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Garbage PatchThe Great Pacific
http://becausewater.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/pacific-garbage-patch12.jpg
Pacific Garbage Patch?What is the
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• Gyre of marine debrisDefinition of marine debris:• Man made garbage that has been accidentally or
deliberately littered into a body of water• Common misconception, not just a few pieces of trash• One of the leading causes of pollution in our oceans6
Source of these debris?
• Estimated 20% ocean sources
80% land sources7
These can include:• Waste from ships/ fishing
vessels• Sewage related• Litter at
beaches/coastlines5
Page 6
Where is it Located?4
North Pacific Gyre• The “convergence zone”• 20o N and 40o S Latitude• 100-300 miles off coast of gyres center
2 Accumulation ZonesWestern Garbage Patch
• JapanEastern Garbage Patch
• Hawaii and California
How Large is the Garbage Patch
Undetermined, only estimated• Currents• Distribution and volume• 100 million tons up• Expanding 100 feet down• Not dense
Natural Disasters Effect SizeTsunamis • Indonesia in December 2004• Japan 2011Typhoons• Philippines 2013
Density ResearchIn 2012 researchers began looking at the effects
of the Tsunami in Japan of 2011.
Estimate of debris location from Japan’s Tsunami
Density Research Continued14 researchers 2600 nautical miles
from Majuro, Japan to Tokyo in 19 daysEach team member was assigned a type of item to logThis research contributed to the study of the Garbage
Patch Density.2
http://www.algalita.org/uploads/2012_asia_pacific_expedition_report.pdf
Plastic DebrisFergusson (1974) for instance, then a member
of the Council of the British Plastics Federation and a Fellow of the Plastics Institute, stated that “plastics litter is a very small proportion of all litter and causes no harm to the environment except as an eyesore”
Does not biodegrade, it photodegradesPhotodegrades into small particulates
Plastic Debris (cont’d)Constitutes for 90% of all garbage floating in the
world~200 billion plastic produced each year and 10%
ends up in the ocean30 million tons of plastic is produced in the U.S.
annually70% of it sink to the ocean floor and the rest floats
Affects marine life, fishing, and tourism In some areas plastic outweighs phytoplankton 6:1
Who is Affected?
http://www.moonshineink.com/sites/default/files/styles/homepageslideshow/public/ml_java_birdplastic2.jpg
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2007/8/plastic_ocean_report.pdf
Ingestion of PlasticsAlbatross:
Albatrosses live almost their entire lives at sea, coming to land only to nest
Adult albatrosses feed on fish, crustaceans, and squid, and often follow ships, feeding on discarded food. Parents feed their young by regurgitating previously digested food into their mouths.
Sea TurtlesRapid Increase of plastic ingestion• Since the 1980’s amount has
increased dramatically• Not all victims are discovered• Thus estimates are likely low1
Entanglement In Plastic Debris
Discarded fishing gear – “ghost nets”
Curious young seal pups & plastic loops cycle
Plastic ScrubbersSmall fragments of plastic (~0.5 mm) derived
from hand cleaners, cosmetic preparations and airblast cleaning mediaStudies found in New Zealand & Canada using
airblasting, found polyethylene and polystyrene residues
Swirling pools of garbage we consume!
PCB’s DDT and other toxic chemicals cannot dissolve in the water but are absorbed by plastic.
One study reported over 84 pieces of plastic in the stomachs of fish samples from the garbage patch
The same toxins in the plastic are in the fish tissues.
We EAT these fish and their toxins too!!
Prevention so far…US House of Representatives recently passed an
Amendment Act to senate.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration must establish a program and assign the United states Coast Guard to assist.The program must identify and determine sources of
the pollution. It must reduce and prevent the marine debris.
Also determine its impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety
The program must determine and prevent land-based sources of pollution all in coordinance with non-federal entities
To prevent expansion and promote reduction of the garbage patch we
must….Responsibility of drifting garbage must be clarified
Cooperation of all nations and determine an international policy
Raise public awareness of the problem on an international level
Encourage international organizations already in place to expand efforts as well as hold guilty parties accountable.
Promote and support Research and data collection to prove these methods work and are worth the time and money invested.
Marine Debris is importantThe Pacific Garbage patch has doubled in size in
a decade
Islands of Garbage are appearing all over the globe
The Pacific Garbage patch is just one of 5 large gyres that are believed to be collecting large quantities of garbage and human waste products.
We are what we eat … This is becoming a large issue affecting the oceans, wildlife, and US!
ReferencesSamantha Brown
Slides 2-7, 10, 14, 15, 181. Blight L.K., and A.E. Burger. 1997. Occurrence of plastic particles in seabirds
from the eastern North Pacific. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 34 (5): 323-325.
2. http://www.algalita.org/uploads/2012_asia_pacific_expedition_report.pdf page 9
3. http://www.algalita.org/pdf/PLASTIC%20DEBRIS%20ENGLISH.pdf4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Marine Debris in the North Pacific." A Summary
of Existing Information and Identification of Data Gaps (2011): 6-7. Web. http://www.epa.gov/region9/marine-debris/pdf/MarineDebris-NPacFinalAprvd.pdf
5. Allsopp, Michelle, Adam Walters, David Santillo, and Paul Johnston. "Green Peace." Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans (n.d.): 5+. Web. <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2007/8/plastic_ocean_report.pdf>.
6. Allsopp, Michelle, Adam Walters, David Santillo, and Paul Johnston. "Green Peace." Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans (n.d.): 5+. Web. <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2007/8/plastic_ocean_report.pdf>.
7. Gregory M.R. and P.G. Ryan. 1997. Pelagic plastics and other seaborne persistent synthetic debris: a review of Southern Hemisphere perspectives. Prepared for AB 259 (Krekorian), AB 820 (Karnette), and AB 904 (Feuer) by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation
ReferencesCarissa Vuong
Slides 8, 9, 11-13, 16, 17, 19, 20
Derraik, Jose GB. "The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review." Marine pollution bulletin 44.9 (2002): 842-852.
Silverman, Jacob. "Why is the world biggest landfill in the Pacific Ocean?" 19 September 2007. HowStuffWorks.
Barnes, David KA. "Biodiversity: invasions by marine life on plastic debris." Nature 416.6883 (2002): 808-809.