Trapped in the North Pacific Ocean midway between the USA and Japan is one of the most extreme examples of marine pollution on Earth. A 2018 scientific report in the journal Nature estimated its size at 1.6 million square kilometres, about twice as big as Turkey. Some estimates suggest it may even be as large as 15 million square kilometres – almost the size of Russia. It is a problem to which we have all, wittingly or otherwise, contributed – and for which we all bear responsibility. Whether we even have the capacity to clean up the mess we have made, let alone the willingness to shoulder the financial cost, is a hotly debated topic.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific Trash Vortex, lies approximately between 135°W to 155°W and 35°N and 42°N. This is the meeting point of swirling circles of water movement, deep-sea currents that loop in one case from Australia to South America and in another between North America and Japan. Despite the garbage patch’s epic size, it cannot be seen from space; satellite images cannot identify the plastic particulates suspended in the upper water column.
The existence of the garbage patch was predicted before it was first seen. A 1988 paper published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggested that high concentrations of marine debris – and in particular neustonic (surface inhabiting) plastic – would accumulate in pockets created by the ocean currents. They identified the North Pacific Gyre as a particularly favourable site for such an occurrence.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der AG 159-Ausgabe von ASIAN Geographic.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der AG 159-Ausgabe von ASIAN Geographic.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Revealed Doctor Yellow
Japan Railways' special lemony Shinkansen is a rare sight to behold
The Mighty Yellow
Over 5,000 kilometres long and flowing through nine provinces and autonomous regions, the Yellow River is China's second largest, after the Yangtze, while its basin is deemed the cradle of Chinese civilisation
Wildlife Big Yellow Beauty
The popular "amelanistic" form of the Burmese python is considered among the most beautiful snakes - if that's your sort of thing
All That Glitters Is Gold
From Turkey to China, the yellow metal plays a central role in cultural practices and is coveted as a symbol of affluence and status
Chengdu Hotel Spotlight TRIKA TSANG INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
For an authentic taste of Tibet in the heart of Chengdu, the most luxurious option is the majestic Trika Tsang International Hotel.
Conservation Yellow in Peril
While the demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine is putting seahorses under pressure, it is damaging non-selective fishing that is driving depletion
History Spiritual Rebirth
During the Spanish Golden Age, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan achieved the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific, arriving in the Philippines in 1521 and claiming the islands for Spain. But by converting the first Filipinos to Catholicism, Magellan also instigated the Christianisation of the entire archipelago, a spiritual rebirth celebrated through the two most important festivals in the Philippines - Fiesta Señor and Sinulog.
Green Dreams
With its tea plantations and rice paddies, dense jungles and expansive forests, the region is well known as a green paradise. But many of the most impressive Asian landscapes have names you may never have heard of. Journey with us as we reveal just some of the incredible locations that make the rest of the world green with envy!
Life On The Edge
In the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the remote northern Russian Far East, indigenous ethnic groups like the Chukchi and the Yupik live in the most extreme conditions, hunting seals in their traditional kayaks as they have for millennia
The Karakoram Anomaly Decoded
For decades, scientists have believed that glaciers in the Karakoram Range are defying the trend of those across the globe-resisting glacial melt due to human-induced global warming. But as we trek up the Karakoram's second-longest glacier in July, as the United Nations announces the world's hottest ever month on record, does the melting ice beneath our feet suggest the so-called Karakoram Anomaly is slowing? Or is there a ray of hope it will continue to delay the inevitable?