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a free online service for streaming real-time sensor data live over the Internet. Our focus is on providing a sensor-agnostic streaming platform (including client-side tools) for delivering high-throughput, low-latency sensor data over the web.

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Oily sheens An oily sheen that reminds you of rainbow puddles in an asphalt parking lot might be from spilled petroleum. A spill of just one gallon of oil is enough to form a film across the surface of a four-acre lake. But what about when you are in the woods far from any roads, or walking along the undeveloped shore of a lake? Oily sheens can also come from natural sources. Some bacteria (Leptothrix discophora) that live in waterlogged places get their energy from iron and manganese, and as these harmless bacteria grow and decompose, the iron may appear oily or form red or orange films, fluffs, and coatings. Leptothrix can also excrete manganese, which looks like black slime.     How to tell the difference between petroleum spills and natural oil sheens? Poke the sheen with a stick. If the sheen swirls back together immediately, it's petroleum. If the sheen breaks apart and does not flow back together, it is from bacteria or other natural source.   More information on bacteria and oily sheens from the U.S. Geological Survey The breakdown of organic matter (plant and animal material) also can leave an oily sheen on the water surface. In the spring and summer, a dark cloud in the water accompanied by an oily sheen could be the outer skins of insect cases left behind from a hatch of aquatic insects. The larvae of mayflies and some other aquatic insects molt and shed their skins as they leave the water and become flying adults. The skins are called exuvia. Exuvia can be seen floating on the water or can accumulate on wave-swept shores, where they are sometimes mistaken for fish kills. You can find dragonfly skins attached to docks, plants, and objects near shore. As exuvia decompose, an oily film sometimes forms on the water surface. A diatom bloom can also leave oil behind as the algal cells die.  

So... did you "poke it with a stick?"

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