There is a huge blob of stuff floating around, just going with the current. And just how big is this blob of crap?? 15 miles long!

So, of course, people were sent to investigate and try to figure out what the substance is.

Petty Officer 1st Class Terry Hasenauer said "It's certainly biological. It's definitely not an oil product of any kind. It has no characteristics of an oil, or a hazardous substance, for that matter. It's definitely, by the smell and the makeup of it, it's some sort of naturally occurring organic or otherwise marine organism."

So that's good news... it's not harmful oil or toxic waste or anything. So that rules those options out... but still, nobody knows what it is.

Gordon Brower with the North Slope Borough's Planning and Community Services Department also got a good look at the goop. Brower said, "That's one of the reasons we went out, because in recent history I don't think we've seen anything like this. Maybe inside lakes or in stagnant water or something, but not (in the ocean) that we could recall ... If it was something we'd seen before, we'd be able to say something about it. But we haven't ...which prompted concerns from the local hunters and whaling captains. From the air it looks brownish with some sheen, but when you get close and put it up on the ice and in the bucket, it's kind of blackish stuff ... (and) has hairy strands on it."

Samples have been brought in for analization. The large blog could just be a giant algae bloom. I'm curious! 

Photo: North Slope Borough