The Physics of Flotsam (hopefully with physics)
QUESTIONS:
1. Using the map provided above and the definition of gyre, how many gyres does the Earth have? Use
the ocean they are located in to list them.
Earth has a total of 7 major Gyres. 1 in the Indian Ocean, 2 in the North Pacific, 1 in the North Atlantic, 1 in the South Atlantic, and 1 each in the Southern Ocean and the South Pacific.
2. If one degree of latitude is equivalent to 69.047 statute miles, how many miles across is the Central
North Pacific Gyre? Using the map, estimate the surface area of the gyre.
The approximate surface area of the Central Pacific Gyre is about 1,500 miles across from N-S, and 3,000 miles from E-W. With a total surface area of ~4 million square miles.
3. If the surface of the California Current flows at approximately 1 km per hour, how far will a piece of
marine debris move in 1 week?
It would have had moved 168 kilometers in 1 week.
4. The North Pacific Current is warmer and faster than the California Current. It travels at speeds in the
hundreds of kilometers per hour. SEAPLEX observers collected bottles written in Korean and Chinese
(in addition to English). If the bottles floated across the Pacific Ocean from Asian shores, what is the
least amount of time the bottles were in the water?
~At 200 kph, it would take at least 85 hours to get from the Asian coast to get to San Fran (or the rest of the C.A coastline)
5. If the Pacific Ocean is approximately 17,000 km from east to west, how many days would it take the
research vessel, New Horizon, traveling at a maximum speed of 10 knots to cross it? (1 knot = 1.852
kilometers per hour). Ignore water current influences on speed.
~It would take a little over 38 days to traverse 17,000 kilometers at 18.52 kph.
6. If the eastern edge of the Pacific Gyre is located approximately 1000 miles off the coast of California, how
long would it take the New Horizon to reach it?
~86.2 hours or a little over 3.5 days.
7. On average the New Horizon ship uses 1000 gallons of fuel per day. Do you believe that the amount of fuel
it takes to reach the Patch is worth using in order to study the Garbage Patch?
~No, 4,000 gallons of fuel is too much just to reach the edge of the gyre. If you are trying to help the environment, then using that much fuel to get there is destroying the point. And the environment.
8. Some activists note that plastic collected from the gyre can be recycled and converted into diesel fuel. In the
October 2009 issue of Rolling Stone, Captain Charles Moore argues that there is no way the Garbage Patch
can be cleaned up because the collection of the small pieces of plastic is impractical. Research these two
opinions and list three supporting arguments and counter arguments for each one.
9. Debris that avoids being pulled into the gyre and continues to circulate around the Pacific Ocean ends up
on to the shores of beaches. Investigate how much plastic is found on the various shores and how much is
estimated to be in the ocean. Which of the two collections of plastic (in the gyre verses on the shore) do you
feel should have a greater priority in terms of public policy and why?
Only 10% of all garbage in the oceans ends up on land, so I think that we should focus on the oceans in terms of collecting plastic, because that is where the fragile ecosystems of phytoplankton and krill live, as well as many other animals that are important for not only the survival of predator animals, but for us as a human race as well.
1. Using the map provided above and the definition of gyre, how many gyres does the Earth have? Use
the ocean they are located in to list them.
Earth has a total of 7 major Gyres. 1 in the Indian Ocean, 2 in the North Pacific, 1 in the North Atlantic, 1 in the South Atlantic, and 1 each in the Southern Ocean and the South Pacific.
2. If one degree of latitude is equivalent to 69.047 statute miles, how many miles across is the Central
North Pacific Gyre? Using the map, estimate the surface area of the gyre.
The approximate surface area of the Central Pacific Gyre is about 1,500 miles across from N-S, and 3,000 miles from E-W. With a total surface area of ~4 million square miles.
3. If the surface of the California Current flows at approximately 1 km per hour, how far will a piece of
marine debris move in 1 week?
It would have had moved 168 kilometers in 1 week.
4. The North Pacific Current is warmer and faster than the California Current. It travels at speeds in the
hundreds of kilometers per hour. SEAPLEX observers collected bottles written in Korean and Chinese
(in addition to English). If the bottles floated across the Pacific Ocean from Asian shores, what is the
least amount of time the bottles were in the water?
~At 200 kph, it would take at least 85 hours to get from the Asian coast to get to San Fran (or the rest of the C.A coastline)
5. If the Pacific Ocean is approximately 17,000 km from east to west, how many days would it take the
research vessel, New Horizon, traveling at a maximum speed of 10 knots to cross it? (1 knot = 1.852
kilometers per hour). Ignore water current influences on speed.
~It would take a little over 38 days to traverse 17,000 kilometers at 18.52 kph.
6. If the eastern edge of the Pacific Gyre is located approximately 1000 miles off the coast of California, how
long would it take the New Horizon to reach it?
~86.2 hours or a little over 3.5 days.
7. On average the New Horizon ship uses 1000 gallons of fuel per day. Do you believe that the amount of fuel
it takes to reach the Patch is worth using in order to study the Garbage Patch?
~No, 4,000 gallons of fuel is too much just to reach the edge of the gyre. If you are trying to help the environment, then using that much fuel to get there is destroying the point. And the environment.
8. Some activists note that plastic collected from the gyre can be recycled and converted into diesel fuel. In the
October 2009 issue of Rolling Stone, Captain Charles Moore argues that there is no way the Garbage Patch
can be cleaned up because the collection of the small pieces of plastic is impractical. Research these two
opinions and list three supporting arguments and counter arguments for each one.
- Our process of making biodiesel is already tested and works fairly well
- It is more convenient, you don't need to do much when it comes in a package
- The plastic would be out of the oceans.
Cons: ~ It causes pollution. The small bits of plastic would be in the fragile ecosystems.
~ It causes sea animals to die when they eat it or get stuck in it.
~ It is a hard substance to get rid of. Really hard.
9. Debris that avoids being pulled into the gyre and continues to circulate around the Pacific Ocean ends up
on to the shores of beaches. Investigate how much plastic is found on the various shores and how much is
estimated to be in the ocean. Which of the two collections of plastic (in the gyre verses on the shore) do you
feel should have a greater priority in terms of public policy and why?
Only 10% of all garbage in the oceans ends up on land, so I think that we should focus on the oceans in terms of collecting plastic, because that is where the fragile ecosystems of phytoplankton and krill live, as well as many other animals that are important for not only the survival of predator animals, but for us as a human race as well.