# data[].attributes.body
hey room 20 did you know that theres another name

for brinicle

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I got to play with bioluminescence this weekend! Some friends invited me out on a short kayak trip and we able to experience the magical glowing water firsthand! But, of course, it wasn't magic... it was science!

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. The name comes from the Greek word bios for "living" and the Latin word lumen for "light." So, put it together and you have "living lights"! Animals most often use bioluminescence to communicate with each other, to find mates, to catch prey or to defend themselves. You may be most familiar with bioluminescence from fireflies - though other organisms can produce it, including squid, deep-sea fish, some bacteria and even mushrooms! However, dinoflagellates (single-celled protists) are the most common source of bioluminescence.

I've heard about this phenomenon in Puerto Rico. On the southern shore of the island of Isla de Vieques, there is a bay called Puerto Mosquito (Mosquito Bay). Apparently, this bioluminescent bay has been officially declared the brightest recorded in the world by Guinness Book of World Records 2008. Check out this video - the part about the glowing water is 1:38 - 2:12, though the rest of the video has some INCREDIBLE footage of a cuttlefish. (This particular dinoflagellate is Pyrodinium bahamense.)

This particular dinoflagellate is
There is also some incredible footage of luminescent algae (dinoflagellate) blooms in Southern California, where the waves appear to glow! ( Lingulodinium polyedrum)

I have also had the opportunity to see some bioluminescent organisms at the Marin Headlands -

But little did I know this also occurred right here in northern California in Tomales Bay! According to the Blue Waters Kayaking site, "bluish flickers are visible in the water column, which come from blooms of bioluminescent "dinoflagellates". These tiny creatures emit short flashes of light when disturbed, and at certain times of the year put on quite a show for kayakers. Schools of fish in the bay create a phosphorescent trail which can look like a glowing cloud in the water. Seals chasing the fish may create a phosphorescent event which can be very exciting to watch. ... All this glowing activity is only visible at night when the sun and moon are both down. In 2012, this will be the case on the days July 21, July 28, August 11, August 18, August 25, September 8, September 15, September 22, October 6, October 13, October 20 from sunset until the moon rises." (You should go!)

In the daylight, we saw pelicans, sea jellies, seals, and even a bat ray! By 9:30 pm, the light show had begun. Along the edges, where the water met the sand, you could see little glowing spots. Once we pushed off in the kayaks, we could see an eerie glow emanating from the bow of each boats as it moved through the water. Paddling created swirling, glowing eddies. Fish, as stated above, made themselves known by the glowing streaks they left in the wave of their movements. And, perhaps most fun of all, dangling your fingers over the edge of the boat created all sorts of glowing patterns... splashing made a liquid fireworks display!

According to the Vieques site, the best time to observe the bioluminesence aligns with particular phases of the moon, between full and new moon, to be exact. Other sites are more vague, for example, "bioluminescence is only present for a couple of months a year when the variables all align: water temperature, air temperature, winds, currents, and tides."

However, the moon phase connection makes sense. You want it to be very dark with little to no moonlight. Yesterday, on August 11, the Moon rose at 12:57 am and set at 3:47 pm, leaving our ideal viewing time (around 9 - 10 pm) without any moonlight. The Moon's phase was waning crescent, partway between a 3rd quarter (moon rise at midnight, moonset at noon) and new moon (moonrise at sunrise, moonset at sunset).

My roommate and I also discussed the fact that it may have to do with the wind. She says it is much foggier lately because of the cold upwelling (read more if you are interested). This same upwelling brings nutrients to the surface, providing good conditions for dinoflagellate population growth. And according to this sobering article about the effect of climate change on coastal ecosystems, the most intensive upwelling occurs in Tomales Bay during the summer, "in response to strong, often persistent northwesterly winds." This also aligns with the dates the bioluminescence is best viewed.

Dinoflagellates are single celled protists; with some animal characteristics like locomotion and some plant characteristics such as photosynthesis. According to Wikipedia, more than 18 genera of dinoflagellates are bioluminescent and the phylum containing dinoflagellates is termed Pyrrophyta, meaning "fireplant"! (The following list of facts comes directly from the Dinoflagellates and Red Tides page from the Latz Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography - if you want to learn more, those pages contain a wealth of information!)

Dinoflagellates are planktonic - 90% of all dinoflagellates are marine plankton.

Dinoflagellates are small. - many of them are microscopic and range from 15 to 40 microns in size, the largest, Noctiluca, may be as large as 2 mm in diameter!

Dinoflagellates are motile - dinoflagellates swim by means of two flagella... as a result of the action of the two flagella the cell spirals as it moves.

Some dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, some are heterotrophic

Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, manufacturing their own food using the energy from sunlight, and providing a food source for other organisms. The photosynthetic dinoflagellates are important primary producers in coastal waters.

