Marine Scientists Studying Great Pacific Garbage Patch
August 5, 2009 · Print This Article
The gigantic swirling mass of trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean will finally get some much-deserved scientific attention as 30 researchers, technicians and crew members embark on a 3-week journey to study how much debris is collecting in the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’.
The California marine scientists left the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, based at the University of California at San Diego, Sunday on a 170-foot ship called ‘New Horizon’.
From the Matter Network:
The focus of the study will be on plankton, other microorganisms, small fish and birds.
“The concern is what kind of impact those plastic bits are having on the small critters on the low end of the ocean food chain,” Bob Knox, deputy director of research at Scripps, said on Monday after the ship had spent its first full day at sea.
The 170-foot vessel New Horizon is equipped with a laboratory for on-board research, but scientists also will bring back samples for further study.
Besides the potential harm to sea life caused by ingesting bits of plastic, the expedition team will look at whether the particles could carry other pollutants, such as pesticides, far out to sea, and whether tiny organisms attached to the debris could be transported to distant regions and thus become invasive species.
The garbage patch is located about 1,000 miles off the coast of California and is estimated to be the size of Texas. Scientists believe it’s largely caused by trash that washes down storm drains and rivers from places like San Francisco and Japan, which is pulled together into one mass by ocean currents.
Also setting sail for the garbage patch is Project Kaisei, a nonprofit team that will be examining the largest area of the vortex with the intent of collecting and studying plastic and other debris. The Kaisei ship left San Francisco yesterday. Keep tabs on their progress at ProjectKaisei.org.
Link [Matter Network] + [Project Kaisei]
Photo credit: Hope for Gaia
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something really needs to be done about the great pacific garbage
patch.It need’s to be done immediately!, It’s a complete disaster.