What is the North Pacific Gyre and why are plastics accumulating there?
There are 5 major gyres in the world’s oceans – large eddy-like features in which material accumulates and does not readily escape. Scientists with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation have studied plastics in the North Pacific Gyre for the past 10 years. They have found that plastic pieces, including tiny microscopic bits of plastic (broken down plastic bags), have accumulated in the gyre forming a thin soup. Microplastics are there because plastics don’t decompose but instead photo-degrade into smaller and smaller bits. The density of these plastic bits has doubled in some areas in the past 10 years. About 80% of the material found in the gyre comes from land via stormwater runoff, while the remaining 20% appears to be from marine sources.
