Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch
- by ~summer~
- Filed Under: Uncategorized
- Date: Oct 30,2007
image source: National Geographic, 2005
About 1,000 miles west of San Francisco and 1,000 miles north of Hawaii, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, lies a massive body of floating garbage. It weighs 3 million tons, covers an area twice the size of Texas, and is comprised of fine plastic chips and other floatables. It may be impossible to skim it out of the ocean.
The trash collects in one area, known as the North Pacific Gyre, due to a clockwise trade wind that circulates along the Pacific Rim. According to the SF Chronicle, a two-liter plastic bottle that begins its voyage from a storm drain in San Francisco will get pulled into the gyre and take weeks to reach its place among the other debris in the Garbage Patch. Plastic bottles exposed to the sun’s UV rays become brittle and the bottles break into small pieces and particles of plastic dust. The debris floats as a soupy mass, interspersed with other marine debris such as fishing nets and tires. The mess has been growing by 10-fold every year since the 1950s.
For several years ocean researcher Charles Moore has been investigating the Garbage Patch. He estimates that the distant location of the mess and it’s immense size make cleanup nearly impossible. The National Oceanic Marine Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is embarking on an effort to characterize the extent of the mas, though the going is slow: satellite photos don’t detect plastic, federal funding authorization can take years. In the meantime, birds and fishes certainly mistake the floating junk for prey.
One more good reason to get off the bottle (my office has a campaign to get folks signed up for this pledge - go Green Team!)
today’s reference:SF Chronicle
Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch
- by ~summer~
- Filed Under: Uncategorized
- Date: Oct 30,2007
image source: National Geographic, 2005
About 1,000 miles west of San Francisco and 1,000 miles north of Hawaii, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, lies a massive body of floating garbage. It weighs 3 million tons, covers an area twice the size of Texas, and is comprised of fine plastic chips and other floatables. It may be impossible to skim it out of the ocean.
The trash collects in one area, known as the North Pacific Gyre, due to a clockwise trade wind that circulates along the Pacific Rim. According to the SF Chronicle, a two-liter plastic bottle that begins its voyage from a storm drain in San Francisco will get pulled into the gyre and take weeks to reach its place among the other debris in the Garbage Patch. Plastic bottles exposed to the sun’s UV rays become brittle and the bottles break into small pieces and particles of plastic dust. The debris floats as a soupy mass, interspersed with other marine debris such as fishing nets and tires. The mess has been growing by 10-fold every year since the 1950s.
For several years ocean researcher Charles Moore has been investigating the Garbage Patch. He estimates that the distant location of the mess and it’s immense size make cleanup nearly impossible. The National Oceanic Marine Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is embarking on an effort to characterize the extent of the mas, though the going is slow: satellite photos don’t detect plastic, federal funding authorization can take years. In the meantime, birds and fishes certainly mistake the floating junk for prey.
One more good reason to get off the bottle (my office has a campaign to get folks signed up for this pledge - go Green Team!)
today’s reference:SF Chronicle
2 Responses for "Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch"
I wonder how many deflated balloons are in that mess?
I am a graphic design student in New York and for my thesis project I have been researching the impact of plastics and pollution in marine species.
It would be very important for me to know the specific issue of the National Geographic Magazine from which you took the image of the dead albatross with the plastic pieces next to him.
I would really appreciate your help on this!
Thank you!
Lina
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