Rising plastic problem in oceans | mydigitalfc.com:
"In an open ocean, currents and wind combine to form massive, swirling vortexes called gyres. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is one of five major gyres on earth and stretches between the coasts of Japan and California. In this area, a combination of high atmospheric pressure and the earth’s rotation slows ocean currents and moves them in a clockwise spiral. Historically, the Northern Pacific Gyre (NPG) has created a rich concentration of plankton and other organisms.
Recently, however, the gyre has become home to plastic waste drawn from all over the world, particularly from Pacific rim countries. The result is two enormous masses of plastic trash. One, dubbed the western garbage patch, is located west of Hawaii and east of Japan. The second is the eastern garbage patch, near the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Together, these masses are known as the Great Pacific garbage patch (the Patch). Ocean currents carry plastic trash to the patch from all over the world, and debris that ends up in territories of the US may have originated thousands of miles away."
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
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