ASSIGNMENT
GLOW
This past May brought a brilliant display of bioluminescence and many spectators to the beaches along the San Diego coast — from our campus shores all the way up to Encinitas . According to scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography , the colorful culprit is a red tide , or a dense bloom of microscopic dinoflagellates . During the day , the organisms swim upward for light , creating a thin reddish layer near the surface , while at night they can glow neon blue when there is movement or a disruption in the water .
If you happened to miss this dazzling display , visit Birch Aquarium at Scripps to see the glow-in-the-dark superpowers of sea creatures in Oddities : Hidden Heroes of the Scripps Collections , a new comic-book inspired exhibit !
Learn more about bioluminescence at tritonmag . com / redtide
Photo : Erik Jepsen ’ 10 , UC San Diego Publications
6 TRITON | FALL 2018