Part of a SoCal Coastline Glows Neon Blue Thanks to a Natural Phenomenon

The shores of the South Bay in Los Angeles County got a small, but dazzling light show this weekend.

Per the Los Angeles Times, “The sporadic phenomenon — sometimes called sea sparkle — is something scientists have been studying for 120 years. It’s associated with a red tide, or an algae bloom, made up of organisms called dinoflagellates.

“These tiny single-celled organisms are common members of the coastal plankton community that float on or near the ocean’s surface and can emit bioluminescence, most commonly when they’re grabbed by a predator. The light acts to startle their attacker, according to Michael Latz, a marine biologist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.”

You can read more here.