Sample of the fiberous gunk found floating in parts of the Chukchi Sea, off northwest Alaska.
Eskimo hunters aboard a small boat off Alaska’s remote northwest coast came across a massive, dark floating mass in the Chukchi Sea earlier this month, raising fear of an oil spill or other environmental hazard.
The gunk, which appeared to be entirely black when floating against ice, soon became known simply as “the blob.”
Samples were rushed to a lab in Anchorage which quickly determined that the blob was actually just a simple plant, or algae.
"Filamentous algae" to be exact, according to University of Alaska Fairbanks marine science expert Terry Whitledge. “It means it’s just stringy,” Whitledge told the Anchorage Daily News.
But when asked if the sudden appearance of algae in Arctic waters could be connected to global warming, Whitledge was reluctant to make a connection.
"The water's actually very cold this year compared to other years," he said.
Photo: North Slope Borough (Alaska)