The orange goo washing ashore in Alaska is millions of
microscopic eggs filled with fatty droplets. (AP) -- Scientists
have identified an orange-colored gunk that appeared along the
shore of a remote Alaska village as millions of microscopic eggs
filled with fatty droplets. But the mystery is not quite solved.
Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said Monday they don't know for sure what species
the eggs are, although they believe they are some kind of
crustacean eggs or embryos. They also don't know if the eggs are
toxic, and that worries many of the 374 residents of Kivalina,
an Inupiat Eskimo community located at the tip of an 8-mile
barrier reef on Alaska's northwest coast. There's been at least
one report of dead minnows found in the lagoon of the village
the night the eggs appeared last week. Residents also are
worried about the community's dwindling reserves in village
water tanks even though the orange mass has dissipated from the
lagoon and Wulik River, said city adminis