Organisms in water emit ‘dazzling neon blue glow’ as boat passes through, CA video shows

Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography waited for nightfall to board a small boat for an evening expedition off the Scripps Pier on May 16.

The water parted, the boat emitting tiny waves on either side of the hull. As the scientists looked over the edge, they saw what they had hoped for: the water lighting up in a “dazzling neon blue glow.”

The video taken by the scientists shows the boat making turn after turn, the blue following them like an electric tail.

The glow is called bioluminescence, a natural phenomenon that occurs when water-dwelling organisms called Lingulodinium polyedra are disturbed by waves.

Lingulodinum polyedra are like swimming plankton. According to KNSD, these creatures have bloomed en masse recently in the waters of Southern California.

The bloom is called a “red tide,” named after the color they turn the water on sunny days when they all swim to the surface, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. But at night, when they sense a change in their surroundings, they glow bright blue as “predator avoidance behavior.”

And this is exactly what the scientists were trying to provoke.

While the red tide can affect the water’s ecosystem, these organisms are not considered harmful to humans, KNSD reported. For those interested in experiencing the phenomenon for themselves, the best sightings seem to be between La Jolla Scripps Pier and Torrey Pines State Beach, but the organisms have been seen as far north as Santa Barbara as well.

This story was originally published May 22, 2024 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Organisms in water emit ‘dazzling neon blue glow’ as boat passes through, CA video shows."