Thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean are littered with countless pieces of floating garbage, oceanographers revealed. Scientists observed the patch in the second-largest ocean more than a decade after the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine debris program confirmed that these patches develop due to ocean currents that swirl rubbish into a never-ending cycle, threatening the lives of as many as 100,000 marine mammals annually.

This discovery is a major point of concern for U.S. government officials.

“That plastic has the potential to impact our resources and impact our economy,” Lisa DiPinto, acting director of the debris program, told The Associated Press.

The discoverer of the Pacific patch, Charles Moore, told The Canadian Press, “Humanity’s plastic footprint is probably more dangerous than its carbon footprint.”

Nearly 80 percent of all aquatic trash comes from land and is channeled through rivers to the ocean.