Spume

Spume: Foam or froth of water, particularly that of sea water.

There is a story on Yahoo News this morning (Sept. 27, 2012) concerning a storm in a Scottish village near Aberdeen, Scotland that showed its coastline covered in a foamy substance like suds from a huge washing machine had been dumped upon it. This is an unusual occurrence but not unprecedented. Although the extent of it was new to me we have all seen some foam form where the waves hit the beach.

"The sea is acting like a washing machine," said Professor Chris Todd of the University of St Andrews' Scottish Oceans Institute, referring to how the combination of strong winds and waves was mixing air into the water with natural organic materials.
"It is likely there are phytoplankton cells and they produce a lot of mucus which when whipped up can form this foam." he added.

Apparently, 'was it a Hurricane Irene'  stirred up a frothy mixture and deposited the suds upon a reporter who was braving her winds to bring us the story.

Will Al Gore and the rest of the hysterical press include this incident among its attempt to convince us of the unprecedented nature of the  severe weather the world has experienced lately? This is my attempt to 'normalize' the occurrence for the easily excitable lest they attempt to blame CO2 for this phenomenon as well.

There is even a word for it in the dictionary presenting testimony to its past occurrences.The word dates from the 14th century.

Don't fret. The world has survived spume in the past and there will be future instances to alarm those who need their daily dose of atmospheric drama.