Some photosynthetic dinoflagellates are symbiotic, living in the cells of their hosts, such as corals. Called zooxanthellae, they are found in many marine invertebrates, including sponges, corals, jellyfish, and flatworms, as well as within protists, such as ciliates, foraminiferans, and colonial radiolarians.

Approximately half of all species are heterotrophic, eating other plankton, and sometimes each other, by snaring or stinging their prey. Non-photosynthetic species of dinoflagellates feed on diatoms or other protists (including other dinoflagellates); Noctiluca is large enough to eat zooplankton and fish eggs. Some species are parasites on algae, zooplankton, fish or other organisms.

Dinoflagellates usually reproduce asexually - the most form of reproduction is asexual, where daughter cells form by simple mitosis and division of the cell. The daughter cells will be genetically identical to that of the original cell.

Why do they do it?
The most common trigger for dinoflagellates glow is mechanical stimulation, like the disturbance of a boat, paddle, swimmer, fish, or our fingers! Apparently, they can react to chemical stimulation as well - reducing the pH of their environment can cause some dinoflagellates to glow continuously ( source).

The most common theory on why these organisms bioluminescence is that the reaction acts as a type of "burglar alarm" defense mechanism. When the dinoflagellate is disturbed, it is likely it is going to get eaten (most often by a shrimp). So it sends out a brief flash, which may distract the predator, or attract a secondary predator that might eat the predator that is trying to eat the dinoflagellate. Or, perhaps the dinoflagellate will get eaten anyway, but by attracting a secondary predator to eat the first predator, the dinoflagellate is saving the rest of its protist buddies from being eaten.

SHORT STORY: There basically needs to be a chemical mix of a luciferin (a "light-producing substance") and a luciferase (an enzyme that helps the interaction among luciferin, oxygen and water) to produce a new substance that emits light. When a dinoflagellate is disturbed, these substances are mixed in the cell and emit light. (kind of, but not exactly, like how a glo stick works)

LONG VERSION: According to some studies, including this one, here is the general idea of how this reaction goes down: Inside the cells, luciferin is packed in vesicles called scintillons. This luciferin is produced throughout daylight hours. The luciferin is usually bound to a protein called a Luciferin Binding Protein or LBP. At a neutral pH, LBP stabilizes the luciferin from being spontaneously oxidized.

When movement of surrounding water bends the cell membrane, it sends electrical impulses around the vacuole - which holds a bunch of protons (why? I don't know). These electrical impulses open proton channels, and those protons can now move from the vacuole into the cytoplasm (where the scintillons are kept). The cytoplasm becomes acidified, and the process is activated in the scintillons.

When the pH drops to around 6, the luciferin and the LBP dissociate. In the process of being oxidized, luciferin briefly exists in an excited state, after which it decays to the ground state- releasing energy in the form of light. The oxidation of the luciferin by the luciferase results in inactive oxyluciferin. This reaction can happen more than once, but once the luciferin is used up, that dinoflagellate is done for the night, until it can replenish its supplies the next day.

Ready for the NSF image? (It's government work, so it should be in the public domain.)

If you want to read more, or know where I got my information, you can check out this source (although I am not sure as to its reliability), or you can read the HowStuffWorks article on bioluminescence - esp this page, which has the more technical details of the chemical reactions. Or, this Science Daily article is pretty good. And if that's not technical enough, you may want to visit this UCSB biolum page for more information than you'll ever need. :)

Can I get some dinoflagellates and make them glow?

Yep. Last year, some of my students did their science fair project on bioluminescence. So, I bought some dinoflagellates ( Pyrocystis fusiformis) from Sunnyside SeaFarms. They basically do this:

Check out this art installation using bioluminesence (although using bacteria, not protists). (From the NSF site) "This arch was composed with Petri dishes painted with bioluminescent bacteria. The piece--approximately 9 feet high by 5 feet wide--was installed in December 2002 at the O'Malley Library, Manhattan College, Riverdale, N.Y. "Bioglyphs" was an exhibition of living bioluminescent paintings that brought science and art together in the form of a collaborative project involving students from the MSU School of Art, and science and engineering students from MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)." (read more about the project)

That is about as cool as that giant petri dish Contagion billboard!

UPDATE 8.21.13: Yonder Biology started a Kickstarter campaign to create a Dino Pet, a "dinosaur-shaped habitat for a species of bioluminescent marine algae that photosynthesizes during the day and glows at night." Hilarious!

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bioluminescent dinoflagellates (or awesome glowing water!)

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I got to play with bioluminescence this weekend! Some friends invited me out on a short kayak trip and we able to experience the magical glowing water firsthand! But, of course, it wasn't magic... it was science! Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism.

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Aurora appears in the north &

south pole.

