The model shows that sea surface currents are the most important factor in driving trash to the GPGP. They incorporated this data into a model aimed at helping them understand how the GPGP has moved in position and increased in size over time. This method allowed them to locate and identify larger pieces of plastic that their nets couldn’t capture (typically plastics larger than 0.5 meters). To supplement field collections, the team conducted aerial surveys by deploying two low-flying planes over the GPGP. Of these samples, one third of the labels had Japanese inscriptions, and one third Chinese-an important reminder that plastic pollution is a global problem. For several samples, the team was able to identify a language and manufacturing date. After capture, researchers sorted samples by size class and material type. A fleet of 18 vessels trawled a total of 652 nets across the ocean surface over the course of three months, hoping to collect a range of plastic sizes and identify their origin and age. They aimed to conduct a large-scale field monitoring effort to better understand the density and type of marine debris in and around the GPGP, and to incorporate these data into a detailed model to predict its size and movement.įrom 2015 to 2016, the team launched a large-scale, multi-vessel survey through the GPGP.
#Grow island solution Patch#
In a recent study from Scientific Reports, a group of researchers led by Laurent Lebreton provides the most detailed estimates of the current size and composition of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), a massive marine debris accumulation zone in the North Pacific Ocean. The persistence of plastics of all sizes in the ocean has detrimental effects on entire food webs of marine and land species.Ī problem is that these trash accumulation zones are quite difficult to quantify, due to their sheer volume and the size range of the plastics within them. This problem is more than just an unsightly collection of trash. Since the rise of plastic production, gyres have become garbage hotspots for the accumulation of marine debris. Through a combination of environmental processes, circulating ocean currents form massive vortexes called gyres.
Depending on the size, density, and location of these plastic pieces, they may wash ashore, sink to the ocean floor, or get trapped in oceanic currents. Once plastic reaches the ocean, it is subject to waves, winds, and currents that break it down and transport it in various directions. That mass is equivalent to over 5,000 blue whales! In fact, a shocking 8 million tons of it ends up in the natural environment each year. This means that most of our plastic either ends up in landfills or is carried through river systems and ultimately to the open ocean. We certainly can’t kid ourselves into thinking that recycling is a solution to this problem less than 10% of plastic ends up being recycled. However, since most plastics take almost 1000 years to decompose, plastic use has taken an enormous toll on the environment.
They are cheap to produce, convenient, and sanitary - it’s no wonder why we produce a little over 300 million tons of plastic globally every year. Single-use plastics plague our modern daily lives.
0 kommentar(er)
