The Pacific Garbage Patch, the popular name given to the trash that has accumulated in the north pacific subtropical gyre, is one of several areas of highly-concentrated marine debris located in the pacific ocean. Ocean and wind currents move in a circular pattern there, creating a vortex that traps and concentrates floating items in ever-increasing amounts.
This spiraling whirlpool of trash between California and Hawaii has captured the imagination of the public—and the attention of the scientific community—since it was first publicized in 1997 by Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, who came across it while on a sailing trip. The eastern Pacific Garbage Patch is created by one of five ocean gyres worldwide; the Algalita Foundation has conducted extensive research on the Pacific Garbage Patch, and most recently took part in an expedition to the North Atlantic Ocean as part of the new 5 Gyres Initiative to determine if other "garbage patches" are forming; the accumulation of marine debris we have seen in the North Pacific may well be occurring in other ocean realms.