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A '''garbage patch''' is a [[Ocean gyre|gyre]] of [[marine debris]] particles caused by the effects of [[Ocean current|ocean currents]] and increasing [[plastic pollution]] by human populations. These human-caused collections of plastic and other debris, cause ecosystem and environmental problems that affect marine life, contaminate oceans with toxic chemicals, and contribute to [[greenhouse gas emissions]]. Once waterborne, marine debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of [[Oceanic gyre|oceanic gyres]] where currents are weakest. Garbage patches grow because of widespread loss of plastic from human trash collection systems. ▼
[[File:Beach trash (30870156434).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Trash washed ashore in [[Hawaii]] from the [[Great Pacific Garbage Patch]]]]
The [[United Nations Environmental Program]] estimated that "for every square mile of ocean" there are about "46,000 pieces of plastic."<ref name=":2">{{cite book|last=Maser|first=Chris|title=Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans: A Global Perspective|publisher=CRC Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1482226393|pages=147–48}}</ref> The 10 largest emitters of oceanic plastic pollution worldwide are, from the most to the least, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jambeck|first1=Jenna R.|last2=Geyer|first2=Roland|last3=Wilcox|first3=Chris|date=12 February 2015|title=Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean|url=https://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_AMERICANA/Science-2015-Jambeck-768-71__2_.pdf|journal=Science|volume=347|issue=6223|page=769|bibcode=2015Sci...347..768J|doi=10.1126/science.1260352|pmid=25678662|access-date=28 August 2018|s2cid=206562155}}</ref> largely through the rivers Yangtze, Indus, Yellow, Hai, Nile, Ganges, Pearl, Amur, Niger, and the Mekong, and accounting for "90 percent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Christian Schmidt|last2=Tobias Krauth|last3=Stephan Wagner|date=11 October 2017|title=Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea|url=http://oceanrep.geomar.de/43169/4/es7b02368_si_001.pdf|journal=[[Environmental Science & Technology]]|volume=51|issue=21|pages=12246–12253|bibcode=2017EnST...5112246S|doi=10.1021/acs.est.7b02368|pmid=29019247|quote=The 10 top-ranked rivers transport 88–95% of the global load into the sea}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Harald Franzen|date=30 November 2017|title=Almost all plastic in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=https://p.dw.com/p/2oTF6|access-date=18 December 2018|quote=It turns out that about 90 percent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans gets flushed through just 10 rivers: The Yangtze, the Indus, Yellow River, Hai River, the Nile, the Ganges, Pearl River, Amur River, the Niger, and the Mekong (in that order).}}</ref> Asia was the leading source of mismanaged plastic waste, with China alone accounting for 2.4 million metric tons.<ref>{{cite news|author=Robert Lee Hotz|date=13 February 2015|title=Asia Leads World in Dumping Plastic in Seas|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB20530567965804683707904580457713291864670|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223140548/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB20530567965804683707904580457713291864670|archive-date=23 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>▼
▲A '''garbage patch''' is a [[
The best known of these is the [[Great Pacific garbage patch]] which has the highest density of marine debris and plastic. Other identified patches include the [[North Atlantic garbage patch]] between North America and Africa, the [[South Atlantic garbage patch]] located between eastern South America and the tip of Africa, the [[South Pacific garbage patch]] located west of South America, and the [[Indian Ocean garbage patch]] found east of south Africa listed in order of decreasing size.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cózar |first1=Andrés |last2=Echevarría |first2=Fidel |last3=González-Gordillo |first3=J. Ignacio |last4=Irigoien |first4=Xabier |last5=Úbeda |first5=Bárbara |last6=Hernández-León |first6=Santiago |last7=Palma |first7=Álvaro T. |last8=Navarro |first8=Sandra |last9=García-de-Lomas |first9=Juan |last10=Ruiz |first10=Andrea |last11=Fernández-de-Puelles |first11=María L. |date=2014-07-15 |title=Plastic debris in the open ocean |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=111 |issue=28 |pages=10239–10244 |bibcode=2014PNAS..11110239C |doi=10.1073/pnas.1314705111 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4104848 |pmid=24982135 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the [[Ocean gyre|Pacific Gyre]], specifically 20°N-40°N latitude, large bodies with floating marine debris can be found.