THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. It is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California.
Courtesy of NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
1. WHAT IS THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH?
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Also known as the Pacific trash vortex, the garbage patch is actually two distinct collections of debris bounded by the massive North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
SOURCE OF THE GARBAGE
According to National Geographic, "80 percent of plastic in the ocean is estimated to come from land-based sources, with the remaining 20 percent coming from boats and other marine sources. These percentages vary by region, however. A 2018 study found that synthetic fishing nets made up nearly half the mass of the Great Pacific garbage patch, largely due to ocean current dynamics and increased fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean." An open access study published in 2022 concluded that 75% up to 86% of the plastic pollution is from fishing and agriculture with most identified emissions originating from Japan, China, South Korea, and the US.
CONTRIBUTION
The size of the patch is indefinite, as is the precise distribution of debris because large items are uncommon. Most debris consists of small plastic particles suspended at or just below the surface, evading detection by aircraft or satellites. Instead, the size of the patch is determined by sampling. The estimated size of the garbage patch is 1,600,000 square kilometers (620,000 sq mi) (about twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France).
SIZE ESTIMATES
Such estimates, however, are conjectural given the complexities of sampling and the need to assess findings against other areas. Further, although the size of the patch is determined by a higher-than-normal degree of concentration of pelagic debris, there is no standard for determining the boundary between "normal" and "elevated" levels of pollutants to provide a firm estimate of the affected area.
2. HOW MUCH PLASTIC FLOATS IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH?
1.8 trillion plastic pieces
According to National Geographic, "80 percent of plastic in the ocean is estimated to come from land-based sources, with the remaining 20 percent coming from boats and other marine sources.
CONTENTS
The size of the patch is indefinite, as is the precise distribution of debris because large items are uncommon. Most debris consists of small plastic particles suspended at or just below the surface, evading detection by aircraft or satellites. Instead, the size of the patch is determined by sampling. The estimated size of the garbage patch is 1,600,000 square kilometers (620,000 sq mi) (about twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France). Such estimates, however, are conjectural given the complexities of sampling and the need to assess findings against other areas. Further, although the size of the patch is determined by a higher-than-normal degree of concentration of pelagic debris, there is no standard for determining the boundary between "normal" and "elevated" levels of pollutants to provide a firm estimate of the affected area.
MICROPLASTIC
Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets. Secondarymicroplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as water bottles. This breakdown is caused by exposure to environmental factors, mainly the sun’s radiation and ocean waves.
CONCENTRATION
In a 2001 study, researchers found concentrations of plastic particles at 334,721 pieces per square kilometre (866,920/sq mi) with a mean mass of 5.1 kilograms per square kilometre (29 lb/sq mi), in the neuston. The overall concentration of plastics was seven times greater than the concentration of zooplankton in many of the sampled areas. Samples collected deeper in the water column found much lower concentrations of plastic particles (primarily monofilament fishing line pieces).In 2012, researchers Goldstein, Rosenberg and Cheng found that microplastic concentrations in the gyre had increased by two orders of magnitude in the prior four decades.
3. WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON MARINE LIFE AND HUMANS?
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Also known as the Pacific trash vortex, the garbage patch is actually two distinct collections of debris bounded by the massive North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
PERSISTENT MARINE DEBRIS
​Some materials and activities used in industrial activities that do not readily degrade, that persist in the environment, and tend to accumulate over time. The activities can include fishing, boating, and aquaculture industries that harvest or use resources in the marine environment and may lose or discard gear, materials, machinery or solid wastes from industrial processes into the water or onto shorelines.
IMPACT ON HUMAN AND SOCIETY
Once plastic enters the marine food web, there is a possibility that it will contaminate the human food chain as well. Efforts to clean and eradicate ocean plastic have also caused significant financial burdens.
Through a process called bioaccumulation, chemicals in plastics will enter the body of the animal feeding on the plastic, and as the feeder becomes prey, the chemicals will pass to the predator – making their way up the food web that includes humans.
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According to a study conducted in collaboration with Deloitte, yearly economic costs due to marine plastic are estimated to be between $6-19bn USD.
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IMPACT ON WILDLIFE
A wide variety of man-made objects can become marine debris; plastic bags, balloons, buoys, rope, medical waste, glass and plastic bottles, cigarette stubs, cigarette lighters, beverage cans, polystyrene, lost fishing line and nets, and various wastes from cruise ships and oil rigs are among the items commonly found to have washed ashore. Six pack rings, in particular, are considered emblematic of the problem
