Plastic in the Ocean
1. Use 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.
> A gyre is a major, slowly rotating mass of ocean water bounded by faster, circulation water currents; a vortex. The Earth has 6 gyres.
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.
> 3,452.35 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?
> 168 km 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 writtien 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?
> 24 hours
5. If the Pacific Ocean is approximately 17,000 km from eats to west, how many days would it take the research vessel, New Horizon, traveling at a maximum speed of 10 knots to cross it?
> 38 days
6. If the eastern edge of the Pacific Gyre is located approximately 1000 miles off the coast of California, how long owuld it take the New Horizon to reach it?
>
> A gyre is a major, slowly rotating mass of ocean water bounded by faster, circulation water currents; a vortex. The Earth has 6 gyres.
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.
> 3,452.35 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?
> 168 km 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 writtien 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?
> 24 hours
5. If the Pacific Ocean is approximately 17,000 km from eats to west, how many days would it take the research vessel, New Horizon, traveling at a maximum speed of 10 knots to cross it?
> 38 days
6. If the eastern edge of the Pacific Gyre is located approximately 1000 miles off the coast of California, how long owuld it take the New Horizon to reach it?
>