Why does the Great Pacific Garbage Patch exist? Why does the plastic get stuck there? In 40 to 50 words
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WHAT IS THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH?
HOW MUCH PLASTIC FLOATS IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH?
WHAT TYPES OF PLASTIC FLOAT IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON MARINE LIFE AND HUMANS?
HOW DID THE OCEAN CLEANUP CONDUCT ITS RESEARCH?
WHAT IS THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH?
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans. It is located halfway between Hawaii and California.
PLASTIC ACCUMULATION
It is estimated that 1.15 to 2.41 million tonnes of plastic are entering the ocean each year from rivers. More than half of this plastic is less dense than the water, meaning that it will not sink once it encounters the sea.
ESTIMATION OF SIZE
The GPGP covers an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France.
THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH COVERS AN ESTIMATED SURFACE OF 1.6 MILLION SQUARE KILOMETERS
To formulate this number, the team of scientists behind this research conducted the most elaborate sampling method ever coordinated.
This consisted of a fleet of 30 boats, 652 surface nets and two flights over the patch to gather aerial imagery of the debris.
Sampling at different locations within the same time period allowed a more accurate estimate of the size of the patch and the plastic drifting in it.
HOW MUCH PLASTIC FLOATS IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH?
At the time of sampling, there were more than 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch that weigh an estimated 80,000 tonnes. These figures are much higher than previous calculations.
TOTAL MASS AND COUNT
80’000 TONNES OF PLASTIC FLOAT IN THE GPGP, EQUIVALENT TO 500 JUMBO JETS
The mass of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) was estimated to be approximately 80,000 tonnes, which is 4-16 times more than previous calculations. This weight is also equivalent to that of 500 Jumbo Jets.
4 TO 16 TIMES MORE PLASTIC IN THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH THAN PREVIOUSLY ESTIMATED
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The center of the GPGP has the highest density and the further boundaries are the least dense. When quantifying the mass of the GPGP, the team chose to account only for the denser center area. If the less-dense outer region was also considered in the total estimate, the total mass would then be closer to 100,000 tonnes.
A total of 1.8 trillion plastic pieces were estimated to be floating in the patch – a plastic count that is equivalent to 250 pieces of debris for every human in the world.
Using a similar approach as they did when figuring the mass, the team chose to employ conservative estimations of the plastic count. While 1.8 trillion is a mid-range value for the total count, their calculations estimated that it may be range from 1.1 to up to 3.6 trillion pieces.
CONCENTRATION
Using data from multiple reconnaissance missions, a mass concentration model was produced to visualize the plastic distribution in the patch.
The mass concentration model, pictured below, shows how the concentration levels gradually decrease by orders of magnitude towards the outside boundaries of the GPGP. The center concentration levels contain the highest density, reaching 100s of kg/km² while decreasing down to 10 kg/km² in the outermost region.
These results prove that plastic pollution at sea, while densely distributed within the patch, is scattered and does not form a solid mass, thus demystifying the trash island concept.
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