North Atlantic garbage patch

The North Atlantic garbage patch is a big area of floating trash in the ocean inside the North Atlantic Gyre. People first found it in 1972, and it stretches for many kilometers. Scientists from the Sea Education Association studied it for 22 years.

Most of the trash comes from waste that flows from rivers into the ocean. It is mostly tiny pieces of plastic called microplastics. This trash can harm animals.

Only a few projects try to raise awareness and clean up this garbage patch. Examples include The Garbage Patch State at UNESCO and work by the Ocean Cleanup. However, more attention and cleaning efforts have focused on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a similar problem in the north Pacific Ocean.

Characteristics

The North Atlantic garbage patch is a large area of floating trash in the ocean. It stretches from about 22 degrees to 38 degrees north, but its exact edges are not clear. The patch moves up to about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) north and south depending on the season, and it can move even more during certain weather patterns.

Researchers think the patch is very wide, with lots of pieces of trash. Even though we make more plastic now, the amount in this patch has not changed much. This might be because the plastic sinks below the surface or breaks into tiny pieces. Because of this, the real size of the patch might be bigger than we think.