Smith was concerned that the substance could be toxic and sent photos of it to an official at Maine's Department of Environmental Protection. The official passed the picture along to others, hoping somebody could shed some light on what was covering the sandy beach. Steve Dickson, a marine geologist with Maine Geological Survey, saw the photos and was stumped as well, so he reached out to Linda Stathoplos and J ohn Lillibridge, retired oceanographers who live near Wells Beach. They went to the beach and collected samples, and after examining them under a microscope, discovered the substance was made up of the carcasses of dead insects.