Sparkling Blue Waves in Chennai

  • Recently Chennai witnessed bright blue waves washing up on its beaches. The phenomenon is called sea sparkle. This was caused by sea algae called Noctiluca scintillans, commonly referred to as sea sparkle.
  • These are organisms that live on photosynthesis like plants and also on other sea planktons.
  • The algae also thrives in oxygen deficient water and is known to excrete large quantities of ammonia, which could lead to massive death patches for local fish populations.
  • The bright blue light is produced because of a reaction between two substances released by the Noctilucascintillans. This is called bioluminescence and is similar to how fireflies ....
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