Actual Size of Great Pacific Garbage Patch Shocks Scientists
A three-week voyage took researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California 1,000 miles off the California Coast to study what is known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”
The team discovered that the amount of garbage is on a much greater scale than expected.
The Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastics Expedition, or SEAPLEX, set out to study toxicity, feeding patterns, invasive species and hard surfaces in the North Pacific Gyre, a circling ocean current. The research was written, designed and executed by graduate students hoping to add to the relatively small amount of information on the garbage patch.
The group of scientists set sail on the "R/V New Horizon" to study the North Pacific Gyre. Photo: Seaplexscience.com
“We wanted to further the scientific effort and set the stage for future research,” said Chief Scientist Miriam Goldstein. “We wanted to figure out the worst case scenario of the amount of plastic out there.”
While some previous data proved that the amount of garbage was increasing, the goal of SEAPLEX was to begin to understand its extent.
Some of their findings included barnacles attached to plastic bottles, large boxes and containers as well as a stuffed dog the team nicknamed “Lucky.”
Goldstein said the garbage patch is not a giant, floating island of trash, as many people imagine, but rather 80 percent of the trash particles are smaller than the average pinky nail. Of 132 net tows recorded by the team, 100 consecutive tows had plastic in them.
Scientists recently discovered that, contrary to previous belief, plastics break down quickly and in low temperatures in the ocean.
Goldstein explained that the amount of garbage could potentially change the ecosystem and alter the way many species move in the ocean.
“It’s pretty shocking to hear there’s all this debris not far away from land,” Goldstein told the San Diego News Network.
For now, scientists will continue to study the samples collected and make plans to go research the other gyres in the ocean, according to The Associated Press.
Taking into account the amount of plastic collecting in ocean gyre’s, it is important to recycle what you can. According to the American Chemistry Council’s “Too Valuable To Waste” Web site, “While litter doesn’t belong swimming in the sea, it also doesn’t always belong in the trash bin. Plastic bottles and other plastic containers are among the most easily recyclable materials, and can go on to live a very useful second life as decking, carpet, or polar fleece, just to name a few.”
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julie
posted on September 9th, 2009 at 11:18 am
so how big is it?
RecycleBill
posted on September 9th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Perhaps your readers would like to learn more about the plastic industry approach to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, AKA Gilligan’s Island.
Don
posted on September 10th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Recycled plastic does not belong in decking nor does it belong in anything that can be satisfied with wood.
The Problem with Composite Decking
What makes it so environmentally friendly on the material-sourcing and manufacturing end also makes composite decking unsustainable on the installation and end-of-life side. When you mix an industrial material (plastic) that is recyclable with a biological materials (wood) that is compostable you get a material that is neither recyclable nor compostable. This is what William McDonough and Michael Braungart call a “monstrous hybrid” in their groundbreaking book “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way we Make Things.” As a result, any sawdust or construction scrap is destined for the landfill. Since perfect collection of sawdust is nearly impossible a miter saw will spread plastic/wood sawdust throughout the construction site. If your deck uses 100 twelve-foot boards and you are averaging three cuts per board with a 1/8-inch saw blade you will produce 8 pounds of this monstrous hybrid, a significant portion of which may blow away in the wind. I also estimate at least 100 pounds of scrap that will go to the landfill, even after you make as many composite birdhouses as you can.
From: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/deck-wood-or-plastic.php
This guy has a point.
Todd Osenbaaugh
posted on October 31st, 2009 at 2:20 pm
What does the word ‘gyrer’ mean ?
Bookmarks for February 16th through February 17th — arghh.net
posted on February 16th, 2010 at 10:29 am
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plant
posted on April 1st, 2010 at 3:46 am
Don, could the wood/plastic composite be remelted at a modest temperature and refabricated?