Natural Environment Blog

A cay is a small, low elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cay is pronounced as ‘key’ and is sometimes spelled key or quay.

Cays are typically located in tropical waters such as the tropical parts of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean. For example, there are many cays throughout the Great Barrier Reef - the largest coral reef in the world. Some popular cays in the area include Green Island, Michaelmas Cay, Upolu Cay, and Heron Island.

Cays are mostly made up of biogenic sediment from coral reef ecosystems. Biogenic sediment refers to the skeletal remains of plants and animals. Ocean currents transport the sediment across the reef surface, then deposit it in a place where currents converge or slow down. Weather and tidal patterns can impact on the formation and eradication of cays.

Some of the smaller cays often appear to be no more than a sandbar, while larger or older cays will have trees and other foliage growing on them.

If I told you the world’s largest garbage dump was almost twice the size of continental United States would you believe me?

Well, that’s how big the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the collective name for two gigantic masses of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean. The two masses are known as the Western Pacific Garbage Patch and the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been described as a “plastic soup”. It consists of about 100 million tons of garbage, extending up to 100 feet below the surface, all being held together by the swirling currents of the ocean. The mammoth garbage patch is a result of general litter from both sea vessels and land. Here’s an animation showing the movement of the currents surrounding the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer, has compared it to a living entity, “moving around like a big animal without a leash”. Ebbesmeyer, who has tracked the build-up of plastics in the seas for more than 15 years, says that when the animal comes close to land “…the garbage patch barfs, and you get a beach covered with this confetti of plastic”. Some beaches in Hawaii have been known to be buried in 10 feet of plastic garbage!

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered in 1997 by Charles Moore, an American oceanographer. He came across it by chance while taking a short cut home from a Los Angeles to Hawaii yacht race. After steering into the North Pacific gyre, he found himself surrounded by garbage. Not just a little bit of garbage, but a virtual continent of garbage. All day, every day, for about a week, his vessel sailed through a sea of garbage. Moore said “Every time I came on deck, there was trash floating by”.

Following this alarming discovery, Moore sold his oil business and became an environmental activist.

What’s being done about it?

Unfortunately, many scientists believe that it’s pretty much impossible to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They have also said that attempts to do so could actually do more harm to plankton and other marine life. In any case, the US government recently passed legislation to increase funding so that more clean up work can be done.

Image courtesy of Greenpeace

Researchers have discovered giant marine life in the seas of the Antarctic.

The discovery was made during a 50 day voyage in the Ross Sea. New Zealand Marine Scientist, Don Robertson said that they found “Huge sea snails, jellyfish with tentacles up to four metres long and starfish the size of big food platters”.

The voyage, which covered 3,200 km, resulted in 30,000 specimens, making it the most comprehensive survey to date. Among the specimens, were about 90 different species of fish, eight of which could be a previously undiscovered species. There are at least eight new molluscs and a range of new invertebrates too. Analysis of all 30,000 specimens could take up to two years.

The survey covered all levels of the water, from the surface to the sea floor - 3,500 meters deep.

The survey is part of the International Polar Year program, which involves 23 countries and 10 other voyages around the Antarctic. The voyages will continue until July 2009.