Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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A striking display of bioluminescence was captured off Scripps Pier the evening of May 16, 2024. Bioluminescent red tides off San Diego are typically formed due to aggregations of the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedra, a species well known for its displays of light. At night, when the phytoplankton are agitated by waves or other movement in the water, they emit a dazzling neon blue glow.

Learn more about red tides and bioluminescence from experts at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography here: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/everything-you-wanted-know-about-red-tides

Video captured by Jeff Hester on behalf of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

If you are a media outlet interested in using this video, please contact scrippsnews@ucsd.edu.

#Bioluminescence #RedTide #SoCal #Bioluminescent #ScrippsPier #LaJolla