where does all the trash in the pacific ocean come from
Great Pacific garbage patch There is no strong scientific data concerning the origins of pelagic plastics.[dubious â€“ discuss][citation needed] In a study published in 2014,[12] researchers sampled 1571 locations throughout the worlds oceans, and determined that discarded fishing gear such as buoys, lines, and nets accounted for more than 60%[13] of the mass of plastic marine debris. According to a 2011 EPA report, "The primary source of marine debris is the improper waste disposal or management of trash and manufacturing products, including plastics (e.g., littering, illegal dumping) ... Debris is generated on land at marinas, ports, rivers, harbors, docks, and storm drains. Debris is generated at sea from fishing vessels, stationary platforms, and cargo ships."[14] Pollutants range in size from abandoned fishing nets to micro-pellets used in cosmetics and abrasive cleaners.[15] Currents carry debris from the west coast of North America to the gyre in about six years,[6] and debris from the east coast of Asia in a year or less.[16][17]
Pacific Ocean Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[4]