A Southern California coastline red tide is causing the surf to glow neon blue at night.
A bioluminescent phytoplankton algae bloom has lit up the 18-mile coastline from La Jolla to Encinitas for the last two nights when the surf crashes into the shore.
The last time residents saw this phenomenon was in September of 2013, oceanographer Michael Latz told the San Diego Union-Tribune. He added, “the last big one was in October 2011.”
Scripps Institute of Oceanography tweeted a photograph of nature’s nighttime display of color.
Latz told the Union-Tribune that although scientists are aware of what causes the neon blue surf, they could make few predictions about it.
“We can’t predict when these things occur, we don’t know how long they will last, when they’ll be here, and we really don’t understand the dynamics,” he said.
The “red” part of the red tide can be observed during the day. Although some red tides are considered toxic, the plankton causing the one in Southern California are considered safe.
The best conditions to observe the luminescent surf are two hours after sunset on dark stretches of beach.
Twitter users were amazed by the phenomenon.
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