Texas-sized debris island from Japanese tsunami headed for the U.S.

roadgravel
I find it a bit hard to believe there is that much debris.

Texas 268,581 sq mi

edit on 11/5/2013 by roadgravel because: (no reason given)

All of Japan isn't even as big as Montana so how the hell can it create a island of debri the size of Texas.

I need a bigger shovel for this one.

Can't they put up nets to stop it? Or fish it out with nets?

reply to post by violet


Contrary to the thread title, the debris patch is not moving towards any coast. The reason trash accumulates there is because it is a gyre -- a place between ocean currents where water sort of swirls around. Almost like a giant eddy.

There is enough garbage there to fill a few hundred barges, at least. It would be an immense clean-up operation, and since it lies in international waters, no government will foot the bill.

en.wikipedia.org...

Unity_99
Radioactive debris? Not a good picture.

not radioactive, the debris is from the initial tsunami event..the water comes in and destroys everything in its path, then it receeds and takes alot of the wreckage back with it.

no... not the size of texas.... not at all... the people from the documentary group "vice" would have found this during their trip to find this fabled "plastic island the size of texas" which they found out was just heresay and not exactly true. That area where the current keeps things trapped off the west coast is where they went for a documentary called "island of plastic" i believe, its on the vice channel on youtube. Now, you will find a high percentage of plastic/trash in that area bust mostly broken down stuff and maybe a few groupings like this said picture shown on the op's linked site

reply to post by sweeper84


radiated?

peace.

reply to post by Grimpachi


What they mean is that the debris covers an area the size of Texas, like if you throw 100 tennis balls in a swimming pool after a while they "cover the area of a swimming pool" but they ant actually touching - its spread out within the quoted area.

They didnt mention exactly how densely packed the debris was, but im betting its enough to warrant worthy worry for the coast dwelling folk and fishermen in the area.

This picture!

From this article...

Island of debris the size of TEXAS from 2011 Japanese tsunami is headed straight for the U.S.

Used this source...

New NOAA Model Improves Understanding of Potential Paths of Japan Tsunami Debris.

Which had this BIGGER picture!

And these are the claimed facts...

An estimated 5 million tons of debris washed into the ocean in March of 2011 during the tsunami.

Around 70 percent of it is believed to have immediately sunk near the Japanese coast.

Some more mobile items may have reached the Pacific Northwest before 2011 even came to a close.

The first documented piece of debris to arrive in California, a barnacle covered fishing boat, came ashore in April 2013.

The particles are dispersed sparsely from Alaska to the Philippines.

The Texas-sized trash island is located northeast of the Hawaiian Islands

5,000,000 tons floated away!

70% sank near Japan [3,500,000 tons estimated].

30% floated around the pacific [1,500,000 tons estimated].

95% of that 30% covers a concentrated patch that covers an area the size of Texas [1,425,000 tons estimated].

5% of that 30% covers a less concentrated patch covering the Pacific Ocean [75,000 tons estimated].

The concentrated patch has a debris density of the mass divided by the area...

1,425,000 tons / 268,581 sqr miles = 5.21 tons per 1 sqr mile of ocean.

1,425,000 tons is about 82% of all the debris generated on 9/11 [1,800,000 tons of 9/11 debris].

9/11 Memory Remains .

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, some 1.8 million tons of debris were removed from the World Trade Center site during a cleanup and recovery operation that lasted nine months.

5.21 tons per 1 sqr mile of ocean is equal to about 4 mid sized sedan cars in mass and volume per 1 sqr mile of ocean in the concentrated patch.

That is about 1 million cars and would make a stacked car cube [100 cars cubed] 330yards long by 220 yards wide by 330 yards tall weighing 1,425,000 million tons.

1 million cars is about the size, volume and mass of 3 skyscraper buildings.

1 million cars is equal to 1 car per 1sqr mile in a 1000mile x 1000mile grid pattern [this is about 4 x the area of Texas]

1 million cars is equal to a single flat layer of tightly parked cars in a 1000 x 1000 parked car grid pattern of 1.3miles sqr [this is about 1/200,000th the area of Texas]

The less concentrated patch has a debris density of...

75,000 tons / 63,800,000 sqr miles = 0.001175 tons [1.175kg] per 1 sqr mile of ocean

0.001175 tons [1.175kg] per 1 sqr mile of ocean is equal to 2.5lbs of sugar or flour per every single sqr mile of the Pacific Ocean.

ALL of this debris MAY be radioctively contaminated in addition to being general hazardous material.

I hope this boils your frog!

As this trash pile was forming and washed out to sea, the reactors were not breached yet. Granted ocean currents could have "collected" a small ammount of the first wave but unlikely. This trash pile may never really go away but possibly dissipate to smaller piles and this is all due to currents. This disaster still remains at the plant in Fukushima, as these engineers and execs try in vain to save face and any credibility, 3 cores are still unaccounted for and are in the earth. These people whom wonder if these cores still are having any effect in their current state should be beaten and jailed for life. This event has the potiental to be the biggest disaster in the history of earth and all we get is half truths and flat out lies, like dealing with the current administration, nothing but pure misleading BS.........

reply to post by vonclod


Much of the ocean-bourne tsunami debris is not radioactive, although some is. I encourage everyone to sign petitions and contact their state and federal representatives along the Pacific coast in order to get adequate testing done and reported to the public. A huge number of dead animals are also being reported, many with classic symptoms of radiation poisoning - patchy hair loss, blown-out immune systems, etc.; the results of any necropsies on the affected animals must be made public.

reply to post by new_here


I assumed it was heading for populated areas. In that case they would clean it up. Otherwise, they haven't cleaned it up because there isn't a standard in place for this sort of thing, no law pointing to who should do it.

There is also the problem of dispursed responsibility, which degrades ones individual moral role. Think about it - how guilty do you feel? Sad but remorse and a burning need to act at whatever cost? It is clear no one yet feels like they need to be the one to do this - all are waiting for the other guy to do something.

Why has no rich independent person donated a ship or something to drag this stuff in? I would volunteer to go help.

They can tell if a tree was grown before or after the nuclear testing age by the amount of some radioactive compounds in it's structure because of nuclear testing and the bombing of Japan. It is absorbed in everything including people and fish. These above ground tests went on for many years, and the ones done way out in the oceans on islands did effect the whole world. The adding of radiation to the atmosphere and environment by this accident is like piling more ice cream on top of the cone, sooner or later it will cause a toppling. On top of that, all the fracking is freeing up radioactive materials locked in the earth and is raising levels in ground water on occasion. Also overmining causes a release of small amounts to the environment. This accident should awaken people to what we are doing. Cancer rates raising has many causes, one of them is exposure to different concentrations of radiation than we evolved with.

We no longer have a microwave oven, the oven puts out a lot of ions in the kitchen which is not good for anyone. We can deal with a little of this but lately it is going overboard. My brother and I tested the ions with a meter, although they are safe if the oven is used a little, We were using the microwave way too much and we know that it would go back to the same way if we were to get another one.

Grimpachi

roadgravel
I find it a bit hard to believe there is that much debris.

Texas 268,581 sq mi

edit on 11/5/2013 by roadgravel because: (no reason given)

All of Japan isn't even as big as Montana so how the hell can it create a island of debri the size of Texas.

I need a bigger shovel for this one.

Because it isn't an "island of debris." That is a bit of sensationalistic reporting. The debris field is the size of Texas, with bits and pieces scattered throughout it, but much open water throughout it as well. If you have a single object at each corner of a mile square, one can say that the debris field is one square mile, but it is not a "square mile island" of debris.