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Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Assateague Island National Seashore

What in the world happened here?!?!?! Did someone SERIOUSLY dump yellow latex paint in the Sinepuxent and it washed up on the bayside of Assateague Island?!?!? Of course not! All of the yellow you see in this picture is actually pine pollen!

In “pollen speak”, pine pollen is considered large (60-100 micrometers in size compared to other pollen grains, which are mostly approximately 10 micrometers) and as such, should be too heavy to travel through the air. However, to compensate to its large size, pine pollen has two air capsules that are attached to either side of the pollen grain itself; if you were to look at pine pollen under a microscope, it would look like a Mickey Mouse head with the ears being the capsules. The air capsules reduce the weight of the pollen grain and make it easier to travel though the air. When the pine pollen settles out of the air and onto the water, the same air capsules make the pollen grains buoyant, so they float on the water. As the wind blows toward shore, the grains are pushed into one another and creates what appears to be a latex paint like mass along the shoreline.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pretty cool....now lets just get through the pollen season! Each year it seems to get worse and worse.

Yuck!

Anonymous said...

DelMarVa is a bad area to live in for COPD / Astma / Bronchitis !!! Fact

Anonymous said...

Looks like my driveway after it rains.

Anonymous said...

It's nature fighting back against the real virus: The modern Human being and our infection of this planet.

Anonymous said...

Soon to be seen everywhere on the Shore.

Anonymous said...

There it is > cocaine beach !!! People lining up to snort it up !!!! LOL

Anonymous said...

You should see what my cars, and roof of my house, look like here in my development in the Pocomoke Forest. Can't tell the color of either. I can't walk out of the house, without my mask on, without breaking into sneezing fits. It's impossible to breathe without nasal and lung irritation.

Anonymous said...

It can KILL you too !! It makes me deathly sick every year Spring Fall Winter

Last time I had it for over 3 months !!! The ONLY drug that worked is

TRELEGY !!! When you get it bad like me (COPD-Astma ) Try that !!!

Nothing worse than not being able to Breath !!!