Bioluminescent algae, an uncommon natural phenomenon where algae glows in the dark when optimal conditions arise, has drawn crowds to the Port Lincoln foreshore.
“There’s more people here than there would be on a 40C day down at the foreshore in the middle of winter splashing around in the water, it’s great,” one local woman said.
“It sticks to your hands and feet, it’s quite surreal.”
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The bloom has happened a few times in SA’s Eyre Peninsula town of Port Lincoln over the last five years, but some locals believe this year’s bloom was the most intense.
University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor Ivan Nagelkerken said the correct water temperature, salinity and nutrients create prime conditions for an algae bloom.
When the water is then moved around, the increased level of oxygen initiates a chemical reaction that creates bioluminescence, he said.
“When the water is agitated, through waves breaking or people jumping in or boat driving through it, you get algae, through a chemical process, emit light,” Nagelkerken said.
The same chemical reaction allows other sea animals such as jelly fish and squid to glow in the dark.
Researchers believe the bioluminescence is used to confuse or deter predators.
Bioluminescent algae can be blue, green or pink only, but only happen in some parts of the world, such as Puerto Rico.
“It typically affects South Australia … around the Eyre Peninsula,” Nagelkerken said.
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