originally posted in:Secular Sevens
[quote]yes, there is a massive island of trash over 200,000 square miles large stuck in a vortex in the Pacific Ocean[/quote]
I am not at all trying to downplay environmental responsibility or your post, but I'd like to debunk a misconception. The "island" is not actually a mass of trash, it's an area of high density of trash. Sailing through it or flying over it, you wouldn't notice it. It's just that per square mile of ocean there there's more trash than other areas.
English
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Edited by Kody: 4/4/2013 6:35:26 AM[quote][quote]yes, there is a massive island of trash over 200,000 square miles large stuck in a vortex in the Pacific Ocean[/quote]I am not at all trying to downplay environmental responsibility or your post, but I'd like to debunk a misconception.[/quote]Misconceptions are a root of evil, so no offense taken. [quote]The "island" is not actually a mass of trash, it's an area of high density of trash. Sailing through it or flying over it, you wouldn't notice it. It's just that per square mile of ocean there there's more trash than other areas.[/quote]I've read that most of the trash gyres are really soup-like flotillas that are only noticeable up close. I've also read, however, and this was preached by my professor, that there are in fact tiny "islands" of trash that are so thick that ships cannot even sail through them. So I'm at a loss.
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The coastal areas where the tide washes up trash tends to trap them, and that's where you get those pictures of piles of trash in the ocean.
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I read into it a little more and realize that we're both right. Most of it (in the middle of the ocean, or in the actual gyre) is relatively thick, but the thickness extends beneath the water-level, rather than above it, which is why ships cannot pass through it. The North Pacific Gyre does contain a patch roughly the size of Texas, but it isn't necessarily a solid mass (the boundaries of the main patch extend to roughly that size). The reason it's so large and doesn't all wash up on shore is because it's trapped in the gyre (a vortex) regulated and maintained by the North Pacific ocean current (the last bit I assume you already know but I thought I'd bring it up just in case).