marine debris | National Geographic Society

Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, or other large bodies of water. This manmade debris gets into the water in many ways. ResourceLibraryENCYCLOPEDICENTRYResourceLibraryENCYCLOPEDICENTRYmarinedebrismarinedebrisMarinedebrisislitterthatendsupinoceans,seas,andotherlargebodiesofwater.Grades7-12+SubjectsBiology,EarthScience,OceanographyPoweredbyEncyclopedicEntryVocabularyMarinedebrisislitterthatendsupinoceans,seas,orotherlargebodiesofwater.Thismanmadedebrisgetsintothewaterinmanyways.Peopleoftenleavetrashonbeachesorthrowitintothewaterfromboatsoroffshorefacilities,suchasoilrigs.Sometimes,littermakesitswayintotheoceanfromland.Thisdebrisiscarriedbystormdrains,canals,orrivers.Thewindcanevenblowtrashfromlandfillsandotherareasintothewater.Stormsandaccidentsatseacancauseshipstosinkortolosecargo.TypesofDebrisAnykindoftrashcangetintotheocean—fromglassbottlestoaluminumcanstomedicalwaste.Thevastmajorityofmarinedebris,however,isplastic.Plasticproductscanbeveryharmfultomarinelife.Forinstance,loggerheadseaturtlesoftenmistakeplasticbagsforjellyfish,theirfavoritefood.Andmanyseaanimalsandbirdshavebecomestrangledbytheplasticringsusedtoholdsix-packsofsodatogether.Plasticsdonotbiodegradequickly.Ironically,somenewbiodegradableplasticsmightnotbreakdowninoceansatall.Theseproductsaredesignedtobreakdownwhentheyheatupinalandfillorcompostpile.Cooleroceantemperaturespreventtheseproductsfromtrulydegrading.Instead,likemanyothertypesofplastic,theysimplybreakdownintotinyparticlescalledmicroplastics.Microplasticsarepiecesofdebrisbetween0.3and5millimeters(0.01to0.20inches)thick,nothickerthanagrainofrice.Oneexampleofmicroplasticsis“nurdles,”themanmadepelletsofrawmaterialusedinmakingplasticproducts.Thesetinypiecesofplasticcancollectinthestomachsofmarineanimals,interferingwithdigestion.Whenmarineanimalsingestnurdles,theycanfeel“full”althoughtheyarenotgettingnutrients.Theanimalsareatriskofmalnutritionandstarvation.Floatingontheocean’ssurface,nurdlesandothersmallplasticpiecescanblockthesun’sraysfromreachingplantsandalgaethatdependonthesuntocreatenutrients.Whentheseorganismsarethreatened,theentiremarinefoodwebmaybedisturbed.Asplasticsgetsmallerandsmaller,theyreleasechemicals.Oneofthosechemicalscanbe bisphenolA(BPA).BisphenolAcaninterferewithanimals’reproductivesystems.FishareespeciallyatriskwhenexposedtobisphenolA.Exposedfishproducefewerhealthyoffspring.BisphenolAandotherchemicalsbuildupinthefish’sbodythroughaprocesscalledbioaccumulation.PlantsoralgaemayabsorbbisphenolAthroughthewater.Afish,alreadyexposedtothechemical,ingestsmorebisphenolAwheniteatsthealgae.Toppredatorssuchassharksordolphins,whicheatthefish,accumulatethemostchemicals.Areductioninthefishpopulationcanimpacthumanactivityinthearea.Fisheriesshrink,weakeningthearea’seconomy.Fishthatareharvestedmayhaveahighamountoftoxinsorothermarinedebrisintheirsystemasaresultofbioaccumulation.Someofthesetoxins,suchasmercuryorbisphenolA,maybeharmfultopeople,puttingconsumersatrisk.Anothertypeofmarinedebristhatisharmfultosealifecomesfromfishinggear.Discardedfishinglinesandnetsdon’tstopfishingoncehumansaredonewiththem.Theycontinuetotrapfish,alongwithmarinemammals,turtles,andbirds.TheWideningGyreMarinedebristendstocollectinareascalledoceangyres.AgyreisacircularoceancurrentformedbytheEarth’swindpatternsandtheforcescreatedbytherotationoftheplanet.Theareainthecenterofagyretendstobeverycalmandstable.Thecircularmotionofthegyredrawsindebris.Thegarbagemakesitswayintothecenterofthegyre,whereitbecomestrappedandbuildsup.Trashbuild-upsinthemiddleofgyresareknownasgarbagepatches.Forexample,theGreatPacificGarbagePatchexistsintheNorthPacificOceanbetweentheU.S.statesofCaliforniaandHawaii.ThereisasimilarpatchintheNorthAtlanticOcean.Formanypeople,theideaofa“garbagepatch”conjuresupimagesofanislandoftrashfloatingontheocean.Inreality,thesepatchesareusuallymadeupofmicroplasticsthatcan’talwaysbeseenbythenakedeye.Satelliteimageryoftheoceansdonotrevealagiantpatchofgarbage.Evenso,scientistshavefoundupto750,000bitsofplasticinasinglesquarekilometer(or1.9millionbitspersquaremile)intheGreatPacificGarbagePatch