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Spume (Diatom Matter)

Plants

Ochrophyta

Bacillariophyceae

Naviculaceae

Sandy/Muddy Shore Intertidal
Sandy/Muddy Shore Intertidal
Rocky Shore Intertidal
Rocky Shore Intertidal

Feeding:
Producer
Producer
Distribution:
World Wide
World Wide
Edibility:
Inedible
Inedible



Looks like detergent foam on the beach. Often very apparent after a storm.




This is not polllution, it is the result of the delicate "glass" cases of diatoms being broken in the storm and releasing the oil droplet that the diatom uses for floatation. This is then whipped up into a foam by the wind and sea. Sometimes slime from seaweed can be mixed in. It will disappear naturally.