Indian Ocean Gyre
Like the other gyres, it contains a garbage patch. A garbage patch is a suspended region of marine debris within the water column that circulate the gyre constantly. The Indian Ocean’s garbage patch covers a massive area: at least five million square kilometers (two million square miles). As garbage patches such as these circulate for long periods of time, they cause inorganic toxins to enter the food chain due to solar breakdown of plastics in the water. In the Indian Ocean gyre, the garbage patch has been more of a mystery. Having just been discovered in 2010, it is still under research. It is known, however, that like most garbage patches, it is very fluid, and changes with the seasons, making its location difficult to pinpoint. It seems to circulate with the Indian Ocean gyre, from the Australian side to the African side, down the African coast, and then back to Australia. According to the team who discovered the garbage patch, the full rotation of the gyre’s garbage patch takes about six years, until it reaches the center of the gyre, where it may remain indefinitely.
Indian Ocean Gyre-3