22 Miraculously Awesome Rare Natural Phenomena That Occur on Earth
3. Bioluminescence
Location: Australia – Gippsland Lakes; USA – Manasquan Beach (NJ), Mission Bay, Torrey Pines Beach (San Diego, CA), Cortez (FL); Caribbean – Luminous Lagoon (Jamaica), Mosquito Bay (Puerto Rico), Asia – Halong Bay (Vietnam), Bali (Indonesia), Ton Sai, (Krabi, Thailand), Toyama Bay (Japan); Europe – (Zeebrugge, Belgium), Norfolk (UK), Indian Ocean – Reethi Beach (Maldives)
Bioluminescence can be created in a rare number of environments. It is a glow produced by algal blooms. The blooms carry and support millions of the bioluminescent dinoflagellates. Bioluminescence is used by dinoflagellates as a defense mechanism to escape predators. Bioluminescence can really only be seen in the darkness, so you have to be in a light free zone to witness it. The plankton light up whenever they are disturbed, though only for a moment. The greater the disturbance, the brighter the glow — boats typically create the most intense effects. Numerous species of phytoplankton and certain jelly fishes are known to bioluminesce, and the glow can be seen in oceans worldwide at all times of year. Even though dinoflagellates are single-celled organisms, some of them are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They wash up on shores and it looks like glitter. Walk in them and your footsteps will glow.
Location: Australia – Gippsland Lakes; USA – Manasquan Beach (NJ), Mission Bay, Torrey Pines Beach (San Diego, CA), Cortez (FL); Caribbean – Luminous Lagoon (Jamaica), Mosquito Bay (Puerto Rico), Asia – Halong Bay (Vietnam), Bali (Indonesia), Ton Sai, (Krabi, Thailand), Toyama Bay (Japan); Europe – (Zeebrugge, Belgium), Norfolk (UK), Indian Ocean – Reethi Beach (Maldives)
Bioluminescence can be created in a rare number of environments. It is a glow produced by algal blooms. The blooms carry and support millions of the bioluminescent dinoflagellates. Bioluminescence is used by dinoflagellates as a defense mechanism to escape predators. Bioluminescence can really only be seen in the darkness, so you have to be in a light free zone to witness it. The plankton light up whenever they are disturbed, though only for a moment. The greater the disturbance, the brighter the glow — boats typically create the most intense effects. Numerous species of phytoplankton and certain jelly fishes are known to bioluminesce, and the glow can be seen in oceans worldwide at all times of year. Even though dinoflagellates are single-celled organisms, some of them are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They wash up on shores and it looks like glitter. Walk in them and your footsteps will glow.
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29 January 2023
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