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  • 2015-07-30 (xsd:date)
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  • The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (en)
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  • On 26 July 2015, the Ripley's Believe It or Not Facebook page shared a photograph purportedly showing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: ALthough the claim associated with the photograph — that a massive garbage patch covers 8.1% of the Pacific Ocean — has been advanced by some scientists, this image does not specifically depict that particular collection of ocean-borne trash. The photograph seen here shows debris resulting from a 9.0 magnitude earthquake (and resulting tsunami) that struck northern Japan in 2011: Furthermore, National Geographic reported that while the name Great Pacific Garbage Patch may conjure up an image of a floating island of debris, the actual garbage patch itself was actually difficult to see: The claim that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers 8.1 percent of the Pacific Ocean is also a matter of debate. The number appeared to come from a 2008 quote from Marcus Eriksen, the research director at the Algalita Marine Research Foundation: A 2011 study from Oregon State University, however, asserted that the real size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was hundreds of times smaller than commonly claimed: But a study published in 2018 stated the opposite of many of these assertions -- that the Pacific Ocean trash pile was much larger than previously reported and rapidly growing, that most of its bulk was larger objects rather than microplastics, and that about one-fifth of its volume came from the 2011 Japan earthquake referenced above: Why the discrepancy? A variety of factors made it difficult to posit an accurate estimate of the debris field's true scope in earlier surveys: (en)
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