Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch May Be Killing Marine Life
UC San Diego researchers are trying to figure out what's going on with a huge patch of garbage in the North Pacific Ocean.
Large Mass of Garbage Gathers in Ocean
UC San Diego researchers are trying to figure out what's going on with a huge patch of garbage in the North Pacific Ocean.
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The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego research vessel New Horizon explored the North Pacific Ocean Gyre on Aug. 11, 2009, as part of the SEAPLEX voyage.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
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A group of doctoral students and research volunteers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego collect plastic samples and explore the problem of plastic in the North Pacific Gyre.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
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Charting the August 2-21 expedition of doctoral students and research volunteers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego aboard the New Horizon to explore the problem of plastic in the North Pacific Gyre.
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After setting sail aboard R/V New Horizon on August 2, 2009, members of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography SEAPLEX expedition are trained in using a conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) instrument.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
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Floating debris found by the SEAPLEX expedition. The debris at the center of the North Pacific Ocean has the potential to damage marine life and alter the biological environment.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
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Sample collected by the SEAPLEX expedition by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
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Specimens collected by the SEAPLEX expedition. Garbage is being studied for its effects on marine life.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
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Garbage collected by the SEAPLEX expedition. The debris at the center of the North Pacific Ocean has the potential to damage marine life and alter the biological environment.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
The scientists returned from a three-week exploration to study the Texas-sized area called the North Pacific Ocean Gyre.
The area, about 1,000 miles west of California, is where plastic and other marine debris collects after ocean currents and wind carry the material there from the west coast of North America and the east coast of Asia.
Just what effect the accumulation of human-produced plastic and other debris has on the ocean and marine life isn't known, but Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers have returned with samples they hope will provide some answers.
Miriam Goldstein, the chief scientist for the Scripps SEAPLEX expedition, says the debris may be killing marine life and birds.
"We have a lot of work to do before we are able to say anything about the definite impact on marine life but there's some possibilities that we'll be testing," Goldstein says.
Scripps researchers also say there's another patch - four times the size of France - in the South Pacific Ocean.
They hope to explore that area in 2010.
