The Blue Waves of Chennai
It is midnight. You stand on the shore, embracing the darkness that surrounds you, utilizing not sight but opening all your other senses. The sky is pitch black, with a couple of twinkling stars in the dark, cloudy sky. The gentle whoosh of the waves resonates, going in and out, in and out. The sand prickles your toes, and you squint towards the distance, trying to make out the shape of the waves heading to shore. The blackness around you doesn't allow this, so you estimate the waves' arrival as the sound of their thrashing grows louder and louder.
Then suddenly- a glint of blue. For a second, you dismiss it as a reflection of the stars, but then you see it again. Wading deeper into the water for further inspection, a marvelous sight awaits you- an entire wave glows blue, as though filled with some kind of miraculous light. You scramble back, unsure of how to perceive this unfamiliar phenomenon. The waves resume to come and go, as though nothing peculiar happened, leaving you to wonder What? Why? How?
There is no award more prestigious as witnessing this rare sight, caused by Noctiluca scintillans. What are they, you ask?
The Noctiluca scintillans, also called sea sparkles, are bioluminescent plankton; very minute in size. But before we can discuss these little lights, we must know what Bioluminescence is.
Bioluminescence is light produced by living organisms, whose function varies depending on who creates it. The interesting thing about bioluminescence is that unlike other light, it doesn't produce heat, hence earning the name 'cold light'. Many creatures produce this light in two ways: either with chemical reactions created by themselves and within themselves; or by symbiotic bacteria who live inside the organism. The sea sparkles belong to the former category. Many other creatures use bioluminescence as well. Fireflies use their flickering lights as mating calls, Anglerfish use them to lure prey towards them. Dragonfish are the master of cold light: using different types of light to communicate with others of the same species, attract prey and hide from predators! There are even types of glowing fungus to make themselves appealing to potential spore-carriers.
Now that we know what bioluminescence is, we can discuss how the Noctiluca scintillans use it. Rather than being a single entity, sea sparkles consist of thousands of tiny creatures that can only be viewed under a powerful lens. Their bioluminescence is created within the cytoplasm of their cells when irritated or threatened. As the waves of the ocean pull them away from their home in the depths, you can imagine them being most annoyed.
While displaying a picturesque sight, are sea sparkles a good thing? As almost any abnormal phenomenon these days, this show of lights could circle back to global warming and climate change. Fish are unable to survive in these surrounding due to the high ammonia concentrations; as the brighter the glow, the more sea sparkles. This is all the more a reason for us to conserve our oceans, not to mention world. Not all that glitters is gold, and there is no better example of this than the sea sparkles. They warn us; their blinking lights displaying a message:
Then suddenly- a glint of blue. For a second, you dismiss it as a reflection of the stars, but then you see it again. Wading deeper into the water for further inspection, a marvelous sight awaits you- an entire wave glows blue, as though filled with some kind of miraculous light. You scramble back, unsure of how to perceive this unfamiliar phenomenon. The waves resume to come and go, as though nothing peculiar happened, leaving you to wonder What? Why? How?
There is no award more prestigious as witnessing this rare sight, caused by Noctiluca scintillans. What are they, you ask?
The Noctiluca scintillans, also called sea sparkles, are bioluminescent plankton; very minute in size. But before we can discuss these little lights, we must know what Bioluminescence is.
Bioluminescence is light produced by living organisms, whose function varies depending on who creates it. The interesting thing about bioluminescence is that unlike other light, it doesn't produce heat, hence earning the name 'cold light'. Many creatures produce this light in two ways: either with chemical reactions created by themselves and within themselves; or by symbiotic bacteria who live inside the organism. The sea sparkles belong to the former category. Many other creatures use bioluminescence as well. Fireflies use their flickering lights as mating calls, Anglerfish use them to lure prey towards them. Dragonfish are the master of cold light: using different types of light to communicate with others of the same species, attract prey and hide from predators! There are even types of glowing fungus to make themselves appealing to potential spore-carriers.
Now that we know what bioluminescence is, we can discuss how the Noctiluca scintillans use it. Rather than being a single entity, sea sparkles consist of thousands of tiny creatures that can only be viewed under a powerful lens. Their bioluminescence is created within the cytoplasm of their cells when irritated or threatened. As the waves of the ocean pull them away from their home in the depths, you can imagine them being most annoyed.
While displaying a picturesque sight, are sea sparkles a good thing? As almost any abnormal phenomenon these days, this show of lights could circle back to global warming and climate change. Fish are unable to survive in these surrounding due to the high ammonia concentrations; as the brighter the glow, the more sea sparkles. This is all the more a reason for us to conserve our oceans, not to mention world. Not all that glitters is gold, and there is no better example of this than the sea sparkles. They warn us; their blinking lights displaying a message:
Be warned, they say.
If you admire our beauty, prepare to embrace the treachery that follows.
Image Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sea_sparkle_at_Kamakura_Yuigahama_Beach,_Japan_on_March_2017.jpg
Information Resource (Please note that I only used this as a reference and do not intend to plagiarize in any way): https://www.ibtimes.co.in/should-we-be-concerned-about-chennais-sea-sparkle-803795
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