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PATCH
By Derek Tran
INTRODUCTION
Did you know there is a garbage patch in the ocean that is twice the size of Texas? The
north pacific garbage patch is the north pacific gyre, a vortex like current in the ocean. The
northern pacific gyre is an abnormally large gyre, because it is created from the collision of
multiple currents. The current conveys debris and plastics from around the world to the epicenter
of the gyre. The waste that collaborates in the North Pacific Ocean is forms a patch garbage in
the North Pacific Ocean called the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The
garbage patch is estimated to be ten
feet deep and about twice the size of
Texas. The majority of the waste in
the garbage patch is microscopic,
which makes the garbage patch
nearly impossible to clean. The Great
Pacific Garbage Patch is an aeonian
problem that will never resolve
The Great Pacific garbage patch is often thought of as an
island of plastic, but in reality it is actually nearly invisible.
itself.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is considered the worlds largest sinkhole. According to
KQED, the north pacific gyre is created from the
colliding North Pacific Current, the California
Current, the North Equatorial Current, and the
Kuroshio Current (2010). Theses currents bring
waste from around the world to a concentrated
location. This creates a massive waste build up
between Japan and Hawaii. According Josh Clark
the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas and estimated to be 10 feet deep
(2015). The garbage patch is a major problem, and because the oceans currents are consistently
bringing more trash into its epicenter without allowing any waste to escape; the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch will only become larger.
Why cant the garbage patch simply be cleaned up? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
cannot be simply cleaned up, because the majority of the patch is made of microscopic debris
and plastics. According to a micro plastic and water quality research group lead by Peter G.
Ryan, plastic can only
be broken down
through photodegradation,
oxidation, and
mechanical abrasion
(2009). That means
plastic will not
disappear over time
There is a lot more plastics in the water than what is visible.
smaller pieces though contact with sunlight and chemical decomposition. Another research group
lead by Maggie Ostdahl detailed that humans make the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (2013). All
litter that enters the garbage patch is from the human population. All the small pieces of plastic
that enter the storm drains will add to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
GLOBALLY?
The garbage patch does have an effect globally. According to Beachapedia, gyres may
sometimes split (2014). When a gyre splits, it causes maxis amount of trash to be wash up onto
beaches and shores. The brakes in the north pacific gyre
have been the cause of the majority of large trash wash
ups around the world. In a Tedx talk, Boyan Slat
explained every piece of plastic that enters the
ecosystem could damage landscape and that
approximately 300,000,000 tons of plastic enters
waterways (2012). Plastic is entering in the ecosystem
at a very high rate and overtime will only accumulate.
these small pieces of plastic could injure someones foot, and allows the harmful chemicals to
directly enter ones blood stream.
storm drains will directly enter a waterway, and if the water is not treated, it will have a
permanent impact. According to Peter G. Ryans research group, modified trawl nets called
ghost nets could be used to remove larger pieces of plastic in the water (2009). The problem
with these ghost nets is that it may harm the environment and could only clean the plastic
before it photo degrades.
CONCLUSION
The garbage patch is created from multiple current that
bring debris from around the world to the center of the North
Pacific Ocean. A problem will never resolve itself and has
devastating impact of marine life. The Great Pacific Garbage
Patch is a problem self subsequently crated as a side effect of
plastic litter has no current solution for the plastic already in
the water, but scientist are discovering new method of
preventing the garbage patch from getting any larger.
Overtime, there may be new discovering of how to contain the great Pacific Ocean and restore
marine life to its former glory.
REFERENCE PAGE
KQED (2010). Plastic in the Pacific
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g9fEbqxyNl0
Peter G. Ryan, CharlesJ. Moore, Jan A.van Franeker, Coleen L. Moloney (2009)
Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873010/
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