<ref name="debris north pacific">{{cite web|date=24 July 2015|title=Marine Debris in the North Pacific A Summary of Existing Information and Identification of Data Gaps|url=http://www.epa.gov/region9/marine-debris/pdf/MarineDebris-NPacFinalAprvd.pdf|website=United States Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref> Models of wind patterns and ocean currents indicate that the plastic waste in the northern Pacific is particularly dense where the Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ), meets a southwest–northeast line, found north of the [[Hawaiian archipelago]].<ref name="debris north pacific" />▼
Within garbage patches, the waste is not compact, and although most of it is near the surface of the ocean, it can be found up to more than {{convert|100|ft|m|order=flip}} deep in the water.<ref name="debris north pacific">{{cite web |date=24 July 2015 |title=Marine Debris in the North Pacific A Summary of Existing Information and Identification of Data Gaps |url=http://www.epa.gov/region9/marine-debris/pdf/MarineDebris-NPacFinalAprvd.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508122325/http://www.epa.gov/region9/marine-debris/pdf/MarineDebris-NPacFinalAprvd.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |website=United States Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref> Patches contain plastics and debris in a range of sizes from [[microplastics]] and small scale [[plastic pellet pollution]], to large objects such as [[Ghost net|fishing nets]] and consumer goods and appliances lost from flood and shipping loss.
▲Garbage patches grow because of widespread loss of plastic from human trash collection systems. The [[United Nations Environmental Program]] estimated that "for every square mile of ocean" there are about "46,000 pieces of plastic
2017 research <ref name="2017-05-09_PNAS">{{cite journal|last1=Lavers|first1=Jennifer L.|last2=Bond|first2=Alexander L.|year=2017|title=Exceptional and rapid accumulation of anthropogenic debris on one of the world's most remote and pristine islands|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=114|issue=23|pages=6052–55|doi=10.1073/pnas.1619818114|pmc=5468685|pmid=28507128}}</ref> reported "the highest density of plastic rubbish anywhere in the world" on remote and uninhabited [[Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)|Henderson Island]] in South Pacific as a result of the [[South Pacific Gyre]]. The beaches contain an estimated 37.7 million items of debris together weighing 17.6 tonnes. In a study [[transect]] on North Beach, each day 17 to 268 new items washed up on a 10-metre section.<ref name="2017-05-16_ABC">[http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-05-16/plastic-pollution-on-henderson-island-in-south-pacific/8527370 Remote South Pacific island has highest levels of plastic rubbish in the world], Dani Cooper, [[ABC News Online]], 16 May 2017</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Hunt|first1=Elle|date=15 May 2017|title=38 million pieces of plastic waste found on uninhabited South Pacific island|journal=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/15/38-million-pieces-of-plastic-waste-found-on-uninhabited-south-pacific-island|access-date=16 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=No one lives on this remote Pacific island – but it's covered in 38 million pieces of our trash|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/16/no-one-lives-on-this-remote-pacific-island-but-its-covered-in-38-million-pieces-of-our-trash/|access-date=16 May 2017}}</ref>▼
▲The best known of these is the [[Great Pacific
== Identified patches ==
[[File:Currents.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Of the five gyres on this map, all have significant garbage patches.]]In 2014, there were five areas across all the oceans where the majority of plastic concentrated.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last1=Cózar|first1=Andrés|last2=Echevarría|first2=Fidel|last3=González-Gordillo|first3=J. Ignacio|last4=Irigoien|first4=Xabier|last5=Úbeda|first5=Bárbara|last6=Hernández-León|first6=Santiago|last7=Palma|first7=Álvaro T.|last8=Navarro|first8=Sandra|last9=García-de-Lomas|first9=Juan|last10=Ruiz|first10=Andrea|last11=Fernández-de-Puelles|first11=María L.|date=2014-07-15|title=Plastic debris in the open ocean|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=111|issue=28|pages=10239–10244|bibcode=2014PNAS..11110239C|doi=10.1073/pnas.1314705111|issn=0027-8424|pmc=4104848|pmid=24982135|doi-access=free}}</ref> Researchers collected a total of 3070 samples across the world to identify hot spots of surface level plastic pollution. The pattern of distribution closely mirrored models of oceanic currents with the North Pacific Gyre, or [[
