blob!

Your meteor brought something all right but if it's a germ, it's the biggest son of a bitch you've ever seen!

Giant, Mucus-Like Sea Blobs on the Rise, Pose Danger.



As sea temperatures have risen in recent decades, enormous sheets of a mucus-like material have begun forming more often, oozing into new regions, and lasting longer, a new Mediterranean Sea study says. And the blobs may be more than just unpleasant.



Up to 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, the mucilages appear naturally, usually near Mediterranean coasts in summer. The season's warm weather makes seawater more stable, which facilitates the bonding of the organic matter that makes up the blobs.

Until now, the light-brown "mucus" was seen as mostly a nuisance, clogging fishing nets and covering swimmers with a sticky gel. But the new study found that Mediterranean mucilages harbor bacteria and viruses, including potentially deadly E. coli, Danovaro said.

source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091008-giant-sea-mucus-blobs.html