Week 11: Gyres, Garbage and Landfills
We have mentioned the word GYRE before when discussing ocean garbage. This week we will become very knowledgeable in the subject of Ocean Gyres.
You are probably asking why this week’s topic has landfills mixed with ocean Gyres. You will learn why later.
Let’s begin understanding what a Gyre is.
According to NOAA – a gyre is a large system of rotating ocean currents.
Wind, tides, and differences in temperature and salinity drive ocean currents. The ocean churns up different types of currents, such as eddies, whirlpools, or deep ocean currents. Larger, sustained currents—the Gulf Stream, for example—go by proper names. Taken together, these larger and more permanent currents make up the systems of currents known as gyres.
There are five major gyres: the North and South Pacific Subtropical Gyres, the North and South Atlantic Subtropical Gyres, and the Indian Ocean Subtropical Gyre.
In some instances, the term “gyre” is used to refer to the collections of plastic waste and other debris found in higher concentrations in certain parts of the ocean. While this use of “gyre” is increasingly common, the term traditionally refers simply to large, rotating ocean currents.
Resources:
An ocean full of plastic PART 1
An ocean full of plastic PART 2
An ocean full of plastic PART 3
Garbage in the ocean – That’s Rubbish
4Ocean
RESEARCH:
Gyres – Download this blank map on the link below. Then go find a map with all the ocean Gyres and fill in the blank map. Keep this map, it is going to be important.
Make a table Like this one. Fill in the information or create your own variables. Add another component by making a graph and show your findings. ( HINT – Important)
| Gyre Name | Location | Size | Current problems related to plastic garbage |
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 |
Why does the Great Pacific Gyre collect the most garbage?
Landfills – What are they? Watch this “What is a landfill” video?
Make or find a diagram of a landfill. Label it, then explain what happens at each level. Answer the questions below.
- What is the science behind a landfill?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of a landfill?
- Are landfills good for our environment?
- What items are allowed in a landfill, and what items are not?
- What is the main difference between “ocean landfills” and land landfills?
- What is the difference between a landfill and a dump?
COMMUNITY CONNECTION:
Does your community have a landfill? Why are we asking this question? If you search the internet, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is said to be the worlds largest landfill, even though it is in the ocean.
Can you answer these questions?
- Does your comminuty have a landfill?
- What are some of the biggest landfills around the country?
How Much Trash Is In Our Ocean?
“Every minute, one garbage truck worth of plastic is dumped into the ocean. Yearly, a colossal 1.4 billion pounds of trash ends up in our beautiful oceans. Of this waste, much of it is plastic.”
Look at the 2 pictures below. NO, we are not promoting beer, but there are companies using products that are safe for sea creatures. We would like to use these products instead of seeing the image on the right.
What are You Going To Do About It?
You do the math….what percentage of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is plastic?
BEST CONNECTION – Will your kit end up in a landfill?
We all know that after many years of running a BEST team we end up with extra materials. Sometimes we reuse these materials and sometimes we get rid of them. Where do our supplies end up? Do we just toss them in the garbage so they end up in a landfill or where do they go?
After writing this lesson I might think twice about how I get rid of my materials I don’t use.
What are you going to do with your unused materials?
Bloom’s Taxonomy: add, create, explore, evaluate, generate, include, identify, list, observe, reflect, review, subdivide, use, and write
Workforce Skills: critical thinking, materials evaluation, reading comprehension, science, writing
My Personal Journal