Omar Khalid
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is located between Hawaii and California and is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean. The GPGP was discovered by Charles Moore in 1997 while sailing from Hawaii to California. The garbage patch is a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of suspended fingernail-sized or smaller—often microscopic—particles in the upper water column known as microplastics. These microplastics account for 94% of the estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the GPGP. The patch is constantly changing due to seasonal and interannual variabilities of winds and currents, and it is challenging to determine its exact size as the trash is constantly moving. The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation, has been working to clean up the GPGP, removing more than one million pounds of trash by the end of 2024.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) |
| Location | Between Hawaii and California in the North Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N; on average, orbits around 32°N and 145°W |
| Size | 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles) |
| Weight | 45,000–129,000 metric tons (50,000–1 million tons) |
| Composition | Microplastics, fishing gear, shoes, toothbrushes, water bottles, pens, baby bottles, cell phones, plastic bags, lighters, nurdles, and other plastic items |
| Age | Some plastic is over 50 years old; 49% of dated plastic objects were produced in the 20th century |
| Density | 4 particles per cubic meter |
| Discovery | Discovered by Charles Moore in 1997 |
| Cleanup | The Ocean Cleanup has removed over 1 million pounds of trash (0.5% of the total) as of 2024 |
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What You'll Learn
- The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic
- It's located between Hawaii and California in the North Pacific Ocean
- The GPGP is constantly changing shape and location due to winds and currents
- It's made up of microplastics, with larger items like fishing gear and shoes
- The Ocean Cleanup has removed over 1 million pounds of trash from the GPGP
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic
The GPGP was discovered in 1997 by Captain Charles Moore, who was sailing from Hawaii to California after competing in a yacht race. Moore and his crew noticed millions of pieces of plastic surrounding their ship and described the ocean as looking like a murky soup, with different-sized plastics intermixed with larger items such as fishing gear and shoes. The patch cannot be seen from space or even by casual boaters or divers in the area, as it is made up of microscopic particles in the upper water column, known as microplastics. These microplastics account for 94% of the estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch.
The GPGP formed gradually as a result of ocean pollution gathered by ocean currents. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a large system of swirling ocean currents, draws waste material from across the North Pacific, including coastal waters off North America and Japan. The gyre's rotational pattern pulls debris into its stable centre, where it becomes trapped. The plastic in the GPGP persists and causes harm over lengthy periods, continually degrading into microplastics and becoming increasingly difficult to remove.
The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation founded by Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, has been working to clear the GPGP. By the end of 2024, they had removed more than one million pounds of trash from the patch, or 0.5% of the total accumulated trash. However, the problem of plastic pollution is ongoing, with plastic debris from the GPGP continuing to wash up on the shores of remote islands such as Fiji, the Cook Islands, and Vanuatu.
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It's located between Hawaii and California in the North Pacific Ocean
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is located between Hawaii and California in the North Pacific Ocean, halfway between the two states. The GPGP is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world's oceans. It is estimated that 1.15 to 2.41 million tonnes of plastic are entering the ocean each year from rivers. More than half of this plastic is less dense than the water, meaning that it will not sink once it encounters the sea.
The GPGP was discovered by Charles Moore, a racing boat captain, in 1997. Moore was sailing from Hawaii to California after competing in a yacht race when he noticed millions of pieces of plastic surrounding his ship. The patch cannot be seen from space or even by casual boaters or divers in the area. This is because the patch is a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of suspended "fingernail-sized or smaller"—often microscopic—particles in the upper water column known as microplastics. These microplastics account for 94% of the estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that make up the GPGP.
The patch is constantly changing due to seasonal and interannual variabilities of winds and currents. On average, the patch orbits around 32°N and 145°W, but it can also shift from west to east and vary in latitude depending on the year. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, formed by four currents (the California, North Equatorial, Kuroshio, and North Pacific currents), surrounds the entire GPGP. The gyre's rotational pattern draws in waste material from across the North Pacific, incorporating coastal waters off North America and Japan.
The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation founded by Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, has been working to clear the GPGP. By the end of 2024, they had removed more than one million pounds of trash from the patch, or 0.5% of the total accumulated trash. A 2019 study found that 80% of plastic in the ocean comes from land-based sources, with the remaining 20% coming from boats and other marine sources. However, a 2022 study reported that 75% to 86% of plastic pollution is from fishing and agriculture, with most identified emissions originating from Japan, China, South Korea, the US, and Taiwan.
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The GPGP is constantly changing shape and location due to winds and currents
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean, located between Hawaii and California. It is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean, formed by ocean currents and pollution. The GPGP is not a solid mass of plastic but a dispersed area of microplastics, with larger items such as fishing gear and shoes interspersed.