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It looks like a jellyfish

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I just learnt that a brinicle can be in places that dont even have ice around it

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I got this from http://random.mytko.org/2012/08/bioluminescent-dinoflagellates-or.html.

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

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National Geographic | Bioluminescent Creatures

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Bioluminescence on Camera | National Geographic

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For the first time ever, the starlight camera captures sea creatures' bioluminescent paths, and the ocean glows with light. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.

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The first time I saw waves light up in beautiful colors as they crashed onto the beach I thought someone had slipped me some acid. It's real, though. Bioluminescent phytoplankton cause this spectacular light show, and wow, someone's surfing it.

Red tides exist all over the world, and they are caused by large-scale algae blooms. Some red tides, however, like those found in southern California contain a certain type of phytoplankton called lingulodinium polyedrum that emit little bursts of light when agitated. When a ton of those little guys are gathered into a small area and are all agitated at once by a crashing wave or a slicing surfboard, the effect looks like something out of Disney's Fantasia. It's simply breath-taking.

Red tides are often responsible for massive fish deaths, and its effect on humans who directly contact it is not entirely known. Anecdotally the CDC says that swimming in red tides may cause "irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, as well as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Additional evidence suggests that people with existing respiratory illness, such as asthma, may experience these symptoms more severely." Hope this guy had a neti pot handy. [ The Atlantic via The Scuttlefish]

You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter.

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Surfing Bioluminescent Waves Looks Like a Beautiful Hallucination

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The first time I saw waves light up in beautiful colors as they crashed onto the beach I thought someone had slipped me some acid. It's real, though. Bioluminescent phytoplankton cause this spectacular light show, and wow, someone's surfing it.

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A bioluminescent bloom is a nartral phonomena.

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I learnt that the Biolumesesent Bloom
....

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Fun Facts
1. The world's largest bioluminescent organism is a fungus found in the Blue Mountains of Oregon - Armillaria ostoyae. Its cordlike, underground growth structures extend more than 2,400 acres.
2. There are more than 2,000 firefly species worldwide, and they are not actually flies, but beetles.
3. Some dinoflagellates, or single-celled organisms, which date back 1.2 billion years, both glow in the dark and are incredibly speedy for their size. They move up to 500 microns per second - the equivalent of a 6-foot man swimming 40 mph.
4. The golden ponyfish glows along its belly, matching the light filtering down from above, to avoid being seen by predators lurking below. At times, a male will turn off his belly lights and flash his sidelights to attract a mate.
5. A female anglerfish of the genus Linophryne has her own built-in fishing rod: a modified dorsal fin spine topped with a lure that pulses with bacterial light. She dangles the lure above her gaping jaws while luminous tendrils that look like seaweed trail from her chin. If another fish swims up to investigate, it becomes dinner.

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Light it up with bioluminescent organisms at the new AMNH 'Creatures of Light' exhibit

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Fun Facts 1. The world's largest bioluminescent organism is a fungus found in the Blue Mountains of Oregon - Armillaria ostoyae. Its cordlike, underground growth structures extend more than 2,400 acres. 2. There are more than 2,000 firefly species worldwide, and they are not actually flies, but beetles. 3.

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A brinicle is made out of  ice

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They are also formed by the solar flare

efecting the magnetic atmoshpere creating

the northern lights (aurora).

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Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism.  The name comes from the Greek word bios for “living” and the Latin word lumen for “light.”  So, put it together and you have “living lights"!

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I got to play with bioluminescence this weekend! Some friends invited me out on a short kayak trip and we able to experience the magical glowing water firsthand! But, of course, it wasn't magic... it was science!

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. The name comes from the Greek word bios for "living" and the Latin word lumen for "light." So, put it together and you have "living lights"! Animals most often use bioluminescence to communicate with each other, to find mates, to catch prey or to defend themselves. You may be most familiar with bioluminescence from fireflies - though other organisms can produce it, including squid, deep-sea fish, some bacteria and even mushrooms! However, dinoflagellates (single-celled protists) are the most common source of bioluminescence.

I've heard about this phenomenon in Puerto Rico. On the southern shore of the island of Isla de Vieques, there is a bay called Puerto Mosquito (Mosquito Bay). Apparently, this bioluminescent bay has been officially declared the brightest recorded in the world by Guinness Book of World Records 2008. Check out this video - the part about the glowing water is 1:38 - 2:12, though the rest of the video has some INCREDIBLE footage of a cuttlefish. (This particular dinoflagellate is Pyrodinium bahamense.)

