Where and what, is the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is an area of high concentration of debris in the northeastern corner of the vortex, or center, of North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. It is also known as the “Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch” because it is theorized there is another “Garbage Patch” on the western side of the Gyre. It is not a “patch” or a floating “island” of debris, but it is actually a “plastic soup” where the plastic is distributed throughout the water column. The eastern area of the vortex is characterized by relatively consistent high pressure and little wind becoming a convergent area or accumulation zone. Algalita’s first study area in this corner of the vortex, which showed high concentrations of plastic in the surface (Manta) samples, was roughly the size of Texas. As the area of study expanded, so did the size of “Garbage Patch” to roughly twice the size of Texas. Although the “Garbage Patch” is the area of highest concentration of debris studied, the ORV Alguita and her research
