Scientists confirm a second Garbage Patch – This time in the south Pacific Ocean

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Moneycontrol News 

Researchers have recently discovered a massive garbage patch in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean that happens to be 1.5 times the size of the US state of Texas.

A team of scientists led by oceanographer Charles Moore, the same man who was responsible for the drawing attention towards the famous Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the northern part of the ocean in the late 90s – has now unearthed a second garbage patch mostly made of small plastic debris in a largely unstudied section of the ocean towards the south.

“We discovered tremendous quantities of plastic,” Moore is reported to have told ResearchGate.

The latest patch was discovered as Moore and his team of volunteer researchers from Algalita Marine Research Foundation sailed around Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island on a six-month trip.

What are garbage patches ?

Garbage patches tend to occur in the midst of large ocean bodies when trash gets sucked into circular ocean currents, which in turn draws the debris towards a calm and stable centre, where it tends to become trapped.

A catch here is that this patch in the South Pacific ocean mostly comprises small pieces of plastic that are extremely difficult to clean. The plastic particles in the patch are reportedly smaller than grains of rice.

This patch thus poses a problem not only because it is large in size, but the added disadvantage of it being almost impossible to clean up.

The patches would require huge investment to be cleaned, and there still exists doubts on a fully effective method of how it can be tackled.

Plastic Oceans- A short documentary clip by the United Nations