False claim about the size of the “great garbage patch”

Scientists claims that the floating island of plastic in the Pacific Ocean is twice the size of Texas, are greatly exaggerated according to recent research by a US University.

Recent research has stated that the size of the 'great garbage patch' that lies between California and Japan is in fact 1 per cent of the size of Texas.

The figure has been overstated by some scientists who claimed that there was more plastic in the Pacific Ocean than plankton, and that the 'island' was growing tenfold since the 1950s.

However recent research by Oregon State University professor, Angelique White, claims that at times you can hardly see the plastic from the deck of a boat.

White recently led a marine expedition to the mass of plastic funded by the National Science Foundation through the Centre for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education, to examine the effect it was having on the environment and to negotiate the possibility of removing it.

She discovered that it was much smaller than otherwise claimed and had not grown tenfold every decade, referring to research by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that the amount of plastic in the Atlantic Ocean hasn't grown since the 1980s, as an example.

White said: There is no doubt that the amount of plastic in the world's ocean is troubling, but this kind of exaggeration undermines the credibility of scientists. We have data that allows us to make reasonable estimates. We don't need the hyperbole.

"Given the observed concentration of plastic in the North Pacific, it is simply inaccurate to state that plastic outweighs plankton, or that we have observed an exponential increase in plastic."

Fortunately White discovered that the rumours that the patch was 500,000 miles2 were false.

While the plastic stretches across the surface, its mass compared with the amount of water it covers it means that it isn't as deadly as originally thought, says White.

During her research White discovered that some organisms have been breeding on the plastic, which is worrying as plastic can often be toxic and she fears that some of the marine life forms will absorb these toxins. Also the debris is also hazardous to fish and sea birds.

White carried on by saying, that the problem we now face is what to do about the rubbish patch. Unfortunately, it would cost a huge amount of money to remove, and because it has been there for a long time, removing it would greatly affect the ecology in the area. Dredging the rubbish would affect the underwater ecology, and she believes that the best course of action is to prevent more rubbish entering the ocean.

"If there is a takeaway message, it's that we should consider it good news that the 'garbage patch' doesn't seem to be as bad as advertised. Since it would be prohibitively costly to remove the plastic, we need to focus our efforts on preventing more trash from fouling our oceans in the first place." White said.


Author: Charity Knight | Climate Action

Image: Ralph Hockens | flickr