Hunters from the Alaskan coastal town of Wainwright first noticed the dark, shiny substance floating for miles in the icy Arctic waters of the Chukchi sea, according to reports in the Anchorage Daily News.
The odorous substance, which has been described variously as "gooey", "gunky" and "hairy" has been also been found of the coast of Barrow, 72 miles north east of Wainwright.
Samples of the huge "gobs of gunk" were taken on Friday by officials from the North Slope Borough, who flew out to Wainwright with the US Coast Guard to investigate. Jelly fish and a dead goose were found tangled up in strands of the substance.
The "goo", which is believed to be formed of organic matter, is reportedly floating in strands of up to 15-miles long.
The US Coast Guard told the Anchorage Daily News that the strange find is not an oil product or a hazardous substance of any kind.
"It's definitely, by the smell and make-up of it, some sort of naturally occurring organic or otherwise marine organism," said Petty Officer 1st Class Terry Hasenauer.
"In recent history I don't think we've seen anything like this," he added.
Gordon Brower of the North Slope Borough's planning department described what he had seen floating in the Arctic sea.
"From the air it looks brownish with some sheen, but when you get close and put it up on the ice and in the bucket, it's kind of blackish stuff and has hairy strands on it," he said.
The samples of the substance taken by the coast guard are being analysed in Anchorage, with results expected next week.
