What are the Blue tides spotted at Mumbai beaches?

November 30, 2020

The blue tide phenomenon was observed in several stretches of Maharashtra coast – such as in the Juhu Beach. The phenomenon is due to bioluminescence, which is the emission of light by microscopic marine plants called phytoplanktons. Eg: dinoflagellates. The blue light stems from chemical reactions of proteins inside the organism.

What are Dinoflagellates?

It is the marine plankton. The population of Dinoflagellates thrives in water based on the sea temperature. Dinoflagellates is one of the largest groups of marine eukaryotes in species. These species are photosynthetic.

what is Bio-Luminescence?

The sparkling light appearing in the sea from the microorganisms is called bio-luminescence. The Bioluminescence is usually higher in deep living organisms than the shallow species. Bioluminescence is controlled by a circadian clock and only occurs at night. Luminescent and non-luminescent strains can occur in the same species. During night time the number of species is high. The smaller blooms are not harmful.

Basically, it is an anti-predatory response. Also, bioluminescence helps the micro organisms to gather together easily and form colonies.

How is the blue light related to Climate Change?

According to the marine experts, the blue light is the sign of climatic changes. It also reveals the low oxygen and high nitrogen content in the sea water. Also, heavy rain causes Bio-Luminescence.

Is Blue Tide harmful?

The smaller blooms of micro organisms are not harmful. On the other hand, the slow moving larger blooms have impact on deep sea fishing. Their colonies become larger only when the nitrogen presence is higher and dissolved oxygen content is lower. This environment is highly dangerous for fish as they mainly survive on oxygen. This happens due to fertilizer run off and discharge of untreated sewage into the oceans. Therefore, larger blue tide indicate deteriorating ocean ecosystem.

Is Bio-luminescence common in India?

No, Bio-luminescence is not common in India. In India we can find Bio-luminescence in Lakshadweep, Goa, Mumbai, kannada(udupi).

Why do marine organisms glow?

Species in the sea glows because of the chemicals in their body or bacteria in the skin. The oxygen reacts to produce substrate called luciferin that creates blue light in the waves.