Maya Ellison
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex and North Pacific Garbage Patch, is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is not a single island of trash, but a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of microscopic particles in the upper water column known as microplastics. The patch covers 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles), with a concentration of 10–100 kilograms per square kilometre. It is estimated to contain 80,000 metric tons of plastic, with 1.8 trillion pieces, 92% of which are larger than 0.5 centimetres. The patch is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a large system of swirling ocean currents that pull trash towards its centre and trap it there.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) |
| Location | North Pacific Ocean |
| Size | 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles) |
| Plastic Concentration | 10-100 kilograms per square kilometre |
| Total Plastic | 80,000 metric tons (some sources state 45,000-129,000 metric tons) |
| Number of Plastic Pieces | 1.8 trillion |
| Percentage of Mass in Objects Larger than 0.5 cm | 92% |
| Percentage of Floating Plastic to Marine Life | 180x more plastic than marine life |
| Percentage of Microplastics | 94% |
| Number of Identified Languages on Items Collected | 9 |
| Date of Oldest Item Collected | End of the 1970s |
| Main Contributor of Rubbish | Asia |
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What You'll Learn
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not a solid mass
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean. It is located in the central North Pacific Ocean, roughly from 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N. The GPGP is not a solid mass of plastic waste. Instead, it is a gyre of marine debris particles, with a low density of 4 particles per cubic metre. This low density prevents detection by satellite imagery or even by casual boaters or divers in the area.
The GPGP is a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of "fingernail-sized or smaller" particles, often microscopic, in the upper water column known as microplastics. These microplastics are nearly ubiquitous in today's marine environment and can come from larger pieces of plastic that have broken down over time, such as fleece jackets or plastic microbeads from face scrubs. The debris is more akin to flecks of pepper floating in a bowl of soup, rather than a solid mass or a skim of fat on the surface.
The Ocean Cleanup, an organisation dedicated to removing plastic from the world's oceans and rivers, has conducted multiple expeditions to measure the vertical distribution of plastic within the GPGP. Their findings show that buoyant plastic mass is distributed within the top few meters of the ocean, with larger pieces resurfacing more rapidly than smaller pieces. The GPGP is not a static island of trash but a dynamic system influenced by factors such as wind speed, sea state, and plastic buoyancy, which determine vertical mixing.
The GPGP is not a single, continuous patch but is split into two main areas: the Western Garbage Patch near Japan and the Eastern Garbage Patch between California and Hawaii. These areas are linked by the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, located north of Hawaii. The entire GPGP is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a large system of swirling ocean currents that trap and accumulate debris in its stable centre.
The public perception of the GPGP as a solid island of trash is a misconception. The term "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" does not accurately portray the marine debris problem in the North Pacific Ocean. While there is a higher concentration of plastic in these areas, the reality is that the debris is spread across the surface and throughout the water column, with denser pieces sinking below the surface. This dispersed nature of the plastic pollution makes it challenging to measure the exact size or mass of the GPGP.
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It's made of microplastics and flecks of larger debris
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is not a solid mass, but a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of "fingernail-sized or smaller"—often microscopic—particles in the upper water column known as microplastics. These microplastics are nearly ubiquitous in the marine environment and may come from larger pieces of plastic that have broken down over time, from fleece jackets, or plastic microbeads added to face scrubs.
The GPGP is not a literal island of trash, but it is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean, with a concentration of 10-100 kilograms per square kilometre. It covers 1.6 million square kilometres (0.62 million square miles) and contains 80,000 metric tons of plastic, with 1.8 trillion pieces. 94% of it is made up of minute fragments of plastic eroded from larger pieces, measuring just a few millimetres in diameter. These microplastics are scattered over the surface and are drawn into the North Pacific Gyre, a circular seawater highway, where the rotating currents clump them together and spit them out as larger pieces that float across the ocean.
The GPGP is not visible to satellites or even by casual boaters or divers in the area. Instead, the microplastics make the water look like a cloudy soup, intermixed with larger items such as fishing gear and shoes. The patch is bounded by an enormous gyre—the biggest of five huge, spinning circular currents in the world's oceans that pull trash towards the centre and trap it there, creating a garbage vortex.
The GPGP is a serious environmental concern, as it kills thousands of marine animals each year. Animals migrating through or inhabiting this area are likely consuming plastic in the patch, and the chemicals attached to the plastic are then ingested by the animals. For example, Laysan albatross chicks from Kure Atoll and Oahu Island have around 45% of their wet mass composed of plastics from the GPGP surface waters.
