50 years ago, scientists discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Excerpt from the February 10, 1973 issue of Science News
A seal plays with a plastic bottle floating off the coast of Vancouver. Plastic pollution has plagued the Pacific Ocean for decades, and scientists are just beginning to understand its impact on ocean life.
Cliff Nietvelt/Moment/Getty
Setting sail into a plastic sea — Science News, February 10, 1973
Scientists on an oceanographic voyage in the Central North Pacific last August became startled about the number of manmade objects littering the ocean surface.