Electric Blue Seas
Photograph by Doug Perrine, Alamy
Pinpricks of light on the shore seem to mirror stars above
in an undated picture taken on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives.
The biological light, or bioluminescence, in the waves is
the product of marine microbes called phytoplankton—and now scientists think
they know how some of these life-forms create their brilliant blue glow.
Various species of phytoplankton are known to bioluminesce,
and their lights can be seen in oceans all around the world, said marine
biologist and bioluminescence expert Woodland Hastings of Harvard University.
(Also see"Glowing Sea Beasts: Photos Shed Light on Bioluminescence."
"I've been across the Atlantic and Pacific, and I've
never seen a spot that wasn't bioluminescent or a night that [bioluminescence]
couldn't be seen," Hastings said.
The most common type of marine bioluminescence is generated
by phytoplankton known as dinoflagellates. A recent study co-authored by
Hastings has for the first time identified a special channel in the
dinoflagellate cell membrane that responds to electrical signals—offering a
potential mechanism for how the algae create their unique illumination.
—Ker Than
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The bright blue glow came from the beach on Vaadhoo Island after local plankton reacted with oxygen in the sea water to produce a light brighter than the Milky Way.
The natural phenomenon, called ‘bio-luminescence’, is hardly ever seen close to land and was captured by photographer Doug Perrine on a trip to the Indian Ocean.
He told AOL: ‘This picture was taken on a starry, but moonless night.
‘Each small wave lapping onto the shoreline was lit up like sheets of lightning.
‘The plankton creating the light show was concentrated along the edge of the beach. The organisms creating it were large enough to be seen with the naked eye.’
Expert Peter Franks explained the phenomenon, saying: ‘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.’
The rare phenomenon is usually only seen further away from land when ships stir up the sea bed.
Sources :
http://metro.co.uk/2012/04/04/natural-phenomenon-turns-maldives-sea-water-brighter-than-the-milky-way-375824/
