Orange Goo Determined to Be Plant Fungus Spores

The orangey goo that gunked up Kivalina’s shores earlier this month was first thought to be some kind of microscopic egg.  But now, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers say it’s actually the spores of a plant fungus.  Steve Morton identified the stuff. He’s the research oceanographer with NOAA in South Carolina. Morton says he used high powered electron microscopes to get a closer look and was surprised by what he found.

Download Audio (MP3)

APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org  |  907.550.8446 | About Ellen

Previous articleState Getting More Attention in Foreign Policy
Next articleNatural Gas; Pebble Mine; and Poultry Farms