Trash Islands - the Ocean Garbage Patch

Trash Islands - the Ocean Garbage Patch As our global population expands, so does the amount of trash we produce, and a large portion of that trash then ends up in the worlds oceans. Due to oceanic currents, much of the trash is carried to areas where the currents meet. These collections of trash have recently been referred to as marine trash islands. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch The Great Pacific Garbage Patchsometimes called the Eastern Garbage Patchis an area with an intense concentration of marine trash located between Hawaii and California. The exact size of the patch is unknown, however, because it is constantly growing. The patch developed in this area because of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre- one of many oceanic gyres caused by a convergence of ocean currents and wind. As the currents meet, the earth’s Coriolis Effect (the deflection of moving objects caused by the Earth’s rotation) causes the water to slowly rotate, creating a funnel for anything in the water. Because this is a subtropical gyre in the northern hemisphere it rotates clockwise. It’s also a high-pressure zone with hot equatorial air and comprises much of the area known as the horse latitudes. Due to the tendency of items to collect in oceanic gyres, the existence of a garbage patch was predicted in 1988 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) after years of monitoring the amount of trash being dumped into the worlds oceans. The patch was not officially discovered until 1997, though, because of its remote location and harsh conditions for navigation. That year, Captain Charles Moore passed through the area after competing in a sailing race and discovered debris floating over the entire area he was crossing. Atlantic and Other Oceanic Trash Islands Though the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the most widely publicized of the so-called trash islands, the Atlantic Ocean has one as well in the Sargasso Sea. The Sargasso Sea is located in the North Atlantic Ocean between 70 and 40 degrees west longitude and 25 and 35 degrees north latitude. It is bounded by the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, the Canary Current, and the North Atlantic Equatorial current. Like the currents carrying trash into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, these four currents carry a portion of the worlds trash to the middle of the Sargasso Sea where it becomes trapped. In addition to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the Sargasso Sea, there are five other major tropical oceanic gyres in the worldall with conditions similar to those found in these first two. Components of Trash Islands After studying the trash found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Moore learned that 90% of the trash found there was plastic. His research groupas well as NOAAhas studied the Sargasso Sea and other patches around the world and their studies in those locations have had the same findings. It is estimated that 80% of the plastic in the ocean comes from land sources while 20% comes from ships at sea. The plastics in the patches consist of items like water bottles, cups, bottle caps, plastic bags, and fish netting. It’s not just  large plastic items that make up the trash islands, however. In his studies, Moore found that the majority of the plastic in the worlds oceans is made up of billions of pounds of raw plastic pellets called nurdles. These pellets are a byproduct of plastics manufacturing. It is significant that most of the trash is plastic because it does not break down easilyespecially in water. When plastic is on land, it is more easily heated and breaks down faster. In the ocean, the plastic is cooled by the water and becomes coated with algae which shield it from sunlight. Because of these factors, the plastic in the world’s oceans will last well into the future. Garbage Islands Impacts on Wildlife The presence of the plastic in these patches is having a significant impact on wildlife in a number of ways. Whales, seabirds, and other animals can easily be snared in the nylon  nets and six-pack rings prevalent in the garbage patches. They are also in danger of choking on things like balloons, straws, and sandwich wrap. Additionally, fish, seabirds, jellyfish, and oceanic filter feeders easily mistake brightly colored plastic pellets for fish eggs and krill. Research has shown that over time, the plastic pellets can concentrate toxins which are passed on to sea animals when they eat them. This could poison them or cause genetic problems. Once the toxins are concentrated in the tissue of one animal, they can magnify across the food chain similar to the pesticide DDT. Finally, the floating trash can also aid in the spread of species to new habitats. Take, for instance, a type of barnacle. It can attach to a floating plastic bottle, grow, and move to an area where it is not naturally found. The arrival of the new barnacle could then possibly cause problems for the areas native species. The Future for the Trash Islands Research conducted by Moore, NOAA, and other agencies show that  trash islands are continuing to grow. Attempts have been made to clean them up but there is simply too much material over too large of an area to make any significant impact. Some of the best ways to aid in the cleanup of these islands are to suppress their growth by enacting stronger recycling and disposal policies, cleaning up the worlds beaches, and reducing the amount of trash going into the worlds oceans.