The Great Garbage Patch and Formation Testing
By: Danielle Nobbe
What is the Great Garbage Patch (GGP)?
-The Great Garbage Patch is a quasi landmass that has formed in the middle of the North Pacific Gyre of the Pacific Ocean.
-The GGP is approximately 537,202 square miles and contains millions of tons of buoyant plastics and trash.
When was the GGP discovered?
-The GGP was discovered in 1997 by a scientist and environmental activist named Charles Moore.
-He had predicted the GGP in the 1980s, but did not discover it until the late 1990s.
What contributes to the GGP?
-Most of the ocean pollution that causes the GGP are buoyant plastics. Examples are plastic bottles, balloons, plastic bags, (What Are 20), and even small nurdles.
What are Nurdles?
-Nurdles are “the raw material for almost every plastic product” (What Are Nurdles). They are typically around 5mm in diameter (Nurdles) and nearly 250 billion are produced annually around the world (Moore, Charles).
-Nurdles make up approximately 10% of the plastic in the GGP (What Are Nurdles).
How was the GGP formed?
-The GGP started forming when plastics became available and when people started disposing trash improperly.
-The Earth's wind and rotation contribute to the GGP's formation by providing the trash with a vortex to follow to the center of the North Pacific Gyre.
How was the formation tested?
-I tested this formation by using a simulator that represented the North Pacific Ocean.
-This experiment helped show that both winds and rotation are needed to create the GGP.
What simulator was used?
-The rotating tank and other equipment needed to complete the apparatus are all manufactured and distributed by Mr. Dana Sigall of Gloucester, Massachusetts (Illari, L. "Weather).
-The tank is accurate because the winds are set up to represent the winds of the ocean, and because it can turn at a proportional rate to the Earth.
What were the results of the test?
-The test showed that both the wind and the rotation of the Earth affect how the buoyant plastics move in the North Pacific Gyre.
-When only wind or rotation were applied, the buoyant plastics moved to the outer rims of the simulator.
What do the results mean?
-The results mean that it is possible to replicate the formation of the GGP.
-The results also show that both wind and rotation are necessary for the existence of the GGP.
How is the GGP affecting the environment?
-The plastic is having an impact on many beaches around the Pacific Ocean.
-Kamilo Beach, located on the Southern shore of Hawai’i, has been dubbed the “Dirtiest Beach on Earth” (Hamilton, PhD, Kevin E.). Over just a few years, nearly 10 tons of plastic and other debris has been cleared from the beach (Hamilton, PhD, Kevin E.).
How is the GGP affecting animals?
-Many animals get caught within the trash of the GGP and die because they can't move.
-Many birds eat the plastic because it looks like food and die.
-Many sea turtles eat plastic bags because they look like jellyfish.
Can we see the effects of the GGP?
-Yes! All around the Pacific Ocean, buildups of trash can be seen.
-You can also learn more by visiting environmentalist websites that have information about the GGP.
What can be done to stop the GGP's growth?
-Everyone can help to change this problem and reduce the impact of the Great Garbage Patch.
-Ways to stop using plastics are to replace plastic bags in grocery stores with cloth, to end the consumption of plastic utensils, plates and cups and to use less plastic drinking bottles.
What are Governments doing to stop the growth of the GGP?
-Measures have been taken to decrease the pollution and stop the dumping of debris over the past few years, but the GGP is not within any country’s water territory, so no countries feel the need to take charge of the problem.
Government work, Cont.
-The United States, for example, created the Ocean Dumping Act in 1988. This act is “to regulate intentional ocean disposal of materials, and to authorize related research.” (Copeland, Claudia) This act only ensures that measures can be taken along the shorelines of the United States; leaving the unclaimed waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean to wallow in the debris.
What plastic can be recycled?
-There are seven types of recyclable plastics, which are categorized by thickness.
-Every single example of plastics that can be recycled are commonly found in the household, and also in most households’ trash bins, as opposed to their recycling bins.
The GGP Sum-up
-The GGP is a monumental problem that the world is facing, and the existence of 4 others (totalling 5) has been confirmed in the last 10 years.
-Improper disposal of plastics has led us to this point and people need to actively work to fix the problem.
Sources
Copeland, Claudia. CRS Report for Congress. Rep. no. RS20028. 2007. Print.
Hamilton, PhD, Kevin E., comp. "Expedition to Kamilo Beach, the "Dirtiest Beach on Earth" Iprc Climate Vol. 10, No. 2 2010: 30-31. Print.
Illari, L., J. Marshall, P. Bannon, J. Botella, R. Clark, T. Haine, A. Kumar, S. Lee, K. J. Mackin, G. A. McKinley, M. Morgan, R. Najjar, T. Sikora, and A. Tandon. Weather in a Tank.Rep. 2009. Print.
Sources Cont.
Moore, Charles. "What's a Nurdle? - Ocean Defenders - the Weblog." The Greenpeace Weblog. Web. 28 July 2011.
"Nurdles." Introducing Webpages at SCU | Webpages at SCU. Web. 28 July 2011.
"What Are 20 Objects Made from Plastic Which Are in a Common Home." The Q&A Wiki. Web. 28 July 2011.
"What Are Nurdles?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions. Web. 28 July 2011.