More than 320 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year — and a disturbing amount ends up in the ocean, with much of it ＿＿（41）＿＿ in places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive area measuring more than 1.6 million square kilometers. Researchers from the Ocean Cleanup foundation conducted a survey of plastic in the area, using planes to ＿＿（42）＿＿ from the sky and boats to trawl the water. They found that the amount of plastic there seemed to be increasing exponentially and that there could be 16 times as much as previously thought. There’s far too much plastic in the world’s oceans, and the problem continues to ＿＿（43）＿＿ . Every little bit of plastic that gets tossed into the ocean or swept downstream out to sea either sinks or is picked up by currents. Much of it is eventually carried into one of five massive ocean regions, where plastic can be so ＿＿（44）＿＿ that areas have garnered names like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. There may be more than 16 times as much plastic in the patch than previous studies have ＿＿（45）＿＿ , according to the researchers behind the study. An aerial view of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch might at first appear to be open water. But inside there is debris from all over the world — debris that traps or is eaten by marine animals, filling up their bodies to the point of being fatal and tainting our food supply.