South Pacific garbage patch

<p>The South Pacific garbage patch is an area of ocean with increased levels of <a href="/facts/Marine_debris/aLcy8UJc">marine debris</a> and plastic particle pollution, within the ocean's <a href="/facts/Pelagic_zone/D6heJr5f">pelagic zone</a>. This area is in the <a href="/facts/South_Pacific_Gyre/FzV2unFw">South Pacific Gyre</a>, which itself spans from waters east of <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a> to the <a href="/facts/South_America/PhrFEMk7">South American</a> continent, as far north as the <a href="/facts/Equator/CjaxbVaN">Equator</a>, and south until reaching the <a href="/facts/Antarctic_Circumpolar_Current/ahv1m7k3">Antarctic Circumpolar Current</a>. The degradation of plastics in the ocean also leads to a rise in the level of toxics in the area. The garbage patch was confirmed in mid-2017, and has been compared to the <a href="/facts/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch/Wa6IIGNu">Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a>'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. Most particles are smaller than a grain of rice. A researcher said: "This cloud of <a href="/facts/Microplastics/HzH0eKP5">microplastics</a> extends both vertically and horizontally. It's more like smog than a patch".
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South Pacific garbage patch open-in-new

South Pacific garbage patch