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Almost 20% of plastic debris that pollutes ocean water, which translates to 5.6 million tonnes, comes from ocean-based sources. MARPOL, an international treaty, "imposes a complete ban on the at-sea disposal of plastics". [52] [53] Merchant ships expel cargo, sewage, used medical equipment, and other types of waste that contain plastic into the ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 1 February 2025. Large floating field of debris in the North Atlantic Ocean The North Atlantic Gyre is one of five major ocean gyres. The North Atlantic garbage patch is a garbage patch of man-made marine debris found floating within the North Atlantic Gyre, originally documented in 1972. A 22-year ...
The South Pacific garbage patch is an area of ocean with increased levels of marine debris and plastic particle pollution, within the ocean's pelagic zone. This area is in 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 ...
In 2019, over a 25-day expedition, Ocean Voyages Institute set the record for largest cleanup in the garbage patch, removing over 40 metric tons (44 short tons) of plastic from the ocean. [72] In 2020, over the course of two expeditions, Ocean Voyages Institute again set the record for the largest cleanup removing 170 short tons (150 t; 340,000 ...
Discarded plastic bags, six-pack rings, cigarette butts and other forms of plastic waste which finish up in the ocean present dangers to wildlife and fisheries. [52] Aquatic life can be threatened through entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion. [53] [54] [55] Fishing nets, usually made of plastic, can be left or lost in the ocean by fishermen.
The United States National Academy of Sciences estimated in 2022 that the worldwide entry of plastic into the ocean was 8 million metric tons of plastic per year. [63] A 2021 study by The Ocean Cleanup estimated that rivers convey between 0.8 and 2.7 million metric tons of plastic into the ocean, and ranked these river's countries. The top ten ...
Project Kaisei (from 海星, kaisei, "ocean planet" in Japanese [1]) is a scientific and commercial mission to study and clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large body of floating plastic and marine debris trapped in the Pacific Ocean by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. [2]
The degradation of plastics in the ocean also leads to a rise in the level of toxics in the area. [2] The garbage patch was confirmed in mid-2017, and has been compared to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch's state in 2007, making the former ten years younger. The South Pacific garbage patch is not visible on satellites, and is not a landmass.