1. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Niki Ahmadi

2. What is it?  A wide range of mostly confetti sized pieces of trash floating together in a large mass in the Pacific ocean.

3. What does it look like?  Not easily visible  Like “confetti soup”  Size relatively unknown  Estimated at 270,000 square miles (Texas) to 16,000,000 square miles  Has a depth of 100 feet

4. How did it get there?  North Pacific Gyre  California Current  North Equatorial Current  Kuroshio Current  North Pacific Current

5. How did it get there?  Existence predicted in 1988  Has been forming since 1960’s  Takes several years to travel from North America  One year from Asia

6. How did it get there?  As plastic production increases the mass increases  In 1999,.02 grams per square meter  In 2005,.04 grams per square meter  Within that time period plastic production increased by double digits. Reaching 113 billion pounds.

7. How did it get there?  80 % of the garbage comes from the land  20 % percents from ships  A 3000 passenger Cruise-Ship creates 8 tons of garbage weekly

8. Effects  100 million tons of trash  The world produces 200 billion pounds of plastic each year, about 10 percent ends up in the ocean  Every square mile of ocean hosts 46,000 pieces of floating plastic  70 percent of the plastic floats to the bottom of the ocean

9. Effects  Marine animals mistake non- biodegradable plastic for plankton  Plastic outweighs surface zooplankton 6 to 1  Leaks toxic chemical into the ocean and into the marine life  Including :  PCB’s  DDT’s  PAH’s  All are toxic and dangerous to the immune system

10. Effects  Large trash can trap animals  Facilitates the spread of invasive species which can attach to the debris  Humans eat fish and are affected by hazardous toxins  The plastic debris affects at least 267 species world wide

11. What is being done?  No one country’s responsibility.  GPGPT (Great Pacific Garbage Patch Treaty)  No UN nation has signed to take responsibility  Trash is hard to clean up due to size  Satellites cannot detect debris

12. What is being done?  ECC (Environmental Cleanup Coalition)  SEAPLEX expedition  Project Kaisei  JUNK raft project organized by The Algalita Marine Research Foundation

13. Picture links  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+grea t+garbage+patch&view=detail&id=A22EE478C2 407137425E1E8C1BF166B64CE301AB&first=0 &FORM=IDFRIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+grea t+garbage+patch&view=detail&id=A22EE478C2 407137425E1E8C1BF166B64CE301AB&first=0 &FORM=IDFRIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+grea t+garbage+patch&view=detail&id=A22EE478C2 407137425E1E8C1BF166B64CE301AB&first=0 &FORM=IDFRIR  http://www.sail- world.com/photos_2010/Med_Garbage patch in the Atlantic - aerial view.jpg http://www.sail- world.com/photos_2010/Med_Garbage patch in the Atlantic - aerial view.jpg http://www.sail- world.com/photos_2010/Med_Garbage patch in the Atlantic - aerial view.jpg  http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uMyIdl_4lnQ/THXhmB YdACI/AAAAAAAAAeA/Z00SPaFbXVM/s200/tra sh.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uMyIdl_4lnQ/THXhmB YdACI/AAAAAAAAAeA/Z00SPaFbXVM/s200/tra sh.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uMyIdl_4lnQ/THXhmB YdACI/AAAAAAAAAeA/Z00SPaFbXVM/s200/tra sh.jpg

14. Picture links  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cruise+s hip&view=detail&id=8AFB46F029A78BDD187D 9AF7706771DF2DEF2FE9&first=0&FORM=IDF RIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cruise+s hip&view=detail&id=8AFB46F029A78BDD187D 9AF7706771DF2DEF2FE9&first=0&FORM=IDF RIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cruise+s hip&view=detail&id=8AFB46F029A78BDD187D 9AF7706771DF2DEF2FE9&first=0&FORM=IDF RIR  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+grea t+pacific+garbage+patch&view=detail&id=B0A5 ACFB91B271C88B5CF5242ABDD9424BDCBA 6D&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+grea t+pacific+garbage+patch&view=detail&id=B0A5 ACFB91B271C88B5CF5242ABDD9424BDCBA 6D&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+grea t+pacific+garbage+patch&view=detail&id=B0A5 ACFB91B271C88B5CF5242ABDD9424BDCBA 6D&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR  http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NlTvGnXHI4c/S0qBK8 hi_DI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/rkmeM3XiAL0/s400/25.jp g http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NlTvGnXHI4c/S0qBK8 hi_DI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/rkmeM3XiAL0/s400/25.jp g http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NlTvGnXHI4c/S0qBK8 hi_DI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/rkmeM3XiAL0/s400/25.jp g

15. Articles Used Hoshaw, Lindsey. “Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash.” New York Times 9 Nov. 2009: n. pag. Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash. Web. 17 Aug. 2011.. Sohn, Emily. “Great Garbage Patch Not so Great after All.” Discovery 12 Jan. 2011: n. pag. discovery news. Web. 7 Aug. 2011.. Thomas, Kostigen M. “The World’s Largest Dump: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Discover Magazine 10 July 2008: n. pag. discovermagazine.com. Web. 7 Aug. 2011..