The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific trash vortex, is a gyre or marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean discovered between 1985 to 1988. It is located roughly between 135° West to 155° West and 35° North to 42°North. The patch extends over an indeterminate area of widely varying range depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the affected area.
The patch is characterised by the exceptionally high relative pelagic concentrations of plastics, chemical sludge and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. It’s low density (4 particles per cubic meter) prevents detection by satellite imagery, or even by casual boaters or divers in the area. It consists primarily of a small increase in suspended, often microscopic, particles in the upper water column.