In a conversation with a cousin of mine this morning, the topic came up as to where the oil from the Gulf Oil Gusher would go after it made its way around the southern tip of Florida. My cousin said that maybe the currents would eventually take it to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I never heard of that before. I learned that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a gyre - a system of rotating ocean currents - of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean. Its size is unknown with estimates ranging from an area the size of the state of Texas to one larger than the continental United States. The Patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris. It is estimated that 80% of the garbage comes from land-based sources, and 20% from ships.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered in 1997. A similar patch of floating plastic debris was found in the Atlantic Ocean in early 2010.
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