Short Wave

Meet The Residents Of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch


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Trash from humans is constantly spilling into the ocean — so much so that there are five gigantic garbage patches in the seas. They hang out at the nexus of the world's ocean currents, changing shape with the waves. The largest is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. These areas were long thought to have been uninhabited, the plastics and fishing gear too harmful to marine life. But researchers have recently uncovered a whole ecosystem of life in this largest collection of trash. Today, with the help of marine biologist Fiona Chong, we meet the tiny marine life that calls this place home.

Read Fiona and her collaborators' paper, High concentrations of floating neustonic life in the plastic-rich North Pacific Garbage Patch

Interested in hearing other tales of marine life?

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