This particular dinoflagellate is
There is also some incredible footage of luminescent algae (dinoflagellate) blooms in Southern California, where the waves appear to glow! ( Lingulodinium polyedrum)

I have also had the opportunity to see some bioluminescent organisms at the Marin Headlands -

But little did I know this also occurred right here in northern California in Tomales Bay! According to the Blue Waters Kayaking site, "bluish flickers are visible in the water column, which come from blooms of bioluminescent "dinoflagellates". These tiny creatures emit short flashes of light when disturbed, and at certain times of the year put on quite a show for kayakers. Schools of fish in the bay create a phosphorescent trail which can look like a glowing cloud in the water. Seals chasing the fish may create a phosphorescent event which can be very exciting to watch. ... All this glowing activity is only visible at night when the sun and moon are both down. In 2012, this will be the case on the days July 21, July 28, August 11, August 18, August 25, September 8, September 15, September 22, October 6, October 13, October 20 from sunset until the moon rises." (You should go!)

In the daylight, we saw pelicans, sea jellies, seals, and even a bat ray! By 9:30 pm, the light show had begun. Along the edges, where the water met the sand, you could see little glowing spots. Once we pushed off in the kayaks, we could see an eerie glow emanating from the bow of each boats as it moved through the water. Paddling created swirling, glowing eddies. Fish, as stated above, made themselves known by the glowing streaks they left in the wave of their movements. And, perhaps most fun of all, dangling your fingers over the edge of the boat created all sorts of glowing patterns... splashing made a liquid fireworks display!

According to the Vieques site, the best time to observe the bioluminesence aligns with particular phases of the moon, between full and new moon, to be exact. Other sites are more vague, for example, "bioluminescence is only present for a couple of months a year when the variables all align: water temperature, air temperature, winds, currents, and tides."

However, the moon phase connection makes sense. You want it to be very dark with little to no moonlight. Yesterday, on August 11, the Moon rose at 12:57 am and set at 3:47 pm, leaving our ideal viewing time (around 9 - 10 pm) without any moonlight. The Moon's phase was waning crescent, partway between a 3rd quarter (moon rise at midnight, moonset at noon) and new moon (moonrise at sunrise, moonset at sunset).

My roommate and I also discussed the fact that it may have to do with the wind. She says it is much foggier lately because of the cold upwelling (read more if you are interested). This same upwelling brings nutrients to the surface, providing good conditions for dinoflagellate population growth. And according to this sobering article about the effect of climate change on coastal ecosystems, the most intensive upwelling occurs in Tomales Bay during the summer, "in response to strong, often persistent northwesterly winds." This also aligns with the dates the bioluminescence is best viewed.

Dinoflagellates are single celled protists; with some animal characteristics like locomotion and some plant characteristics such as photosynthesis. According to Wikipedia, more than 18 genera of dinoflagellates are bioluminescent and the phylum containing dinoflagellates is termed Pyrrophyta, meaning "fireplant"! (The following list of facts comes directly from the Dinoflagellates and Red Tides page from the Latz Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography - if you want to learn more, those pages contain a wealth of information!)

Dinoflagellates are planktonic - 90% of all dinoflagellates are marine plankton.

Dinoflagellates are small. - many of them are microscopic and range from 15 to 40 microns in size, the largest, Noctiluca, may be as large as 2 mm in diameter!

Dinoflagellates are motile - dinoflagellates swim by means of two flagella... as a result of the action of the two flagella the cell spirals as it moves.

Some dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, some are heterotrophic

Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, manufacturing their own food using the energy from sunlight, and providing a food source for other organisms. The photosynthetic dinoflagellates are important primary producers in coastal waters.

Some photosynthetic dinoflagellates are symbiotic, living in the cells of their hosts, such as corals. Called zooxanthellae, they are found in many marine invertebrates, including sponges, corals, jellyfish, and flatworms, as well as within protists, such as ciliates, foraminiferans, and colonial radiolarians.

Approximately half of all species are heterotrophic, eating other plankton, and sometimes each other, by snaring or stinging their prey. Non-photosynthetic species of dinoflagellates feed on diatoms or other protists (including other dinoflagellates); Noctiluca is large enough to eat zooplankton and fish eggs. Some species are parasites on algae, zooplankton, fish or other organisms.

Dinoflagellates usually reproduce asexually - the most form of reproduction is asexual, where daughter cells form by simple mitosis and division of the cell. The daughter cells will be genetically identical to that of the original cell.

Why do they do it?
The most common trigger for dinoflagellates glow is mechanical stimulation, like the disturbance of a boat, paddle, swimmer, fish, or our fingers! Apparently, they can react to chemical stimulation as well - reducing the pH of their environment can cause some dinoflagellates to glow continuously ( source).

The most common theory on why these organisms bioluminescence is that the reaction acts as a type of "burglar alarm" defense mechanism. When the dinoflagellate is disturbed, it is likely it is going to get eaten (most often by a shrimp). So it sends out a brief flash, which may distract the predator, or attract a secondary predator that might eat the predator that is trying to eat the dinoflagellate. Or, perhaps the dinoflagellate will get eaten anyway, but by attracting a secondary predator to eat the first predator, the dinoflagellate is saving the rest of its protist buddies from being eaten.

