When it’s this dark in the evening or even early in the morning, you just might be able to catch a glimpse of a blue glowing light that happens as the waves crash on the beach.
Bioluminescent waves are not as common here on the Central Coast as they are in other places, but it’s drawn many locals to north coast beaches to take pictures of the glowing waves.
“The minute I started to drive down on the sand the waves were just glowing blue… they were crashing blue,” Amy Joseph, Central Coast Pictures owner said.
Ally Pasulka, Cal Poly associate professor and marine biologist, tells me the sea will glow like this when a group of organisms — microscopic plankton — is disturbed.
A chemical reaction happens and they produce short bursts of light.
When the microscopic plankton are high in numbers, it is easier to see the blue lights.
“It takes a minute when you first pull up to the coast to see it because your eyes aren't used to seeing it," Kip Lorenzetti, a San Luis Obispo resident, said. "Then you see flashes of faint blue in the breakers because as those plankton get disturbed the more, they light up."
It happens every few years on the Central Coast.
Anyone walking down the beach at the right time during the night may be able to spot the blue sparkling water.
Lorenzetti heard about bioluminescent waves through social media and wanted to check it out himself.
“It’s so faint that it is very visible to the naked eye but to a camera lens there isn't enough light inherently, so you have to set the camera up on the tripod. You have to have a long exposure — meaning the shutter is left open for a long period of time," Lorenzetti explained. "The camera has to be stable and then you have to get the timing right, so you have to have perfect waves to show enough blue for the camera to pick up. There’s a lot of trial and error."
Another local photographer, Amy Joseph, was driving to Grover Beach when she saw the blue in the waves.
She says it is extremely hard to capture the lights on camera.
“Because it’s pitch dark you don't see anything until the wave breaks so there's nothing to focus on for a camera,” Joseph said.
“I was just in awe there were people on the beach watching and it was just a really neat experience,” Joseph said.
According to Pasulka, the Cal Poly associate professor, the organisms can stick around for a couple of days or up to a week.
In recent days, the bioluminescent waves have been spotted in areas near Morro Bay and Cayucos.
