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This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

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Mysterious Green Slime on Pacific Ocean Explained

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Photo by atomicjeep via Flickr

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That "weird neon green slime in the water" that has puzzled beachgoers throughout Orange County and up as far as Long Beach is nothing to worry about. That's what a USC professor is saying today. David Caron of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies has identified the source of the greenish-yellow foamy patches as "blooms of tiny algae belonging to the Tetraselmis genus," according to a statement from the university. "Such algae, which according to Caron have also been spotted off the coast for at least the past two summers, pose no known threat to humans or other animals." And there you have it.

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