Search A Light In The Darkness

Thursday 12 July 2012

Ocean colour scene: Waves on Californian beach lit up by mysterious blue glow at midnight

At midnight, all around was dark, but each crash of the waves at a famous surfing beach created an eerie blue flash - caught on camera by a photographer who had a camera ready to capture the strange phenomenon. Steve Skinner visited the beach especially for the sight, caused by algae in the water at Swami's. When the waves crash it causes the algae to give off a flash of blue light - called bioluminescence - as the millions of organisms are disturbed. Despite its remarkable appearance, the huge bloom of algae is actually quite damaging as it decreases the water's oxygen and harms fish. Meanwhile, during the day the water discolouration, otherwise known as red tide, can cause the water to turn a horrible reddish-brown colour. The stretch of water, which is part of the Pacific Ocean, was illuminated for a week before the glow diminished...read more>>>...