Bloom of sea sparkle creates orange streams in North Sea
Orange streaks off the south coast of Belgium had authorities worried until samples showed the colour was caused not by chemicals but by plankton
Washing ashore
The plankton is commonly known as the sea sparkle because of the luminescent glow a bloom of them gives off in the dark. But during the day, blooms of the microscopic beast are a green or orange colour, depending on the sea.
It was a citizen in a sailboat who first saw the orange bloom about 18 kilometres off the coast between De Panne and Koksijde and reported it to authorities. There was concern at first that it could have been a chemical spill because of the colour.
Following the food
Samples, however, indicated that it was a spill of sparkles, creating an orange colour kilometres long. The Noctiluca is fairly common, making an appearance in oceans around the world, depending on conditions.
The plankton, which look like gelatinous balls with tails, often follows its food source. It is probably relatively close to shore in the North Sea at the moment because of the warm and calm weather over the last few days, according to the Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS).
A long lasting bloom of sea sparkle can cause problems because the creatures excrete high levels of ammonia into the sea. This has been known to kill fish and other marine life. But members of this bloom are already dying off, said RBINS, and washing up on shore.
Photo ©RBINS/MUMM