The GPGP is in a constant state of flux due to seasonal and interannual variations in winds and currents. It orbits around 32°N and 145°W on average, but exhibits seasonal shifts from west to east and substantial variations in latitude. The patch is challenging to visualise and quantify due to its dynamic nature, and it cannot be seen from space or even by casual boaters or divers in the area.
The microplastics that dominate the GPGP are influenced by these winds and currents, which determine their location and shape. Larger objects that are less affected by these forces are more likely to remain within the patch. The GPGP's location is influenced by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a large system of swirling ocean currents, including the California Current, the North Equatorial Current, the Kuroshio Current, and the North Pacific Current.
The gyre's rotational pattern draws waste material from across the North Pacific, incorporating coastal waters off North America and Japan. The circular motion of the gyre pulls debris into its stable centre, trapping it. For example, a plastic bottle discarded off the coast of California would be carried south towards Mexico by the California Current.
The GPGP's shape and location are also influenced by the convergence of currents transporting buoyant plastics from rivers and marine sources. These plastics persist at the sea surface as they travel long distances, eventually accumulating in the patch. Once within the gyre, these plastics are trapped until they degrade into microplastics under environmental factors such as sunlight, waves, and marine life.
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It's made up of microplastics, with larger items like fishing gear and shoes
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest accumulation of plastic in the ocean. It is located in the central North Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and California. 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.
The patch is a gyre of marine debris particles, consisting primarily of microplastics. These are tiny bits of plastic that are often microscopic and cannot be seen by the naked eye, making the patch appear as a cloudy soup rather than a solid mass. While microplastics dominate the area by count, 92% of the mass of the patch consists of larger objects. These larger items include fishing gear and shoes, as well as other plastic items such as lighters, toothbrushes, water bottles, pens, baby bottles, cell phones, plastic bags, and nurdles.
A significant amount of the plastic in the GPGP comes from fishing activity, with a 2014 study finding that discarded fishing gear such as buoys, lines, and nets accounted for more than 60% of the mass of plastic marine debris. The Ocean Cleanup estimated that up to 86% of the plastics in the patch are from fishing activity. In addition to fishing gear, the GPGP also contains larger items such as abandoned fishing nets, which can entangle and drown marine mammals in a phenomenon known as "ghost fishing."
The patch is constantly changing due to seasonal and interannual variabilities of winds and currents, making it challenging to locate and clean up. The Ocean Cleanup has been working to remove trash from the GPGP, but as of 2024, they had only removed 0.5% of the total accumulated trash. The trash in the GPGP is not limited to the surface, as denser debris can sink to the seafloor, creating an underwater trash heap.
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The Ocean Cleanup has removed over 1 million pounds of trash from the GPGP
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world's oceans. It is located in the central North Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and California. 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 create a vortex of plastic waste and debris that breaks down into small particles, including microplastics.
The GPGP formed gradually due to ocean pollution gathered by ocean currents. The gyre's rotational pattern draws in waste material from across the North Pacific, including coastal waters off North America and Japan. The accumulation of plastic in the GPGP is a result of improper waste disposal, with 80% of the plastic originating from land-based sources and 20% from marine sources. A 2018 study reported that synthetic fishing nets made up nearly half of the mass of the GPGP.
The Ocean Cleanup, an international non-profit organization, has been working to remove trash from the GPGP. By the end of 2024, they had removed more than one million pounds of trash, which is approximately 0.5% of the total accumulated trash in the GPGP. The Ocean Cleanup utilizes System 03, a technology that extracts plastic from ocean gyres. Their efforts have demonstrated that the elimination of the GPGP is achievable within a decade, with a projected cost of $7.5 billion.
The benefits of cleaning the GPGP outweigh the potential environmental costs, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem disruptions. The removal of plastic from the GPGP also helps to address the breakdown of plastics into microplastics, which contaminates marine ecosystems and hinders the ocean's ability to absorb and export carbon. The Ocean Cleanup's operations have a smaller carbon footprint than the environmental gains from removing plastic from the GPGP.
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Frequently asked questions
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is located in the central North Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and California.
The GPGP is the largest accumulation of plastic in the open ocean, covering 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles) and consisting of 45,000–129,000 metric tons of plastic. Its location and shape are constantly changing due to seasonal and interannual variabilities of winds and currents.
The patch is composed of microplastics, or plastic particles that are smaller than a pencil eraser. These microplastics account for 94% of the estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch. The remaining larger items include fishing gear, shoes, plastic bottles, and other debris.
