the great pacific garbage patch is located in the north central pacific ocean.
what part of the ocean is the the great pacific garbage patch located?
north central pacific ocean
the great pacific garbage patch, also described as the pacific trash vortex, is a gyre of marine debris particles in the north central pacific ocean. it is located roughly from 135°w to 155°w and 35°n to 42°n. the collection of plastic and floating trash originates from the pacific rim, including countries in asia, north america, and south america. the patch is actually "two enormous masses of ever-growing garbage". what has been referred to as the "eastern garbage patch" lies between hawaii and california, while the "western garbage patch" extends eastward from japan to the hawaiian islands. an ocean current about 6,000 miles long, referred to as the subtropical convergence zone, connects both of the patches, which extend over an indeterminate area of widely varying range, depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the affected area. the vortex is characterized by exceptionally high relative pelagic concentrations of plastic, chemical sludge, wood pulp, and other debris trapped by the currents of the north pacific gyre.
great pacific garbage patch
the south pacific garbage patch is an area of elevated levels of marine debris and plastic particle pollution, most of which is concentrated within the ocean's pelagic zone. it is located within the south pacific gyre, which itself spans from waters east of australia to the south american continent, as far north as the equator, and south until reaching the antarctic circumpolar current. the degradation of plastics in the ocean also leads to a rise in the level of toxins in the area. this garbage patch is the most recently discovered having only been confirmed in mid-2017. the south pacific garbage patch has been compared in nature to the great pacific garbage patch's state in 2007, making the former ten years younger. the garbage patch is impossible to detect using satellites, or other visual means as most particles are smaller than a grain of rice.
south pacific garbage patch