Wikipedia

Milky seas effect

(Redirected from Sea sparkle)

Milky seas (Somali: Kaluunka iftiima; English: Milky seas), sometimes confused with mareel, are a luminous phenomenon in the ocean in which large areas of seawater (up to 100,000 km2 or 39,000 sq mi[1]) appear to glow diffusely and continuously (in varying shades of blue). Such occurrences glow brightly enough at night to be visible from satellites orbiting Earth. Unlike flashing waves or red-tide luminescence caused by "algae" such as dinoflagellates, milky seas are originate from luminous bacteria[2][3].

Milky sea effect off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean

Mariners and other seafarers have reported that the ocean often emits a visible glow which extends for miles at night. In 2005, scientists announced that for the first time, they had obtained photographic evidence of this glow.[4][5] In a follow-up study, they observed a glow that persisted for over 40 days[1].

Effect

edit

Between 1915 and 1993, 235 sightings of milky seas were documented,[6] most of which are concentrated in the northwestern Indian Ocean near to Somalia.[7] The luminescent glow is concentrated on the surface of the ocean and does not mix evenly throughout the water column.[8]

 
A culture of luminous bacteria, showing the diffuse uniform light that characterizes milky seas.

In 1985, a research vessel in the Arabian Sea took water samples during milky seas. Their conclusions were that the effect was caused by the bacterium Vibrio harveyi.[9] In 2005, Steven Miller was able to match 1995 satellite images with a first-hand account of a merchant ship. U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program showed the milky area to be approximately 15,400 km2 (5,900 sq mi) (roughly the size of Connecticut). The luminescent field was observed to glow over three consecutive nights. In a later study[1] using a newer Day-Night Band sensor, the team was able to observe several additional events, including one from 2019 which covered 100,000 km2 or 39,000 sq mi and persisted for over 40 nights.

While monochromatic photos make this effect appear white, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute scientist Steven Haddock (an author of a milky seas effect study) has commented, "the light produced by the bacteria is actually blue, not white. It is white in the graphic because of the monochromatic sensor we used, and it can appear white to the eye because the rods in our eye (used for night vision) don't discriminate color."[10]

Milky seas are a different phenomenon than "mareel" which is a term used for dinoflagellate-produced bioluminescent displays in Scotland. Dinoflagellates produce impressive bioluminescent bays, and they are responsible for the light visible in breaking waves, or glowing footprints on the beach. However, the two types of large-scale displays can be distinguished because the bacteria that produce milky seas glow continuously when they are at high concentrations and have sufficient oxygen[3] whereas dinoflagellates flash when physically stimulated.

Etymology

edit

Milky seas are named for the diffuse appearance of the light, since the individual bacteria are too small to make discernible flashes. In the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Jules Verne describes the ship as "sailing through a sea of milk."

In the Somali language it is called “Kaluunka Iftiima”. The term translates to glowing sea creatures or glowing fish as the word Kaluun refers to any bio organism that lives in the sea. It is most commonly used to refer to fish.

Notes

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Miller, Steven D.; Haddock, Steven H. D.; Straka, William C.; Seaman, Curtis J.; Combs, Cynthia L.; Wang, Menghua; Shi, Wei; Nam, SungHyun (2021-07-29). "Honing in on bioluminescent milky seas from space". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 15443. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94823-z. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8322353. PMID 34326427.
  2. ^ Lapota, David; Galt, Charles; Losee, Jon R.; Huddell, Howard D.; Orzech, James K.; Nealson, Kenneth H. (1988-07-05). "Observations and measurements of planktonic bioluminescence in and around a milky sea". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 119 (1): 55–81. Bibcode:1988JEMBE.119...55L. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(88)90152-9. ISSN 0022-0981.
  3. ^ a b Nealson, Kenneth H.; Hastings, J. Woodland (2006). "Quorum Sensing on a Global Scale: Massive Numbers of Bioluminescent Bacteria Make Milky Seas". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 72 (4): 2295–2297. Bibcode:2006ApEnM..72.2295N. doi:10.1128/AEM.72.4.2295-2297.2006. PMC 1448986. PMID 16597922.
  4. ^ Britt, Robert Roy (October 4, 2005). "Mystery Ocean Glow Confirmed in Satellite Photos". Live Science.
  5. ^ Miller, Steven D.; Haddock, Steven H. D.; Elvidge, Christopher D.; Lee, Thomas F. (2005-10-04). "Detection of a bioluminescent milky sea from space". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (40): 14181–14184. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10214181M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0507253102. PMC 1242338. PMID 16186481.
  6. ^ "The Marine Observer". 1993.
  7. ^
    Zettler, Erik; Mincer, Tracy; Amaral-Zettler, Linda (2013). "Life in the "Plastisphere": Microbial Communities on Plastic Marine Debris" (PDF). Environmental Science & Technology. 47 (13): 7137–7146. Bibcode:2013EnST...47.7137Z. doi:10.1021/es401288x. PMID 23745679. S2CID 10002632.
    Haddock, Steven; Moline, Mark; Case, James (2010). "Bioluminescence in the Sea" (PDF). Annual Review of Marine Science. 2 (1): 443–493. Bibcode:2010ARMS....2..443H. doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-120308-081028. PMID 21141672.
    These reviews cite this research.
    Miller, S. D.; Haddock, S. H.; Elvidge, C. D.; Lee, T. F. (2005). "Detection of a bioluminescent milky sea from space". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (40): 14181–14184. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10214181M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0507253102. PMC 1242338. PMID 16186481.
  8. ^ Lapota, David; Galt, Charles; Losee, John; Huddell, Howard; Orzech, John; Nealson, Kenneth (1988). "Observations and measurements of planktonic bioluminescence in and around a milky sea". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 119: 55–81. Bibcode:1988JEMBE.119...55L. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(88)90152-9.
  9. ^ Ramaiah, N. D. Chandramohan (1992). Desai, B. N. (ed.). "Ecology and biology of luminous bacteria in the Arabian Sea". Oceanography of the Indian Ocean. New Delhi: Oxford and India Book House: 11–23.
  10. ^ Pescovitz, David (2005-10-04). "First milky sea photo". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2014-07-17.

Further reading

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milky_seas_effect&oldid=1261193247"