Why aren’t there any satellite photos of the “Garbage Patch?
When seen from above plastic appears as confetti on the ocean’s surface, among an occasional piece of derelict fishing gear. Many of the pieces of plastic are not seen because of the fluid dynamics of the ocean, stirring the plastic just below the surface by the wave action created by the wind and currents. Some of the floating plastic becomes fouled by plant growth or organisms attaching to it, which make it sink below the surface. Certain types of plastics are heavier than the water and sink or to the ocean floor. This cannot be captured in satellite photos.