SHORT STORY: There basically needs to be a chemical mix of a luciferin (a "light-producing substance") and a luciferase (an enzyme that helps the interaction among luciferin, oxygen and water) to produce a new substance that emits light. When a dinoflagellate is disturbed, these substances are mixed in the cell and emit light. (kind of, but not exactly, like how a glo stick works)

LONG VERSION: According to some studies, including this one, here is the general idea of how this reaction goes down: Inside the cells, luciferin is packed in vesicles called scintillons. This luciferin is produced throughout daylight hours. The luciferin is usually bound to a protein called a Luciferin Binding Protein or LBP. At a neutral pH, LBP stabilizes the luciferin from being spontaneously oxidized.

When movement of surrounding water bends the cell membrane, it sends electrical impulses around the vacuole - which holds a bunch of protons (why? I don't know). These electrical impulses open proton channels, and those protons can now move from the vacuole into the cytoplasm (where the scintillons are kept). The cytoplasm becomes acidified, and the process is activated in the scintillons.

When the pH drops to around 6, the luciferin and the LBP dissociate. In the process of being oxidized, luciferin briefly exists in an excited state, after which it decays to the ground state- releasing energy in the form of light. The oxidation of the luciferin by the luciferase results in inactive oxyluciferin. This reaction can happen more than once, but once the luciferin is used up, that dinoflagellate is done for the night, until it can replenish its supplies the next day.

Ready for the NSF image? (It's government work, so it should be in the public domain.)

If you want to read more, or know where I got my information, you can check out this source (although I am not sure as to its reliability), or you can read the HowStuffWorks article on bioluminescence - esp this page, which has the more technical details of the chemical reactions. Or, this Science Daily article is pretty good. And if that's not technical enough, you may want to visit this UCSB biolum page for more information than you'll ever need. :)

Can I get some dinoflagellates and make them glow?

Yep. Last year, some of my students did their science fair project on bioluminescence. So, I bought some dinoflagellates ( Pyrocystis fusiformis) from Sunnyside SeaFarms. They basically do this:

Check out this art installation using bioluminesence (although using bacteria, not protists). (From the NSF site) "This arch was composed with Petri dishes painted with bioluminescent bacteria. The piece--approximately 9 feet high by 5 feet wide--was installed in December 2002 at the O'Malley Library, Manhattan College, Riverdale, N.Y. "Bioglyphs" was an exhibition of living bioluminescent paintings that brought science and art together in the form of a collaborative project involving students from the MSU School of Art, and science and engineering students from MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)." (read more about the project)

That is about as cool as that giant petri dish Contagion billboard!

UPDATE 8.21.13: Yonder Biology started a Kickstarter campaign to create a Dino Pet, a "dinosaur-shaped habitat for a species of bioluminescent marine algae that photosynthesizes during the day and glows at night." Hilarious!

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bioluminescent dinoflagellates (or awesome glowing water!)

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I got to play with bioluminescence this weekend! Some friends invited me out on a short kayak trip and we able to experience the magical glowing water firsthand! But, of course, it wasn't magic... it was science! Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism.

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An ice finger can kill a person even with the slitest touch because they are so cold

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Brinicles freeze starfish and anything in its way
.

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After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and doing to WordPress what Airbnb did to Craigslist.

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Related Articles Around the Web

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After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and...

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Bioluminescence Kayak Tour on Tomales Bay

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Description Kayak Tomales Bay and experience the tranquility of a night paddle and magic of the bioluminescence emitted by the blooming dinoflagellates, a microscopic one cell organism. These harmless . . .

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Most people think of fireflies when it comes to bioluminescent or glowing the-dark organisms, but many other organisms use bioluminescence as well to communicate, ward off predators, or attract their meal.

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here's a neat photo of people swimming in Bioluminescent Bloom

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Probably the best known example of bioluminescence is the glow of fireflies. Fireflies are actually beetles of the family Lampyridae.

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Kids Ahead - Deep Sea Exploration Articles - What is Bioluminescence?

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The Kids Ahead program is an initiative to increase the number of kids with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competencies and interests.

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A brinicle is formed

when you see a cold sinking

brine

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bioluminescences was discovered  in 1934,

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a brinicle is actually ice

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After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and doing to WordPress what Airbnb did to Craigslist.

Social and Centralized

WordPress, Drupal, and the custom CMS solutions of the world are all independent, non-connected instances that each need to be updated individually. There are over 87 million instances of WordPress alone in the world, and each security upgrade, feature update, and every other single thing has to be updated for each site individually.

By contrast, RebelMouse is a social, centralized platform built to keep up with the speed of the tech giants. Our updates are pushed out to all of our sites at once (and sometimes even multiple times a day) with content creation tools integrated directly into social APIs. We can get clients off of clunky CMSs and into the future in a matter of days. Many of our clients have seen page views and unique visitors grow anywhere from 50-300% literally within the first days of launch.

