near the center of the northern pacific ocean move around in a kind of circle, which.
Because microplastics are smaller than a pencil eraser, they are not immediately noticeable to the naked eye. The great pacific garbage patch contains a staggering number of pieces of plastic, estimated to be between 1. The great pacific garbage patch has an alternative name. And about 80 percent of the debris in the great pacific garbage patch comes from landbased activities in north america and asia. Ocean garbage patches are concentrations of marine debris located in the north pacific ocean. The great pacific garbage patch, labelled here as the eastern garbage patch, is one of several such patches in our oceans.
While some areas of the patch have more trash than others, much of the debris is made of microplastics by count. It is located in the north pacific gyre between hawaii and california. The southern pacific gyre is part of the earths system of rotating ocean currents, bounded by the equator to the north, australia to the west, the antarctic circumpolar current to the south, and south america to the east. With over 80% of plastic entering our oceans coming from landbased sources, stormwater shepherds advocate for a holistic approach to end the plastocene. The great pacific garbage patch was formed through the gradual accumulation of marine pollution in the north pacific gyre. Evidence that the great pacific garbage patch is rapidly. The great pacific garbage patch, or the pacific trash vortex, is an endless stream of garbage debris that can be found between the states of hawaii and california, and from eastern japan to west hawaii. The collection of plastic and floating trash originates from the pacific rim, including countries in asia, north america, and south america. The gyres pull debris into one location, often the gyres center, forming patches. It is critical to understand that a majority of the garbage found in these gyres comes from landbased sources. The great pacific garbage patch gpgp is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the worlds oceans.
Home ocean facts what is the great pacific garbage patch. Photo by miriam goldstein, scripps institution of oceanography, 2010 ex1006 cruise. The great pacific garbage patch is a collection of marine debris in the. Dive into one of the biggest signs of ocean pollution with these grate pacific garbage patch. The eastern garbage patch can be found between hawaii and california and scientists have estimated its size to be twice that of texas. With time, the team of researchers was able to note that there was a shift from the west to the east. Great pacific garbage patch threat to marine life youtube. Great pacific garbage patch simple english wikipedia. These areas of spinning debris are linked together by the north pacific subtropical convergence zone, located a few hundred kilometers north of hawaii. Garbage patch, located near japan, and the eastern garbage patch.
The garbage patch is an area in the north pacific ocean containing a high concentration of marine debris. The great pacific garbage patch, also described as the pacific trash vortex, is a gyre of marine debris particles in the northcentral pacific ocean. For noaa, a national science agency, separating science from science fiction about the pacific garbage patch. The main constituents of this garbage are plastic debris that the ocean currents collect. The great pacific garbage patch is a massive dump of floating garbage in the pacific ocean.
The great pacific garbage patch is estimated to cover an area of approximately 1. The other is the eastern garbage patch, between hawaii and california. The patch is actually comprised of the western garbage patch, located near japan, and the eastern garbage patch, located between the u. The patch actually spans over a long distance from north americas west coast all. What has been referred to as the eastern garbage patch lies between hawaii and california, while the. We contribute to it everyday by littering and using. Great pacific garbage patch, a zone in the pacific ocean between hawaii and california that has a high concentration of plastic waste. But it is severely impacting marine life and human health. Video of the week the great pacific garbage patch kids. Adrev for a 3rd party on behalf of track distillery waterdrop music megatrax. The trash vortex, also known as the eastern garbage patch, is an area equivalent in size to texas, or turkey, or afghanistan, that slowly rotates our rubbish in a neverending rotation.
The eastern patch is located roughly between hawaii and san francisco, while the western patch lies southeast of japan. This area, however, consists of two regions of plastic litter, namely the eastern and the western patches. The great pacific garbage patch explained research the ocean. The great pacific garbage patch is a big patch of garbage and debris in the middle of the northern pacific ocean. They are formed by rotating ocean currents called gyres. The garbage patch in the pacific is the largest known on the planet, but several others can be found in other oceans five main ones are often reported. Off the coast of japan there is a western garbage patch. Due to its exceptionally high level of pollution, oceanographers have named this area the eastern garbage patch. Interesting, it is not the only garbage patch that haunts our oceans. The garbage patch is a popular name for concentrations of marine debris in the north pacific ocean. One is the western garbage patch near japan, and the other is the. The great pacific garbage patch, also known as the pacific trash vortex, spans waters from the west coast of north america to japan.
The most publicized garbage patch is the great pacific garbage patch, located in the north pacific subtropical gyre in the northern pacific ocean. The great pacific garbage patch, also described as the pacific trash vortex, is a gyre of marine. Great pacific garbage patch national geographic society. Garbage patches are large areas of the ocean where litter, fishing gear, and other debris known as marine debris collects. Garbage patches are areas of increased concentration of marine debris that are formed from rotating ocean currents called gyres. The garbage patch size cannot be easily estimated as the gyres are in a constant state of movement.
And each of the other oceans has its own, albeit smaller, floating patches of debris. The most famous of these patches is often called the great pacific garbage patch. Unfortunately, one of them is the world famous trash island in the ocean, mainly caused by human activity. Western garbage patch another area of marine debris concentration. The california currents surface velocity is commonly less than 10 in. The great pacific garbage patch stretches from the west coast of north america to japan.
The area thought to contain the most plastic is a thousand miles from land and you cant see it from space or an aircraft. Great pacific garbage patch ocean pollution awareness youtube. Heartwrenching facts about the great pacific garbage patch. The great pacific garbage patch is a 500mile long area of toxic plastic waste that extends from california to the sea of japan all created thanks to our careless disposal of plastic, which not only takes a lot of energy to manufacture, but also, hundreds of years to disintegrate on this valentines day, when we appreciate everyone around us, let us take a moment to appreciate our planet. The great pacific garbage patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in. A huge, swirling pile of rubbish in the pacific ocean is growing faster than expected and is now three times the size of france, researchers say. Thats not to diminish the scale of the problem, though. For the first couple of years of this page i showed a picture of a man in a canoe paddling though trash to depict the great pacific garbage patch. Larger pieces make up the eastern garbage patch, a floating whirlpool of trash in the pacific oceans thats about the size of texas. While the garbage patch has received a lot of attention because of its size, it is not the only area where marine debris can be found.