=== Great Pacific ===
{{Excerpt|Great Pacific
=== South Pacific ===
Line 32 ⟶ 33:
[[File:Litter_on_Singapore's_East_Coast_Park.jpg|thumb|Washed-up plastic waste on a beach in [[Singapore]]]]
The North Atlantic patch is one of several oceanic regions where researchers have studied the effects and impact of plastic [[photodegradation]] in the neustonic layer of water.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thompson|first1=R. C.|last2=Olsen|first2=Y.|last3=Mitchell|first3=R. P.|last4=Davis|first4=A.|last5=Rowland|first5=S. J.|last6=John|first6=A. W.|last7=McGonigle|first7=D.|last8=Russell|first8=A. E.|year=2004|title=Lost at Sea: Where is All the Plastic?|journal=Science|volume=304|issue=5672|pages=838|doi=10.1126/science.1094559|pmid=15131299|s2cid=3269482}}</ref> Unlike organic debris, which [[Biodegradation|biodegrades]], plastic disintegrates into ever smaller pieces while remaining a [[polymer]] (without changing chemically). This process continues down to the molecular level.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Barnes|first1=D. K. A.|last2=Galgani|first2=F.|last3=Thompson|first3=R. C.|last4=Barlaz|first4=M.|year=2009|title=Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=364|issue=1526|pages=1985–98|doi=10.1098/rstb.2008.0205|jstor=40485977|pmc=2873009|pmid=19528051}}</ref> Some plastics decompose within a year of entering the water, releasing potentially toxic chemicals such as [[bisphenol A]], [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCBs]] and derivatives of [[polystyrene]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Barry|first=Carolyn|date=20 August 2009|title=Plastic Breaks Down in Ocean, After All – And Fast|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826095155/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 26, 2009|access-date=30 August 2009|work=National Geographic News|publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]}}</ref>
As the plastic [[flotsam]] photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces, it concentrates in the upper water column. As it disintegrates, the pieces become small enough to be ingested by aquatic organisms that reside near the ocean's surface. Plastic may become concentrated in [[neuston]], thereby entering the [[food chain]]. Disintegration means that much of the plastic is too small to be seen. Moreover, plastic exposed to sunlight and in watering environments produce [[greenhouse gas]]es, leading to further environmental impact.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Royer|first1=Sarah-Jeanne|last2=Ferrón|first2=Sara|last3=Wilson|first3=Samuel T.|last4=Karl|first4=David M.|date=2018-08-01|title=Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=13|issue=8|pages=e0200574|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0200574|issn=1932-6203|pmc=6070199|pmid=30067755|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1300574R }}</ref>
=== Effects on marine life ===
The [[2017 United Nations Ocean Conference]] estimated that the oceans might contain more weight in plastics than fish by the year 2050.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wright|first=Pam |date=6 June 2017|title=UN Ocean Conference: Plastics Dumped In Oceans Could Outweigh Fish by 2050, Secretary-General Says|publisher=The Weather Channel |url=https://weather.com/science/environment/news/united-nations-ocean-conference-antonio-guterres-plastics|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref> Some long-lasting plastics end up in the stomachs of marine animals.<ref name="natural history2">{{cite magazine|last=Moore|first=Charles |date=November 2003|title=Across the Pacific Ocean, plastics, plastics, everywhere |url=http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/master.html?http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/1103/1103_feature.html |magazine=[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History Magazine]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Holmes|first=Krissy|date=18 January 2014 |title=Harbour snow dumping dangerous to environment: biologist|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/harbour-snow-dumping-dangerous-to-environment-biologist-1.2501993}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jan Pronk|url=https://www.pri.org/person/jan-pronk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221847/http://www.globalpost.com/taxonomy/term/38249|archive-date=6 June 2014|website=Public Radio International}}</ref> Plastic attracts seabirds and fish. When marine life consumes plastic allowing it to enter the food chain, this can lead to greater problems when species that have consumed plastic are then eaten by other predators.