We iterate with the times and tell you what's changing in the world, how we've reacted to it, and how it's built into the updates you get from the platform. Our creative agency team trains your teams or takes on special projects.

Easy Migrations - the Re-Platform Remastered

We create growth with every re-platform. And it doesn't take months, it takes hours or days. We can suck up a WordPress site, optimize its page speed, the user experience, the balance of ads, and how you monetize. We do it in our sleep now.

We are simply the best in the world at this and have taken it to another level.

You'll grow in SEO, you'll grow in social, you'll grow in return users, you'll grow in the amount your users share, and that will, in turn, grow your total audience.

We can set up test environments you send traffic to and show the dramatic comparison. We create growth.

A Better Experience for Readers - Social UX for Media

Everybody is building media sites wrong. We make it look simple. All the hard technology is at work behind the scenes. For readers, your content shines, is shareable, and your website becomes a rabbit hole that pulls users into more content that creates more sharing.

Better Social Distribution Tools - Cross-Platform Reach

It isn't just about publishing. There's a new content life cycle on the internet that leads to fast organic growth at dramatically lower cost. The key is understanding how to use social to your advantage instead of being lost in the noise. RebelMouse is a contagious media company, and the software turns organic growth into an efficient, repeatable, and scalable process.

Better Authoring Tools

Your writers, editors, creators, and community deserve tools that make them fast and efficient. It's also important that they follow a process that leads to best practices, so that the CMS itself is training your team with every post as they onboard.

Grabbing social content, building listicles and slideshows - RebelMouse makes everything simple, clean, and easy for writers.

Analytics and Management Tools

But it's also important for you to manage your writers, see their performance, enable them to learn from each other, and help them become data driven. RebelMouse analytics provide you with a clear view of who is performing, what posts are working, and where that content is gaining traction.

We also have deep Google Analytics integration, so you can easily add in components, promos, third-party units, and ad units. But most importantly, as they're being added, they are set up in staged environments automatically, and the traffic performance from these tests can be traced back to impact on bounce rate, pages/session, session duration, number of shares, percent of shares per visit, and unique custom goals for your business.

You might have the feeling we could go on a bit longer. We could! This is a passion for us. Come talk to us and let's get growing together.

Related Articles Around the Web

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After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and...

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Auroras are the most visible effect of the solar wind upon the Earths atmosphere.

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Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Aurora borealis

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Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Aurora borealis

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When salt water leaks
out of sea ice,it sinks into the sea and can create an ice finger that is called a Brinicle.

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What's cooler than being cool? Brine-cold.

When salt-rich water leaks out of sea ice, it sinks into the sea and can occasionally create an eerie finger of ice called a brinicle. New research explains how these strange fingers of ice form and how the salty water within sea ice could have been a prime environment in which life may have evolved.

The study, published in the American Chemical Society's journal Langmuir, suggests that brinicles form in the same way as hydrothermal vents, except in reverse. Hydrothermal vents are spiny-looking towers on the ocean bottom where boiling, chemical-rich water flows out of the seafloor.

The brinicle-forming process goes like this: When sea ice freezes in the Arctic and Antarctic, the salt and other ions in the water is excluded from the water crystals, said study author Bruno Escribano, a researcher at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics in the Basque Country in northern Spain. This salt-heavy brine accumulates in fractures and compartments within the sea ice.

Inevitably, however, sea ice cracks, and the brine leaks out. The brine itself is colder than the freezing point of seawater, since salt-rich water freezes at lower temperatures (hence the reason people put salt on icy sidewalks in the winter, enabling the ice to remain a liquid when it's below freezing), Escribano told OurAmazingPlanet.

Since the concentration of water in the brine is lower than that in the ocean - and water moves from high to low concentrations, via osmosis - water is attracted to the brine. But the brine is so cold that the water freezes, forming a descending tube of ice, Escribano said.

Hydrothermal vents form by an analogous method: Ion-rich hot water is expelled from the seafloor and then begins to dissolve, forming a porous shell of metal extending upward. Water then rushes in, moving from high to low concentration, rupturing the membrane and causing more metal-rich water to spurt out, extending the tube and repeating the process.

Both are examples of "chemical gardens," a type of chemical process and the name of an experiment common in chemistry sets that operates along the same principles and forms tubes of crystals that make plant-like shapes, Escribano said.

