North Pacific Gyre
Floating Plastic Trash Vortex
Serial Marine Life Killer
An Ocean Gyre is a large scale ocean vortex.
Ocean Gyres are caused by the Coriolis effect which causes circular ocean currents.
The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is one of the five major ocean gyres as shown in the image to the right.
Discarded plastic waste from domestic consumption and marine industries in the Northern Pacific rim, are taken by the ocean currents and within one to five years it floats into the Gyre where it accumulates.
Marine mamals, birds and fish often mistake the plastic items for food. The animals injest some of the plastic items which quickly leads to their death. Once the animal has died and decayed, the plastic floats away to kill again.Some of the plastic trash is dumped on the beaches of islands in the North Pacific such as some of the northern Hawaii islands.
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Ocean Pollution Animation
SMH Report on a Gyre Clean Up Project
Great Pacific Garbage Patch on Wikipedia
Gyre on Wikipedia
The North Pacific Trash Vortex
Images from Environmental Debate of The North Pacific Gyre
Gyre Image Search On Google
Plastic Info at New Internationalist