.Theyhavefoundmorethen200,000piecesoftrashpersquarekilometer(520,000bitspersquaremile)inareasoftheAtlanticgarbagepatch.Nooneknowsexactlyhowmuchmarinedebrisisintheoceans.Oceangyresaretoovastforscientistsorvolunteerstotrawltheentiresurfacescoopinguptrash.Inaddition,notallofthetrashfloats.Denserdebriscansinktothemiddleorbottomofthewater.Wehavenowaytomeasurethisunseenmarinedebris.WhatWeCanDoAboutMarineDebrisCleaningupmarinedebrisisnotaseasyasitsounds.Manypiecesofdebrisarethesamesizeassmallseaanimals,sonetsdesignedtoscoopuptrashwouldcatchthesecreaturesaswell.Evenifwecoulddesignnetsthatwouldjustcatchgarbage,thesizeoftheoceansmakesthisjobtootime-consumingtoconsider.Andnoonecanreachtrashthathassunktotheoceanfloor.Becauseofthesedifficulties,mostenvironmentalistsfocusonpreventingmoregarbagefromenteringtheoceans.Sincepeoplebecameawareoftheproblem,governmentsandinternationalorganizationshavepassedlawsagainstoceandumpingtotrytoreducemarinedebris.Manyorganizations,liketheNationalGeographicSociety,areworkingtoeducatepeopleaboutthedangersoflitteringoceans.ThroughtheMissionBlueprogram,NationalGeographicisworkingwithotherorganizations,suchastheOceanConservancyandSeaWeb,toeducatethepublicaboutthreatstotheocean.NationalGeographicEmergingExplorerDaviddeRothschildoftencollaborateswiththeAlgalitaMarineResearchFoundation.Algalita’sfounder,CharlesMoore,discoveredtheGreatPacificGarbagePatchwhilesailingfromHawaiitoCalifornia.DeRothschild’sorganization,AdventureEcology,andAlgalitabothworktoreducetheamountofmarinedebris,especiallyplastics.Everyonecanhelpreducetheproblem.Themostimportantrule—don’tlitter!Don’tleavetrashonthebeach,tossitfromaboat,orlitteranywhereelse.Remember,eventrashdumpedonlandcanmakeitswayintobodiesofwater.Inaddition,remembertoreduce,reuse,andrecycle.Thelesstrashweproduce,thelessthatwillendupintheecosystem.FastFactInternationalCoastalCleanupInternationalCoastalCleanupisthethirdSaturdayinSeptember.Theeventfeaturesbeachclean-ups,riverclean-ups,andevenunderwaterclean-upsfordivesites.Itistheworld'slargestvolunteerefforttocleanupthemarineenvironmentandcollectmarineenvironmentaldatafrombothlandandunderwatersites.Clickheretosignupfortheannualproject.FastFactTrashyHousesSomeseacreaturesmakehomesoutofgarbage.ResearchersfromtheSeaEducationAssociationinWoodsHole,Massachusetts,foundabucketcoveredinalgaeandotherorganisms.Abouttwodozentriggerfishalsousedthebucketasahomebase.Triggerfishnormallyliveincoralreefs,butthisbucketwasmorethan1,600kilometers(1,000miles)fromthenearestreef.Sadly,agarbagepatchisnotahealthyhomethescientistsfoundmorethan40piecesofplasticinonefish'sdigestivetract.Articles&ProfilesCNN:Womantackles‘GreatGarbagePatch’NationalGeographicNews:HugeGarbagePatchFoundinAtlantic,TooArticleAlgalitaMarineResearchFoundationNOAA:MarineDebrisProgramCreditsMediaCreditsTheaudio,illustrations,photos,andvideosarecreditedbeneaththemediaasset,exceptforpromotionalimages,whichgenerallylinktoanotherpagethatcontainsthemediacredit.TheRightsHolderformediaisthepersonorgroupcredited.WritersKimRutledgeMelissaMcDanielSantaniTengHilaryHallTaraRamroopErinSproutJeffHuntDianeBoudreauHilaryCostaIllustratorsMaryCrooks,NationalGeographicSocietyTimGuntherEditorsJeannieEvers,EmdashEditing,EmdashEditingKaraWestEducatorReviewerNancyWynneProducerNationalGeographicSocietyotherLastUpdatedMay20,2022UserPermissionsForinformationonuserpermissions,pleasereadourTermsofService.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutlicensingcontentonthispage,pleasecontactngimagecollection@natgeo.comformoreinformationandtoobtainalicense.Ifyouhavequestionsabouthowtociteanythingonourwebsiteinyourprojectorclassroompresentation,pleasecontactyourteacher.Sheorhewillbestknowthepreferredformat.Whenyoureachouttohimorher,youwillneedthepagetitle,URL,andthedateyouaccessedtheresource.MediaIfamediaassetisdownloadable,adownloadbuttonappearsinthecornerofthemediaviewer.Ifnobuttonappears,youcannotdownloadorsavethemedia.TextTextonthispageisprintableandcanbeusedaccordingtoourTermsofService.InteractivesAnyinteractivesonthispagecanonlybeplayedwhileyouarevisitingourwebsite.Youcannotdownloadinteractives.RelatedResources