‘Glowing’ sand spotted on California beach following bioluminescent tides. ‘Mind-blowing’
Bioluminescent tides washing up on Southern California shores left something “mind-blowing” behind — what appears to be glowing sand.
Photographer Vishwas Lokesh, who specializes in photos and videos of bioluminescence, captured a video of the phenomenon early Sunday, Feb. 25, his Instagram page shows.
“Last night was mind-blowing,” Lokesh wrote. “I couldn’t stop laughing from the excitement and joy!”
He has been trying to capture a photo of glowing sand left by bioluminescent tides since 2020, Lokesh wrote.
“It finally came through,” he wrote.
Lokesh told McClatchy News that he checks “constantly” for the phenomenon after each bioluminescent tide in the San Diego area.
The glow actually comes from bioluminescent algae washed ashore by the tides mixed in with the sand, not from the sand itself, he said.
An earlier check of another beach after a bioluminescent algae bloom didn’t turn up anything, but then another visitor told Lokesh where he might find the elusive “glowing” sand.
“I went around checking and found it,” Lokesh told McClatchy News. “This spot isn’t close to the ocean, so the water doesn’t change out as frequently.”
In the video, Lokesh waves his hands across the sand to produce the bluish glow.
“Every step I took was glowing. Whenever I set the bag or tripod down, it would glow,” Lokesh told KUSI. “Just crazy!”
Bioluminescent tides, which appear to glow blue at night, are the result of a phytoplankton bloom, Sea Grant California said. They can last from days to months. In the sunlight, they can appear red or golden in color.
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