Brine-rich compartments within sea ice have some properties that could have helped life originate, Escribano said. "Inside these compartments inside the ice, you have a high concentration of chemical compounds, and you also have lipids, fats, that coat the inside of the compartment," he said. "These can act as a primitive membrane - one of the conditions necessary for life." They also contain a mixture of acidic and basic components that could provide energy necessary to form more complex molecules, perhaps even DNA, he said.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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What's cooler than being cool? Brine-cold. When salt-rich water leaks out of sea ice, it sinks into the sea and can occasionally create an eerie finger of ice called a brinicle. New research explains how these strange fingers of ice form and how the salty water within sea ice could have been a prime environment in which life may have evolved.

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The biolumensent bloom is from the red tide.

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Bioluminescent Waves in Encinitas

October 5, 2011 by Shree Khare

This weekend we went to Encinitas to see a rare ocean phenomena known as bioluminescence caused by a red tide.

By day, a red tide is unsightly and uninviting, with water the color of coffee. But at night, during this unusual phenomenon caused by a plankton bloom, the waves are a brilliant, almost neon blue. This wonderfully surreal scene has played out almost nightly along San Diego beaches for the last few weeks.

Here are a couple of cool pictures of what we saw. The waves were coming about every 30 seconds and we spent almost two hours watching.

Here is a picture of Anjali and the kids (and Lizzy).

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This weekend we went to Encinitas to see a rare ocean phenomena known as bioluminescence caused by a red tide. By day, a red tide is unsightly and uninviting, with water the color of coffee. But at night, during this unusual phenomenon caused by a plankton bloom, the waves are a brilliant, almost neon blue.

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What is Bioluminescence?

Bioluminescence is light produced by chemical reactions in a living organism. It is sometimes referred to as “cold light” because heat is not generated or used in its generation. Bioluminescence is produced by over 80% of the species inhabiting the deep sea.

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Kids Ahead - Deep Sea Exploration Articles - What is Bioluminescence?

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The Kids Ahead program is an initiative to increase the number of kids with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competencies and interests.

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wow a brinicle can stand up with out being held

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Bioluminescence usually distracts predators by disrupting their swimming behaviour and preventing them from feedingGlowing organisms stick to your feet. It is one of the most magical sights in the natural world: a bloom of bioluminescent plankton.

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Playfire lives on in a new home, and we hope to see you there.

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When a living organism produces and emits light as a result of a chemical reaction, the process is known as Bioluminescence. During the process, chemical energy is converted into light energy. Bio means 'living' in Greek while lumen means 'light' in Latin. The process is caused by an enzyme-catalyzed chemoluminescence reaction.

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Northern  lights (aurora) have colours like pink,green, blue, purple and yellow.

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Aurora - Astronomy For Kids - - KidsAstronomy.com

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Learn about The Ballistic Spacecraft With KidsAstronomy.com

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A brinicle is formed by big peices of brine.

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As a brinicle from the sea ice sinks, a brinicle forms and it threatens life on the sea floor with a frosty fate.

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Brinicles can freeze starfish and anything that comes in its path

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and doing to WordPress what Airbnb did to Craigslist.

Social and Centralized

WordPress, Drupal, and the custom CMS solutions of the world are all independent, non-connected instances that each need to be updated individually. There are over 87 million instances of WordPress alone in the world, and each security upgrade, feature update, and every other single thing has to be updated for each site individually.

By contrast, RebelMouse is a social, centralized platform built to keep up with the speed of the tech giants. Our updates are pushed out to all of our sites at once (and sometimes even multiple times a day) with content creation tools integrated directly into social APIs. We can get clients off of clunky CMSs and into the future in a matter of days. Many of our clients have seen page views and unique visitors grow anywhere from 50-300% literally within the first days of launch.

We iterate with the times and tell you what's changing in the world, how we've reacted to it, and how it's built into the updates you get from the platform. Our creative agency team trains your teams or takes on special projects.

Easy Migrations - the Re-Platform Remastered

We create growth with every re-platform. And it doesn't take months, it takes hours or days. We can suck up a WordPress site, optimize its page speed, the user experience, the balance of ads, and how you monetize. We do it in our sleep now.

We are simply the best in the world at this and have taken it to another level.

You'll grow in SEO, you'll grow in social, you'll grow in return users, you'll grow in the amount your users share, and that will, in turn, grow your total audience.

We can set up test environments you send traffic to and show the dramatic comparison. We create growth.

A Better Experience for Readers - Social UX for Media

Everybody is building media sites wrong. We make it look simple. All the hard technology is at work behind the scenes. For readers, your content shines, is shareable, and your website becomes a rabbit hole that pulls users into more content that creates more sharing.

Better Social Distribution Tools - Cross-Platform Reach

It isn't just about publishing. There's a new content life cycle on the internet that leads to fast organic growth at dramatically lower cost. The key is understanding how to use social to your advantage instead of being lost in the noise. RebelMouse is a contagious media company, and the software turns organic growth into an efficient, repeatable, and scalable process.

Better Authoring Tools

Your writers, editors, creators, and community deserve tools that make them fast and efficient. It's also important that they follow a process that leads to best practices, so that the CMS itself is training your team with every post as they onboard.

