The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has determined that an orange substance found earlier this month in the village of Kivalina is made up of fungal spores -- not microscopic eggs, as reported after an initial investigation.
After last week’s examination at a NOAA lab in Juneau, a specialized team at a Charleston, N.C. lab examined samples sent from Alaska and identified it as spores from a fungus that causes rust, a disease which infects plants’ leaves and stems causing a rust-like appearance.
“At this point, the best identification we can give to as the origin of these spores is a rust fungus,” said Steve Morton, Ph.D., with the NOAA Charleston lab. “The spores are unlike others we and our network of specialists have examined; however, many rust fungi of the Arctic tundra have yet to be identified.”
NOAA says more information will be posted on the Alaska Fisheries Science Center website as it becomes available.
