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The Atlantic Garbage Patch

There has been a lot of talk about the Pacific Garbage Patch, in fact I have written (at least) three posts on the subject myself, the first one here. Seen the way oceanic gyres work, it comes as no surprise that there is also an Atlantic Garbage Patch.

Both gyres are areas of little to no ocean currents, surrounded by strong ocean currents that prevent trash from escaping once it arrives. Worldwide, there exist five major oceanic gyres and it is hypothesized that all of these gyres will collect marine debris, much in the same way that the North Pacific does.

Research on the Atlantic Garbage Patch has been going on for 20 years, and the catch has been up to 200,000 pieces of plastic in one square kilometre. 80% of the plastic is found between latitude 22 and 38.

Researchers have carried out 6,100 tows in areas of the Caribbean and the North Atlantic - off the coast of the US. More than half of these expeditions revealed floating pieces of plastic on the water surface.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/02/24/ocean-researchers-find-a-new-cause-for-alarm-the-atlantic-garbage-patch/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8534052.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/23/us/AP-US-Ocean-Trash-Atlantic.html?_r=1

In Danish:
http://ing.dk/artikel/106702-kaempe-omraader-af-atlanterhavet-flyder-med-plastik-stumper?utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nyheder

Stratigraphy.net | Impressum

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