The North Atlantic Garbage Patch By Angellys Morales ENG
100-02
April 20, 2017 · Investigative Report
Angellys Morales ENG 100-02
. The North Atlantic Garbage Patch By Angellys Morales ENG 100-02. EES/ENG/ECSU Newsletter. 2017 Apr 20 [last modified:
2017 Apr 20]. Edition 1.
Abstract
A humpback whale was found washed up on a Cape Cod beach. The whale was tangled up in 50 to 100 feet of net, the whale
was starving and it’s ribs were clearly showing. Not only is it bad enough that there’s a garbage patch in the ocean, it’s worse
that marine life are endangered because of it. Now, you might be wondering; what is the North Atlantic garbage patch, how
does it happen, what makes up most of the garbage patch, and how does it endanger marine life.
What is the North Atlantic Garbage Patch? Well the North Atlantic garbage patch is, an area of man-made marine debris found
floating within the North Atlantic Gyre, originally documented in 1972 (Carpenter and Smith). Marine debris is litter that ends up
in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water (Society). The UNEP reports that today 80 percent of all marine debris that
washes ashore — such as trash and toxic matter — originally comes from shore-based activities that could have begun with
innocent fun, such as picnics and beach outings and the like (Kostigen 24). Farther inland, rivers and streams carry trash to the
sea (Kostigen 24). The patch, you see, isn’t well understood; people think it’s like a solid mass of trash you’d find at a dump site
(I’ve been asked: “Can you walk on it?” “Can you land a plane on it?”), but it’s really diffuse, like “plastic soup,” as Moore
describes it (Kostigen 24). But don’t for a second think that its mass isn’t substantial (Kostigen 24). Its sprawl may cover an area
as much as one and a half times the, size of the United States, and to a depth of 100 feet, if not deeper (Kostigen 24).
So, how does this big patch of garbage happen? Although ocean currents are unpredictable and complex on small scales, the
flow does self-organize into large-scale patterns (Van 60). As a result of those patterns, plastic particles tend to accumulate in
the middle of the subtropical oceans, in what are often called garbage patches (Van 60). An ocean gyre is a circular ocean
current formed by the Earth’s wind patterns and the forces created by the rotation of the planet (Bennet 17). The area in the
centre of a gyre tends to be very calm and stable (Bennet 17). The circular motion of the gyre draws in debris (Bennet 17).
Debris eventually makes its way into the centre of the gyre, where it becomes trapped and builds up (Bennet 17).
The North Atlantic garbage patch is mostly made up of plastic. Plastic particles are generally the most abundant type of debris
encountered in the marine environment with estimates suggesting that plastics comprise between 60% and 80% of total marine
debris (Us 1). The amount of debris accumulates because much of it is not biodegradable (Society). Many plastics, for instance,
do not wear down; they simply break into tinier and tinier pieces (Society). For many people, the idea of a “garbage patch”
conjures up images of an island of trash floating on the ocean (Society). In reality, these patches are almost entirely made up of
tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics (Society). Microplastics can’t always be seen by the naked eye. Even satellite imagery
doesn’t show a giant patch of garbage (Society). The microplastics can simply make the water look like a cloudy soup, this soup
is intermixed with larger items, such as fishing gear and shoes (Society). The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is too large for
scientists to trawl (Society). In addition, not all trash floats on the surface (Society). Denser debris can sink centimeters or even
several meters beneath the surface, making the vortex’s area nearly impossible to measure (Society).
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How does the North Atlantic garbage patch endanger marine life? Strolling through the average supermarket, shoppers find
literally hundreds (if not thousands) of items to make their lives easier (Amaral). Individually wrapped snack cakes, plastic
baggies to store sandwiches for lunch, unbreakable soda bottles, and disposable razors, diapers, and shampoo bottles
(Amaral). Unless specifically requested, even the bags we use to carry home our goods are often plastic (Amaral). To humans,
these are items of comfort, if not necessity; but to marine animals, they can be a floating minefield (Amarel). When plastic
reaches our waters, whether it be plastic bags or drifting fish nets, it poses a threat to the animals that depend on the oceans for
food (Amarel). To a sea turtle, a floating plastic bag looks like a jellyfish (Amarel). And plastic pellets–the small hard pieces of
plastic from which plastic products are made–look like fish eggs to seabirds (Amarel). Drifting nets entangle birds, fish and
mammals, making it difficult, if not impossible to move or eat (Amarel). As our consumption of plastic mounts, so too does the
danger to marine life (Amarel). Plastic’s devastating effect on marine mammals was first observed in the late 1970s, when
scientists from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory concluded that plastic entanglement was killing up to 40,000 seals a
year (Amarel). Annually, this amounted to a four to six percent drop in seal population beginning in 1976 (Amarel). In 30 years,
a 50% decline in Northern Fur Seals has been reported (Amarel). Imagine all the other animals all this plastic and debris have
killed?
Unfortunately, that humpback whale that was found on Cape Cod beach died within a couple hours. This North Atlantic Garbage
Patch is not good at all, especially since there are a few other garbage patches. It’s not fair for marine life and it’s honestly pretty
disturbing that there is that much garbage in our ocean. So now, you know what the North Atlantic Garbage Patch is, how it
happens, what makes up most it and how it endangers marine life. If we all contributed to stop putting garbage in our ocean it
would really help and benefit and make a difference for our ocean.
Works Cited
Amaral, Kimberly. “Plastics In Our Oceans.” Plastics in Our Oceans. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
BENNET, JAKE C (Year 5)and COBY (Year 4). “Keep Waste from Ocean.” Illawarra Mercury, 03 Sept. 2013, p. 17. EBSCOhost
, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=SYD-6BNNBT4IGASYBIQPNKZ&site=ehost-live.
Carpenter, Edward J., and K. L. Smith. “Plastics on the Sargasso Sea Surface.” Science. American Association for the
Advancement of Science, 17 Mar. 1972. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
Kostigen, Thomas M. “Better Planet Garbage Patch.” Discover, vol. 29, no. 7, July 2008, pp. 24-26. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=32580464&site=ehost-live.
Society, National Geographic. “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” National Geographic Society. N.p., 09 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Apr.
2017.
Us Epa, Ow, Office Of Science And Technology. Fact Sheet: A Summary of the Literature on the Chemical Toxicity of Plastics
Pollution on Aquatic Life and Aquatic-Dependent Wildlife (n.d.): n. pag. Dec. 2016. Web.
van Sebille, Erik. “The Oceans’ Accumulating Plastic Garbage.” Physics Today, vol. 68, no. 2, Feb. 2015, pp. 60-61. EBSCOhost
, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=100810885&site=ehost-live.
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