(Image source: LA Times)
BY STEVEN SPARKMAN
ANCHOR KYLIE MCGIVERN
You're watching multisource video news analysis from Newsy.
During the day, red tides make the ocean look rusty and uninviting. But maybe you should give the waves another look after dark.
This month’s red tide in California has a particularly bright blue glow, prompting photographers and thrill-seekers to head to the coast. This widely-circulated video of an unknown surfer on the glowing waves is just one of the breathtaking images making the rounds on the Internet. (Videa source: YouTube / LoghanCall)
The red tide is caused by an algae bloom in the water.
They can produce a chemical reaction and a brilliant flash of light called bioluminescence. The LA Times has a few suggestions for how to get a good light show.
“Any sort of fast motion can agitate the plankton--breaking waves, swimming fish and even footprints in the wet sand. For an eerie experiment, try capturing some ocean water in a bottle and shaking it to generate a vivid glow.”
The red tide can sometimes cause skin irritation and sinus infections, so surfers beware. But a CNN analyst says the risk from this one is low.
Alexandra Steele: “It can be quite negative, and because of the toxins being released, can affect humans -- because it gets into the fish and then it gets into the shellfish, and thus you eat it and that’s where its harmful. It can be also quite harmful with the algae depleting all the oxygen in the water, so it’s killing off all the fish. This, though, is not a harmful one -- it’s just an incredibly beautiful one, so get out there if you can see it.”
The blue waves will stick around the California coast anywhere from two weeks to a few months.
Transcript by Newsy.
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