The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Belen What is it? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a large system of marine debris located in the Pacific Ocean. Out of the many marine trash vortexes that exist, this is the biggest. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water. 

 The garbage patch is estimated to have a size between 700000 and 1500000 square kilometres 1500000 square kilometres is twice the size of the state of Texas!

Belen Location The Great Pacific Garbage Patch spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan. It is located roughly between 135°W to 155°W and 35°N and 42°N. All of it is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. This is a system of circular ocean currents formed by the Earth’s wind patterns and the forces created by the rotation of the planet. Moreover, it is created by the interaction of the California, North Equatorial, Kuroshiro, and North Pacific currents, which all move in a clockwise direction around an area of 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles).

Belen Characteristics The patch is characterized by its high relative concentrations of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not visible from satellite photography despite its enormous size and density (4 particles per cubic meter). The amount of debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch accumulates because much of it is not biodegradable. This means that many plastics do not wear down but rather simply break into tinier and tinier pieces. 



What is the main problem? Belen What is the main problem? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch presents numerous hazards to marine life, fishing and tourism, as explained later on. It is a massive environmental threatener. Since the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is so far from any country’s coastline, nations refuse to take responsibility or to provide the founding to clean it up. Charles Moore, the discoverer of the patch in 1997, once said that cleaning the patch would “bankrupt any country” that tried it.

Konstantin Formation It is thought that the Great Pacific Ocean garbage patch was formed by the gathering of hundreds of tons of marine pollution by oceanic currents. Most of this pollution enters the sea via streams and rivers in which humans dispose of their waste. It is estimated that at least 80% of the garbage comes from these sources. Did you know?: About 10% of all the plastics produced are dumped into the ocean.

Types of marine debris -plastics (make up 60-80% of all marine debris) Andrea -plastics (make up 60-80% of all marine debris) -styrofoam -glass -rubber -derelict fishing gear -derelict vessels

Chemical impacts Andrea -Plastics have the potential to absorb chemicals and serve as global transport mechanisms of these harmful chemicals. -The chemicals are release from the plastics when they are broke down through uv radiation, mechanical forces and weathering. -chemicals being released include POPs (persistent organic pollutants) such as: PCB ( poly chlorinated biphenyls) and pesticides

Physical habitat impacts Andrea The accumulation of the garbage into large floating areas, at beaches and beneath the waters surface can lead to: - decrease in light levels below the surface of the garbage patch - depletion of oxygen levels in the surrounding waters - degradation of habits due to smothering, abrasion and fragmentation of sensitive habitats Global degradation of coral reefs has become a pending issue that can in turn cause issues within other species Due to the fact that they no longer have sustainable habitat

Effects on wildlife Gal and Aidan The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has a direct effect on all types of wildlife;in the ocean, the land, or the sky. It is important to mention that the following slides show only 3 examples out of about 200 species that have been endangered or hurt by this phenomenon.

Effects on wildlife Gal and Aidan The Laysan Albatross is a large seabird, which ranges widely from the Southern Ocean to the Northern Pacific. They commonly fly over the Pacific Garbage Patch and can easily mistake garbage for food (since they primarily feed on squids) The average lifespan of these birds is about 50 years. In a study made by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, it was found that out of 500,000 chicks born yearly in Midway Atoll, about 200,000 dies from dehydration and starvation, as a result of eating too much garbage Things like toothbrushes, combs, cigarettes and even toy soldiers were found inside the corpses

Effects on wildlife Gal and Aidan The Loggerhead sea turtle is a highly migratory species, and their range spans through most of the world’s oceans (except of the more frigid areas near the poles).Consequently, their migration may take them to the Garbage Patch This endangers them since they often mistake soft plastic (e.g. plastic bags or balloons) for their prey (which usually consists of different types of mollusks) or can get entangled in old fishing gear Ingestion of plastic can lead to blockages in the gut, ulceration, internal perforation and even death

Effects on wildlife Gal and Aidan The Hawaiian Monk Seal is the only seal that prefer tropical climate.It lives along the NorthWesetern Hawaiian Islands and is considred the most primitive seal. It is an endangered species, since it has been heavily hunted since the 19th century. Nowadays, one of the biggest dangers is the possible entanglement in fishing gear and other debris that accumulate along the beaches, including in areas that serve as pup nurseries, which severely aggravates their danger of extinction. Entanglement can lead to suffocation, starvation, drowning or deeper wounds from the movement of the animal. It is a major cause of death to this critically endangered species.

Effects on wildlife Gal and Aidan Algae and plankton can also be affected by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The microplastics that make up the garbage patch can block sunlight from reaching the algae and plankton. Plankton and algae need sunlight to produce their own nutrients and without the sunlight being able to reach them they cannot survive. This is a major issue because algae and plankton are fed on by many sea creatures such as fish and turtles, and if there is less plankton and algae food for these animals becomes more and more scarce causing the food webs of marine life to change drastically and put the balance completely off.

Konstantin What can we do? Scientists do not believe that it is entirely possible to completely clean the ocean of all this waste: attempting to clean up the patch could potentially bankrupt a country. The only viable solution is preventing the growth of the patch by keeping all the plastics on land. The use of alternative plastics is also a viable solution: “corn plastic” looks like a normal petroleum based plastic, but it is biodegradable and can degrade in mere months. Petroleum based plastics can take centuries to undergo degradation This means that the first plastic products produced are still around!

Konstantin Recycling and reusing plastic products can also greatly decrease the amount of plastics which get to the sea. Some manufacturing processes use recycled plastics and reuse it as raw materials. Organisations such as Algalita have tried to raise awareness to prevent people from disposing of plastics without a second thought.

What if we don’t do anything? Konstantin What if we don’t do anything? It is impossible to calculate the exact amount of plastic floating around the ocean. A 1999 investigation by Charles Moore found that the plastic density at the ocean had an average of 0.002g per square metre just at the surface 9 years later, this number had doubled The density of plastic already far outweighs even the density of plankton with a ratio of 46 to one. It is believed that at the current rate of pollution, the density of plastic could double again in just the next decade. Plastics from the 1940’s have been found

Konstantin This pollution doesn’t just affect the wildlife, it can also affect us. Since any fish may ingest plastics and other chemicals due to their high concentration in the pacific ocean, this also means that any human may also ingest these chemicals indirectly by eating any fish whose origin is the Pacific Ocean The weight of every person on Earth is produced in the form of plastic every two years. Only 9% of this is recycled

What is being done? Gal and Aidan Many different institutes and foundations are trying to raise awareness of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Among these is the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History along with National Geographic and Time Magazine. All of these companies have been attempting to stop the littering that is taking place so that the animals that inhabit this part of the Pacific Ocean do not go extinct.

Sources http://marinedebris.info/book/export/html/33 Belen Sources http://marinedebris.info/book/export/html/33 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1 http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm

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Sources http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1 http://divermag.com/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/ http://www.algalita.org/ http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/green-science/garbage_dump_in_the_middle http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/how-long-does-it-take-for-plastics-to-biodegrade.htm Pichel, William G., James H. Churnside, Timothy S. Veenstra, David G. Foley, Karen S. Friedman, Russell E. Brainard, Jeremy B. Nicoll, Quanan Zheng, and Pablo Clemente-Colón. "Marine Debris Collects within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone." Marine Pollution Bulletin 54.8 (2007): 1207-211. Web. "Caught Between a Net and a Hard Place." New Heaven Dive School Koh Tao. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. "Upstream." Upstream. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.