Yes, the ocean glows!

Scientists could identify large episodes of bioluminescence in the ocean, a hundred times larger than Manhattan — and those are the smallest – thanks to a new generation of detectors, as satellites spot oceans aglow with trillions of organisms.

Bioluminescent sceneries as big as states combined

As a matter of fact, ocean bioluminescence can be so intense and massive in scale that satellites orbiting five hundred miles high can see glowing mats of microorganisms materializing in the seas. Last month in the journal Scientific Reports, eight investigators mentioned finding a luminous patch south of Java in 2019 that grew to be larger than the combined areas of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. This came in a report by William J. Broad published in The New York Times. 

“It was an epiphany,” said Steven D. Miller, lead author on the bioluminescence study and a specialist in satellite observations at Colorado State University. When a hidden wonder of nature comes to light, he added, “it captures your imagination.”

The scientists also said that examining the images gathered between December 2012 and March 2021 from a pair of satellites allowed them to identify a dozen extremely large events — approximately one every eight months. 

Always been there

Ocean bioluminescence is not novel news. Charles Darwin, as he sailed near South America on a dark night, encountered luminescent waves. He called this “a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle.” As far as the eye could see, he added, “the crest of every wave was bright” — so much so that the “livid flames” lit the sky.

So, bioluminescent oceans have always been there, but we are just beginning to decode and understand the truth behind them. It is a whole realm we have to dig deep into. Kenneth H. Nealson, a pioneer of bioluminescence research at the University of Southern California, called the discovery “a big step toward being able to understand” how an enduring mystery of the sea “actually comes to be.” 

The imagery is opening a new window on the world’s oceans, scientists say, and promises to aid the tracking and study of the glowing seas, whose origins are poorly understood.