6 Heartbreaking Facts About the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a marine debris collection in the North Pacific. Marine debris is debris that ends in seas, oceans as well as other large water bodies. This patch is located near Eastern Garbage Patch and Japan.  

This massive accumulation of plastic waste between California and Hawaii is increasing day by day…

Here are six great pacific garbage patch facts.

• Discovered by Ocean Scientist and Captain Charles Moore

In the year 1997, boat captain and ocean scientist Charles Moore were cruising to California after completing a sailing race from LA to Hawaii Transpac. When Moore and his crew sailed in the northern Pacific Ocean, one of the ocean remote parts, they noticed huge amounts of plastic debris moving in the sea.  A coworker of Moore called the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” the vast area of ​​plastic debris, and the name has remained since.

• Plastic in Great Pacific Garbage Patch Can Upset the Marine Food Chain

Plastics can be very damaging to marine life in gyre, and this is one of the great pacific garbage patch facts. The enormous mass of plastic floats on the surface of the ocean and blocks the sunlight important for plankton and algae survival. Plankton and algae are self-sufficient, and sunlight helps them produce their nutrients. If their survival is threatened, it could change the entire marine food chain alarmingly.

• This Patch is one of the Five Similar Patches

Although the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest and most polluted oceanic region in the world, it is by no means the only patch in the world.  This fact is one of the great pacific garbage patch facts. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the Gyre of the North Pacific and is one of the first ocean gyres. Other important gyres include the North Atlantic Gyre, the   South Pacific Gyre, and Indian Ocean Gyre.

• Plastic Will Never Escape Once it Enters the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The movement of ocean streams in circles makes it extremely difficult to get plastic debris out of the Great Pacific Group Patch area. The reason debris accumulates in these areas can be explained by really noticing the marine role. The ocean gyre works like a huge circular conveyor belt. This means that once the debris has entered, it becomes very difficult to escape.

• Plastic is Not Only Present on the Surface of the Patch, but Also Underwater

Plastic is not only present on the surface of the ocean but extends to the bottom of the sea. Some plastic types float more than others. Microplastics have been found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch at all levels below the water level to the bottom of the ocean. Bottles tend to fall quickly on the bottom, while plastic bags usually float on the surface of the water. Other types of plastic can be suspended, without going to the surface or sinking to the bottom of the sea.

• This Patch has Decades-Old Plastic

Plastic production began in significant numbers in the 1950s. Every piece of plastic produced still exists today. This patch has decades-old plastic and is one of the many surprising great pacific garbage patch facts. A plastic toy that you played as a kid always somewhere could now be in a million small pieces, but the plastic is still plastic.

Cleaning up a large plastic pollution area as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch cannot be done easily or quickly, but it’s important to keep more waste out of the ocean, and that’s something that all world can help.