Strange color in the water causing a stirWell Sandbridge Blue has taken on awhole new meaning in the last few days in this area. So now, not only is Sandbridge Blue aleading vacation rental firm in the area - evidently it also now describes the water!Itwas reported in the local news, and has been all over the social networks over the past week. Astrange blue glow appeared in the water just off of Sandbridge beach last week. Pictures postedon Facebook and other spots taken at 3 AM made it look like something out of a sci-fi movie.
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| Algae causing a blue glow in the Ocean |
The culprit has been identified as an algae that blooms typically in late August and early Septemberand the tiny marine organisms known as "Alexandrium monilatum"emits a blue-green light when agitated. Theglow is said to scare away predators or to attract sea life that would help protect them.
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| This image from Twitter |
Just yesterday it wasreported that a team of graduate students from Old Dominion University were driving the beach collectingspecimens that caused the bioluminescence. As it turns out the students have been studying thisorganism and similar algae from the York River, to Chesapeake Bay and the oceanfront beaches ofthe area.
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| The glow was even in the waves as they washed up this week |
Biologistsindicate that this and other algae spend most of their time dormant in ocean sediment, but when it blooms inlarge numbers it can create a red-tide that can result in the death of fish and other marine life. Thissort of glow is evidently highly unusual and there have been no reported fish kills as a result of thislight show.This species of species of algae was noted in the York River in 2007.
