Garbage patch mapped in Atlantic Ocean

Scientists have identified a "garbage patch" in the Atlantic Ocean that is similar to a well-known patch of plastic debris in the Pacific, the Associated Press reports.

The swirl of small plastic debris is hard to spot from the air, but was chronicled by researchers trawling between Bermuda and the Azores, off the coast of Portugal, according to Associated  Press

Plastic debris can pose a lethal hazard to wildlife, including birds, turtles and marine mammals.

-- Geoff Mohan

Photo: Garbage litters a shoreline in the Azores Islands. Credit: Associated Press/5 Gyres