We’re used to seeing all sorts of amazing marine life around L.A.: sea lions cruising off the coast of Malibu, pods of dolphins following the ferry to Catalina, whales breaching in the waters off Orange County. But dolphins darting through electric-blue water like some sort of Lisa Frank artwork?!
Well, whale watching tour company Newport Coastal Adventure shared footage of an unbelievable encounter with dolphins swimming through bioluminescent waves off the coast of Newport Beach. The Facebook video description says that captain Ryan Lawler and his friend Patrick Coyne set out on an inflatable boat in search of dolphins when they able to capture this scene just after sunset.
For such a surreal phenomenon, it actually has a pretty straightforward—if slightly icky—explanation: algae. According to the The Orange County Register, the pair set out on their boat because the area’s coastline had seen a red tide recently, in which algae blooms become so thick that they visibly discolor the water. Some types of these tiny ocean-dwelling organisms undergo a chemical reaction that gives off blue light. And while you can’t see this light during the day, the algae tends to swim upward toward the light in the daytime—meaning if they’re still sticking around at sunset, you might just be in luck to catch them illuminating.
Coyne posted more footage to his Instagram account, and we were able to find some more bioluminescence along the SoCal coast from photographer Mark Girardeau, as well. Check out the shots below.
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