tagged w/ North Pacific Gyre
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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, stretches across the Northern Pacific Ocean half way between Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay Area. Its estimated bulk ranges from the size of Texas to bigger than the continental United States, and can reach depths of 100 feet. It is home to exceptionally high concentrations of plastics, chemical sludge and other debris, the garbage patch is located within the North Pacific Gyre—an area estimated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to be between seven and nine million square miles. The gyre comprises four currents that rotate in a clockwise pattern around a central point. Like a disastrous conveyor belt, the currents sweep up and transport debris, dumping them into the center (the maritime dump in question), and trap them there.
The North Pacific Gyre is one of the world’s five major subtropical gyres, and not the only one suspected of aggregating serious amounts of junk. However, it is the most researched and understood—as well as the most publicized.
Thus far, efforts concerning the Pacific Trash Vortex, as it is also known, mostly concentrate on publicizing or documenting the problem. NOAA’s Marine Debris Program is working with a variety of partners to address the matter. Other groups, like the well-known Project Kaisei, whose tagline is “Capturing the Plastic Vortex,” have gone as far as to take elaborate expeditions to the gyre to research and record the problem.
But, despite the hype, very little energy has been spent finding a way to actually clean the trash up, which is where a new ocean-friendly Santa Cruz nonprofit comes in.
Nick Drobac co-founded The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP) with Jim “Captain Homer” Holm in 2008 when the pair realized they might have to take matters into their own hands.They networked like fiends, resulting in collaborations with leading scientists at Stanford University, the Naval Postgraduate School of Monterey, the High Seas Ghost Net Project, and more. One notable partner is leading climate change scientist Rob Dunbar, a William M. Keck professor of Earth Sciences at Stanford University and TCOP’s chief scientific advisor.Thorough” is the best way to describe TCOP’s game plan.
Phase one involves near-shore testing of remote sensing technologies to determine if it is possible to effectively locate the plastic debris. They have begun local trials on some of the equipment, such as Mountain View-based CODAR Ocean Sensors (a high frequency radar system). Depending on the technology in question, other trials may take place in Alaska and Hawaii, and will involve boats between 18 and 65 feet long.
Phase two is contingent upon the results of phase one. Hopes are that they will replicate their small-scale, near-shore experiments on-site at the North Pacific Gyre, as well as test various methods of debris collection.
Phase three is the real thing: once they’ve determined the best “package” of technologies and methods, they will commence on the North Pacific Gyre for some serious cleanup, which will be carefully monitored.
http://www.goodtimessantacruz.com/santa-cruz-news/good-times-cover-stories/1580-garbage-patch-kids.htmlThe Great Pacific Garbage Patch, stretches across the Northern Pacific Ocean half way... more
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Underwater videographer, underwater photographer, and author, Annie Crawley joined Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Project Kaisei aboard the New Horizon on a 3 week long expedition to the North Pacific Gyre. They collected data to help find a solution to the "Plastic Vortex" forming in the Pacific Ocean.Underwater videographer, underwater photographer, and author, Annie Crawley joined... more
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Footage from the Kaisei, one of two research vessels Project Kaisei sent to the North Pacific Gyre in August, 2009 to study the extent of the marine debris problem in the gyre, the impact it may be having on marine life and the food chain, and to find ways to catch and recover some of the debris for a larger clean-up effort.Footage from the Kaisei, one of two research vessels Project Kaisei sent to the North... more
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A haunting image of a sea turtle, struggling through the deep ocean waters as discarded plastic bags wrap themselves around its flippers and body.
These majestic animals are dying in alarming numbers because they mistake the flimsy translucent bags - which could in theory come from British supermarkets - for jellyfish, a key element of their diet.
Once swallowed by the turtle, the tough plastic becomes lodged in its gut, sealing the fate of the sea creature. The plastic is indigestible and wraps around the turtle's insides. Slowly, agonisingly, the animal starves to death.
The endangered Green Turtle provides a potent symbol of the deadly threat to wildlife and the blight on the natural world caused by throwaway plastic bags handed out free in their billions to shoppers.
The oil used to make a plastic bag takes millions of years to form in the Earth - the bag is used for a few minutes and it then lasts in the environment for 1,000 years. Is that a wise use of the material?'A haunting image of a sea turtle, struggling through the deep ocean waters as... more
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