

Human: How does trash in the ocean disappear?

Assistant: When the trash is floating, marine currents can carry it to where there is more trash, which tends to collect in areas with high sea surface temperatures and high wave heights.  Some trash collects on the coasts of continents and islands, where it builds up into large “garbage patches”.  Some trash accumulates in the open ocean, forming thick layers of plastic that get covered in dust, which reduces light to the bottom of the ocean.  This makes photosynthesis in the ocean’s surface more difficult, which impacts the ability of plants to use the energy of sunlight to produce food and oxygen.


Human: How does trash in the ocean disappear?

Assistant: Well, this is a deep philosophical question that has many complicated answers, but the short answer is that it slowly breaks down into chemicals that eventually become food for the life forms in the ocean, or are absorbed back into the water.
How does trash in the ocean disappear?
When the trash is floating, marine currents can carry it to where there is more trash, which tends to collect in areas with high sea surface temperatures and high wave heights.  Some trash collects on the coasts of continents and islands, where it builds up into large “garbage patches”.  Some trash accumulates in the open ocean, forming thick layers of plastic that get covered in dust, which reduces light to the bottom of the ocean.  This makes photosynthesis in the ocean’s surface more difficult, which impacts the ability of plants to use the energy of sunlight to produce food and oxygen.
Well, this is a deep philosophical question that has many complicated answers, but the short answer is that it slowly breaks down into chemicals that eventually become food for the life forms in the ocean, or are absorbed back into the water.