Recent bioluminescence off California’s Newport Beach has been out of this world, and this surreal footage of glowing dolphins streaking through the dark depths will blow your mind.
Dolphins glow as they glide through bioluminescent waves in California
Though it looks like a CGI scene from a James Cameron fantasy, what you’re about to see in this video is 100% genuine, with no camera trickery or post production tampering. In surreal footage shot this week off the coast of Newport Beach, dolphins glow bright blue as they streak through the dark waters of the Pacific—a natural bioluminescence phenomenon that always startles all who witness it. The dolphins themselves aren’t glowing. It’s actually tiny bioluminescent phytoplankton that light up the water around them when they are disturbed—hence the blue water in the boat’s wake as well. But the effect is utterly entrancing. Bioluminescence is caused by an algae bloom, commonly referred to as red tide.
So beautiful you couldn’t make it up
The glowing waters are a fairly rare phenomenon in Southern California, and Newport Coastal Adventures says the bioluminescence they’re seeing right now is the highest its been in years. What a dazzling display of just how unbelievably awesome our world truly is. Thanks to Upworthy for sharing this story, and to Facebook user Abbie McKoy for the stunning images (below) of the same bioluminescence phenomenon in the surf at San Diego, California.
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