Red Tide off California Coast Creates Blue Glow by Niki2

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Red Tide off California Coast Creates Blue Glow

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Monday, October 3, 2011 03:34
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Sunday, October 2, 2011 5:30 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Weird:

best seen at night. In the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, masses of algae have bloomed to form what’s known as a red tide.

By and large, it is not considered a good thing. The algae are sometimes toxic. They can poison fish or starve them of oxygen.

But then why are people gathering to look, and why are some biologists impressed by it? Because it’s blue.

Peter Franks, a biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said the particular organism causing it, Lingulodinium polyedrum, was his “favorite dinoflagellate.”

Why so? “Because it’s intensely bioluminescent,” he wrote on the blog Deep-Sea News. “When jostled, each organism will give off a flash of blue light created by a chemical reaction within the cell. When billions and billions of cells are jostled — say, by a breaking wave — you get a seriously spectacular flash of light.”

Luckily for those who like dinoflagellates, we’re close to a new moon. The blue glow is usually pretty faint, best seen when it’s very, very dark (though the chemical reaction happens at all hours). During the day, the algal bloom usually makes the water murky, with pigments that can turn the water reddish-brown.

It also can create quite a stench, though biologists say the waters are safe for swimming. They go so far as to suggest that you scoop up some water in a glass jar, shake it and watch it glow (we’ll have to trust them if we don’t live near the Southern California coast).

“Oooo,” wrote a person on Twitter. “Electric-blue glowing phytoplankton! Put it in a bottle and shake to waken the dinoflagellates. SHINY!”

Photographer Kevin Baird posted an eerie image on Flickr with the caption, “This is SpongeBob’s aurora borealis.” http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/09/red-tide-off-california
-coast-creates-blue-glow/ know it's a bad thing, but it must be amazing to watch, and what fun for surfers!

Izzis gorgeous, or what? (good stuff starts at :50)

In California, apparently even the TIDE is crazy!

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Sunday, October 2, 2011 5:40 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

That is wicked. Reminds me of the glowy slug critters from Pitch Black.

" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

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Sunday, October 2, 2011 5:22 PM

DREAMTROVE

Nifty. And deadly.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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Sunday, October 2, 2011 6:58 PM

PHOENIXSHIP

It reminds me of the Bilgifian fireslimers in the oceans of Kenblanier 7. Lovely planet, but don't go fishing...

"Why're you arguin' what's already been decided?"
Mal to Jayne, "Jaynestown"

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Monday, October 3, 2011 3:34 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Yeah, I left out the negative aspects. We've lost a lot as a result of it, all up and down the Coast. I won't go into detail. Even when deadly, Nature can be beautiful, and what is, is, so why not appreciate the beauty?

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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