Animals can also become trapped in plastic nets and rings, which can cause death. Plastic pollution affects at least 700 marine species, including sea turtles, seals, seabirds, fish, whales, and dolphins.<ref>{{cite web|date=2019-04-22|title=These 5 Marine Animals Are Dying Because of Our Plastic Trash… Here's How We Can Help|url=https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/marine-animals-are-dying-because-of-our-plastic-trash/|access-date=2020-06-10|website=One Green Planet|language=en}}</ref> Cetaceans have been sighted within the patch, which poses entanglement and ingestion risks to animals using the Great Pacific
==== Plastic consumption ====
[[File:Plastic_Bag_Jelly_Fish.jpg|alt=|thumb|An exhibit at the [[Mote Marine Laboratory]] that displays plastic bags in the ocean that look similar to [[jellyfish]].]]
With the increased amount of plastic in the ocean, living organisms are now at a greater risk of harm from plastic consumption and entanglement. Approximately 23% of aquatic mammals, and 36% of seabirds have experienced the detriments of plastic presence in the ocean.<ref name=":22">{{cite journal|last=Sigler|first=Michelle|date=2014-10-18|title=The Effects of Plastic Pollution on Aquatic Wildlife: Current Situations and Future Solutions|journal=Water, Air, & Soil Pollution|language=en|volume=225|issue=11|pages=2184|doi=10.1007/s11270-014-2184-6|bibcode=2014WASP..225.2184S |issn=1573-2932|s2cid=51944658}}</ref> Since as much as 70% of the trash is estimated to be on the ocean floor, and [[microplastics]] are only millimeters wide, sealife at nearly every level of the food chain is affected.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Perkins|first=Sid|date=17 December 2014|title=Plastic waste taints the ocean floors|url=https://www.nature.com/news/plastic-waste-taints-the-ocean-floors-1.16581|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/nature.2014.16581|s2cid=138018931|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Handwerk|first=Brian|date=2009|title=Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Attracts Explorers|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090731-ocean-trash-pacific.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803165007/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090731-ocean-trash-pacific.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 3, 2009|website=National Geographic}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ivar Do Sul|first1=Juliana A.|last2=Costa|first2=Monica F.|date=2014-02-01|title=The present and future of microplastic pollution in the marine environment|journal=Environmental Pollution|language=en|volume=185|pages=352–364|doi=10.1016/j.envpol.2013.10.036|issn=0269-7491|pmid=24275078|bibcode=2014EPoll.185..352I }}</ref> Animals who feed off of the bottom of the ocean risk sweeping microplastics into their systems while gathering food.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|title=Marine Plastics|url=http://ocean.si.edu/conservation/pollution/marine-plastics|access-date=2019-11-08|website=Smithsonian Ocean|date=30 April 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Smaller marine life such as mussels and worms sometimes mistake plastic for their prey.<ref name=":22" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Kaiser|first=Jocelyn|date=2010-06-18|title=The Dirt on Ocean Garbage Patches|journal=Science|language=en|volume=328|issue=5985|pages=1506|doi=10.1126/science.328.5985.1506|issn=0036-8075|pmid=20558704|doi-access=free|bibcode=2010Sci...328.1506K }}</ref>
Larger animals are also affected by plastic consumption because they feed on fish, and are indirectly consuming microplastics already trapped inside their prey.<ref name=":4" /> Likewise, humans are also susceptible to microplastic consumption. People who eat seafood also eat some of the microplastics that were ingested by marine life. Oysters and clams are popular vehicles for human microplastic consumption.<ref name=":4" /> Animals who are within the general vicinity of the water are also affected by the plastic in the ocean. Studies have shown 36% species of seabirds are consuming plastic because they mistake larger pieces of plastic for food.<ref name=":22" /> Plastic can cause blockage of intestines as well as tearing of interior stomach and intestinal lining of marine life, ultimately leading to starvation and death.<ref name=":22" />
==== Entanglement ====
Not all marine life is affected by the consumption of plastic. Some instead find themselves tangled in larger pieces of garbage that cause just as much harm as the barely visible microplastics.<ref name=":22" /> Trash that has the possibility of wrapping itself around a living organism may cause strangulation or drowning.<ref name=":22" /> If the trash gets stuck around a ligament that is not vital for airflow, the ligament may grow with a malformation.<ref name=":22" />
=== Deposits on landmasses ===
▲
== References ==
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