Bioluminescent waves were spotted in Newport Beach and along the Southern California coast starting the evening of October 12 and continuing until the 17.
The event occurs when there is an algae bloom of plankton in the ocean. The algae, specifically dinoflagellates, are single-celled organisms that produce light in the water, known as bioluminescence. The waves emit a blue/green light when they crash or when there is a disturbance in the water. It is often difficult to predict when they will arrive and how long the phenomenon will last.
Recent sightings of the waves attracted dozens of spectators to Orange County’s coastlines and beaches. Bioluminescence has accumulated mass followings, generating Facebook groups in which people share photos, locations and times of sightings.
One eyewitness, Pamela Lin, told New University, “seeing the bio in person was awesome,” adding that this phenomenon is unpredictable. “When you hear about it, don’t think too long about going, just go and see it,” Lin said.
As a result of its widespread appeal, Newport Beach Whale Watching Tours offered Bioluminescence Glow Tours for a few nights following the first spotting. The ninety minute tours are narrated for the entire duration by the captain of the boat. The captain takes the boat just past the shoreline, triggering a disruption in the water to catch its tinted glow.
Photo provided by Newport Coastal Adventure
Only in its second year of operation, the tours are “challenging to run because the location isn’t guaranteed and you don’t know how long [bioluminescence events] will last,” Jessica Rodriguez said, education and communications manager of Newport Landing and Davey’s Locker Whale Watching.
She shared that Newport Whale Tours have taken daily trips since the bioluminescence began, starting with a few test tours and later organizing four trips per night over the span of a few days. There was a high demand for increased tours, the trips often being sold out most nights, despite bioluminescence sightings not being guaranteed.
“The highlight was probably the ride back from Emerald bay with the Newport city lights in the background…,” Lin shared.
Rodriguez recounted that Newport Whale Tours had the opportunity to partner with Mark Girardeau, creator and publisher of Orange County Outdoors and Patrick Coyne, professional nature and wildlife photographer and videographer, to coordinate the bioluminescent tours.
Having tracked it for the past couple years, “they are very enthusiastic about scouting out bioluminescence up and down the coast of Southern California,” Rodriguez added.
She credited Girardeau and Coyne as being major supporters for the creation of these public bioluminescent tours. Upwards of forty tour goers rushed to the coast each night to catch an up close glimpse of the colored waves.
“They are in awe. They are starstruck, overwhelmed by the beauty of it,” Rodriguez said, speaking about the glow tours, “They are little doses of happiness that a lot of people need right now.”
Noosha Taghdiri is a News Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at taghdirn@uci.edu.
Edited by Annabelle Aguirre