Blue glow around Hong Kong is beautiful, but potentially toxic
Blue glow around Hong Kong is beautiful, but potentially toxic
Seth Borenstein,
Associated Press
Posted: 01/23/2015 06:13:21 AM PST0| Updated: about 9 hours ago
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This Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 photo made with a long exposure shows the glow from a Noctiluca scintillans algal bloom along
the seashore in Hong Kong. The luminescence, also called Sea Sparkle, is triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating
to marine life and local fisheries, according to University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye. Noctiluca itself does not
produce neurotoxins like other similar organisms do. But its role as both prey and predator tends can eventually magnify the
accumulation of toxins in the food chain, according to R. Eugene Turner at Louisiana State University.
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung) (Kin Cheung)
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Eerie fluorescent blue patches of water glimmering off Hong Kong's seashore are magnificent, disturbing and potentially toxic, marine biologists say.
The glow is an indicator of a harmful algal bloom created by something called Noctiluca scintillans, nicknamed Sea Sparkle.
It looks like algae and can act like algae. But it's not quite. It is a single-celled organism that technically can function as both animal and plant.
These type blooms are triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating to marine life and local fisheries, according to University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye, who was shown Associated Press photos of the glowing water.
"Those pictures are magnificent. It's just extremely unfortunate that the mysterious and majestic blue hue is created by a Noctiluca," Joye wrote in an email Thursday.
More:
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27373565/blue-glow-around-hong-kong-is-beautiful-but
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