Video Shot at Moonlight Beach, Encinitas, & North Ponto Beach, Carlsbad
An algal bloom off the San Diego coast, popularly referred to as a red tide, is currently glowing neon blue at night.
Caused by phytoplankton known as dinoflagellates, the algae have been hanging around since late August. By day they turn the ocean a brown-red color, but at night they light up the waves due a phenomenon known as bioluminescence.
Oceanographer Peter J. Franks explains the chemical process in an online blog, mentioning that the creatures responsible are called Lingulodinium polyedrum.
"When jostled, each organism will give off a flash of blue light created by a chemical reaction within the cell," Franks writes.
"When billions and billions of cells are jostled—say, by a breaking wave—you get a seriously spectacular flash of light."
According to Franks, now is the ideal time to view this curiosity because the night sky is dark while the moon is in its new phase.
"That means that the bioluminescence will not be dimmed by moonlight for the next few days," Franks explains.
