The glowing ocean phenomenon you've never seen before is so mysterious that there's only a blurry photo of it

On the night of August 2, 2019, the private yacht Ganesha sailed into a glowing sea south of Java Island, Indonesia.

Everything happened very suddenly. When the crew members came to their senses, they were already in a broad light. The entire sea area was emitting a uniform and soft light , extending all the way to the distant junction of water and sky, as if it had turned into a snowfield. Unlike the snow, the light had a light blue-green hue , and the color and brightness reminded people of the luminous stickers that light up after turning off the lights.

Was that the reflection of the moon? No, there was no moon in the dark sky at the moment - could it be that the sea itself was glowing?

Author's drawing

The puzzled crew used their mobile phones to take photos of the scene. They lifted a bucket of sea water, and the light was still bright in the bucket , but it suddenly went out after stirring it .

At this point, they didn't realize how lucky they were - they had stumbled upon the most mysterious ocean glow phenomenon and taken the first photo ever taken of it.

Using a Go Pro camera (left) and a cell phone (right), the crew of the Ganesha captured photos of the mysterious glowing phenomenon, the Ocean of Milk. The images are blurry, but this is a historic first | Leon Schommer and Naomi McKinnon

Tranquil Glowing Sea

It wasn't until two years later in 2021 that the crew finally knew what they had seen that night - a bioluminescent phenomenon called " milky sea ."

The history of human encounters with the "Sea of ​​Milk" is actually not short. For centuries, legends about it have been circulating among sailors. However, its frequency of occurrence is indeed very low : it is estimated that it only occurs 0-2 times a year worldwide. According to previous eyewitness records, this phenomenon is concentrated in the northwest Indian Ocean and the waters around Indonesia and the Philippines. The glow sometimes lasts for several days, and sometimes it lasts for more than a month.

People who have seen the Milky Sea often compare the softly glowing surface of the sea to a snowy field at night | factory_d / Pixabay

Another luminous phenomenon, called "blue tears," is sometimes observed near the coast, and is much more common than the "milky sea." There are many differences between the two luminous phenomena: blue tears usually light up only when the water is disturbed , and are produced by plankton such as dinoflagellates and sea fireflies; whereas the "milky sea" glows on its own in calm waters , and if disturbed, the light goes out.

When the water is disturbed, the dinoflagellates glow blue - a phenomenon that is the exact opposite of the Milky Sea | Wikipedia

Precious Testimonies

Because it is so rare to encounter it, there has been little scientific research on the Milky Sea. Prior to this, a scientific vessel had only happened to encounter the Milky Sea once and conducted a preliminary analysis of the glowing water. This study suggests that the Milky Sea may be caused by a luminous bacterium called Vibrio harveyi: this bacterium senses each other through chemical signals and triggers the phenomenon of synchronized luminescence when the density of individuals is high enough.

At the same time, researchers are also trying to use satellites in the sky to find its traces. Using the low-light sensors on satellites, atmospheric scientist Steven D. Miller discovered a suspected "milky ocean" phenomenon that occurred in the summer of 2019.

Satellite images showed that this was an extremely large-scale luminous phenomenon, stretching over 100,000 square kilometers and lasting from late July to early September - unfortunately, they were unable to verify it with their own eyes on site.

The "Ocean of Milky Way" on satellite imagery (the glowing area indicated by the yellow arrow) | Steven D. Miller / NOAA

But now, lucky witnesses have appeared. Through news reports, the crew of the Ganesha found that their adventures exactly matched the time and place of satellite observations . They contacted the researchers and provided precious photos and eyewitness testimony.

In addition to the phenomena mentioned above, Captain Lemmens also provided quite interesting additional clues: the luminescence they saw was located about 10 meters below the water surface , while researchers' previous speculation was that bacteria floated on the surface of the sea water , which seemed to contradict actual observations.

Bioluminescent marine bacteria Vibrio harveyi | Wikipedia

Why does this phenomenon always occur in the Indian Ocean? What is the significance of such large-scale coordinated luminescence for the survival of bacteria? There are still many questions about the "Milky Ocean" that have not been answered.

However, Miller is confident about the future. Witnesses have confirmed the accuracy of satellite observations , so the next time he finds mysterious glows on satellite images, he can send a ship to conduct on-site sampling . In this way, people will surely uncover the secrets of the glowing sea.

By then, Miller may be able to realize his own little wish: to jump into the "Sea of ​​Milk" and dive into the ocean's most mysterious light.

References

[1]https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2207612119

[2]https://theconversation.com/scientists-are-using-new-satellite-tech-to-find-glow-in-the-dark-milky-seas-of-maritime-lore-166542

[3]https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/science/glowing-sea-java.html

Author: Window Knocking Rain

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