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It's the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. It is located in the central North Pacific Ocean, from 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N. The GPGP is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, which is formed by four currents: the California Current, the North Equatorial Current, the Kuroshio Current, and the North Pacific Current. These currents rotate clockwise around an area of 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles), trapping debris in the center.
The GPGP was discovered by Charles Moore in 1997 while sailing from Hawaii to California after competing in a yacht race. Moore and his crew encountered millions of pieces of plastic and alerted the scientific community to the issue. The patch has since been the subject of numerous research expeditions and cleanup efforts.
The GPGP covers approximately 1.6 million square kilometers (620,000 square miles) and contains an estimated 80,000 metric tons of plastic. It is said to be three times the size of France and twice the size of Texas. The plastic within the patch is mostly composed of microplastics, or pieces smaller than 5mm, which are suspended throughout the water column. These microplastics are often microscopic and come from the breakdown of larger pieces of plastic, such as fleece jackets or plastic microbeads. While the GPGP is not visible to satellites or casual boaters due to its low density and dispersed nature, it poses a significant threat to marine life.
Animals migrating through or inhabiting the area are likely to consume plastic, which can contain toxic chemicals. For example, sea turtles and albatross chicks in the area have been found to have a significant percentage of their diets composed of ocean plastics. The GPGP also includes larger pieces of plastic, such as fishing nets, which can entangle and harm marine creatures. The impact of microplastics on marine life is an area of ongoing research, and the ecological consequences of this massive accumulation of plastic are still being uncovered.
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It's three times the size of France
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex or the North Pacific Garbage Patch, is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is not a solid mass, but a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of ""fingernail-sized or smaller"—often microscopic—particles in the upper water column known as microplastics.
Despite its low density, the patch covers an enormous area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles), with a concentration of 10-100 kilograms per square kilometre. This makes it three times the size of France and earns it the nickname, the "eighth continent".
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean. It is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a large system of swirling ocean currents. The circular motion of the gyre draws debris into its stable centre, trapping it. The area in the centre of a gyre tends to be very calm, and the plastic within it is distributed within the top few metres of the ocean.
The patch is constantly growing, with an estimated 80,000 metric tons of plastic. Scientific evidence points to Asia as the main contributor of rubbish, with another big factor being the increase in industrial fishing. The impact of microplastics on marine life is an area of active research, but it is known that plastic has already entered the marine food web, and there is a possibility that it will contaminate the human food chain as well.
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It's made up of 1.8 billion pieces of plastic
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex or North Pacific Garbage Patch, is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean. It is located in the central North Pacific Ocean, from 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N.
The patch covers 1.6 million square kilometres (0.62 million square miles) with a concentration of 10-100 kilograms per square kilometre. It is estimated to contain 80,000 metric tons of plastic, made up of 1.8 trillion pieces. This figure of 1.8 trillion pieces demonstrates the sheer magnitude of the problem, as each piece of plastic contributes to the degradation of the marine environment and poses a threat to marine life.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not a solid mass or a floating island of garbage. Instead, it is a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of microscopic particles in the upper water column, known as microplastics. These microplastics are often smaller than 5mm in size and are suspended throughout the water column, giving the water a cloudy or peppery appearance. While larger items, such as fishing gear and shoes, can also be found in the patch, they make up a smaller proportion of the debris.
The misconception of the patch being a visible island of trash may be due to the name "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," which conjures images of a floating landfill in the middle of the ocean. However, the low density of the patch (4 particles per cubic metre) prevents detection by satellite imagery or even by casual boaters or divers in the area. The patch's true nature was revealed by expeditions between 2013 and 2015, which showed that plastic pollution at sea is scattered and does not form a solid mass.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a result of plastic pollution in the ocean, with 80% of plastic in the ocean estimated to come from land-based sources and the remaining 20% from boats and other marine sources. The patch is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a large system of swirling ocean currents. These currents draw debris into the stable centre of the gyre, trapping it there and creating a garbage vortex. The rotating currents also influence the vertical mixing of buoyant plastic, with larger pieces observed to resurface more rapidly than smaller pieces.
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Frequently asked questions
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is not an island but a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It covers 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles) and contains 80,000 metric tons of plastic.
No, the GPGP is not visible from satellites because 94% of it is made up of minute fragments of plastic eroded from larger pieces. These microplastics are smaller than 5mm in size and are suspended throughout the water column.
The GPGP has severe impacts on marine life, with animals migrating through or inhabiting this area likely consuming plastic in the patch. For example, sea turtles and albatross chicks from Kure Atoll and Oahu Island have been found with large percentages of plastic in their diets.