Grabbing social content, building listicles and slideshows - RebelMouse makes everything simple, clean, and easy for writers.

Analytics and Management Tools

But it's also important for you to manage your writers, see their performance, enable them to learn from each other, and help them become data driven. RebelMouse analytics provide you with a clear view of who is performing, what posts are working, and where that content is gaining traction.

We also have deep Google Analytics integration, so you can easily add in components, promos, third-party units, and ad units. But most importantly, as they're being added, they are set up in staged environments automatically, and the traffic performance from these tests can be traced back to impact on bounce rate, pages/session, session duration, number of shares, percent of shares per visit, and unique custom goals for your business.

You might have the feeling we could go on a bit longer. We could! This is a passion for us. Come talk to us and let's get growing together.

Related Articles Around the Web

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and...

# data[].attributes.body
90% of deep-sea creatures produce some form of bioluminescence

# data[].attributes.body
Bioluminescence is a phemonon that deep sea creatures employ to glow.

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Kids Ahead - Subjects - Deep Sea Exploration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Kids Ahead program is an initiative to increase the number of kids with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competencies and interests.

# data[].attributes.body
The Ocean turns red,orange and blue.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kid Scoop | Fun Learning Activities & News With Kids

# data[].attributes.body
A brinicle can be very dangerous.

you need to stay at least 5 metres

away.

# data[].attributes.body
WOW brinicles are so awesome they can freeze anything they touch.
am learning so much.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and doing to WordPress what Airbnb did to Craigslist.

Social and Centralized

WordPress, Drupal, and the custom CMS solutions of the world are all independent, non-connected instances that each need to be updated individually. There are over 87 million instances of WordPress alone in the world, and each security upgrade, feature update, and every other single thing has to be updated for each site individually.

By contrast, RebelMouse is a social, centralized platform built to keep up with the speed of the tech giants. Our updates are pushed out to all of our sites at once (and sometimes even multiple times a day) with content creation tools integrated directly into social APIs. We can get clients off of clunky CMSs and into the future in a matter of days. Many of our clients have seen page views and unique visitors grow anywhere from 50-300% literally within the first days of launch.

We iterate with the times and tell you what's changing in the world, how we've reacted to it, and how it's built into the updates you get from the platform. Our creative agency team trains your teams or takes on special projects.

Easy Migrations - the Re-Platform Remastered

We create growth with every re-platform. And it doesn't take months, it takes hours or days. We can suck up a WordPress site, optimize its page speed, the user experience, the balance of ads, and how you monetize. We do it in our sleep now.

We are simply the best in the world at this and have taken it to another level.

You'll grow in SEO, you'll grow in social, you'll grow in return users, you'll grow in the amount your users share, and that will, in turn, grow your total audience.

We can set up test environments you send traffic to and show the dramatic comparison. We create growth.

A Better Experience for Readers - Social UX for Media

Everybody is building media sites wrong. We make it look simple. All the hard technology is at work behind the scenes. For readers, your content shines, is shareable, and your website becomes a rabbit hole that pulls users into more content that creates more sharing.

Better Social Distribution Tools - Cross-Platform Reach

It isn't just about publishing. There's a new content life cycle on the internet that leads to fast organic growth at dramatically lower cost. The key is understanding how to use social to your advantage instead of being lost in the noise. RebelMouse is a contagious media company, and the software turns organic growth into an efficient, repeatable, and scalable process.

Better Authoring Tools

Your writers, editors, creators, and community deserve tools that make them fast and efficient. It's also important that they follow a process that leads to best practices, so that the CMS itself is training your team with every post as they onboard.

Grabbing social content, building listicles and slideshows - RebelMouse makes everything simple, clean, and easy for writers.

Analytics and Management Tools

But it's also important for you to manage your writers, see their performance, enable them to learn from each other, and help them become data driven. RebelMouse analytics provide you with a clear view of who is performing, what posts are working, and where that content is gaining traction.

We also have deep Google Analytics integration, so you can easily add in components, promos, third-party units, and ad units. But most importantly, as they're being added, they are set up in staged environments automatically, and the traffic performance from these tests can be traced back to impact on bounce rate, pages/session, session duration, number of shares, percent of shares per visit, and unique custom goals for your business.

You might have the feeling we could go on a bit longer. We could! This is a passion for us. Come talk to us and let's get growing together.

Related Articles Around the Web

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After building the product for Huffington Post, and owning the product and engineering groups at AOL after we were acquired, it was clear to me there was a huge gap between what the current CMS offering gave the world and what the world needed. Five years later we are at scale, moving the needle and...

# data[].attributes.body
Northern lights (aurora) are formed by gas clouds.

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It begins with a solar flare

The aurora borealis (northern lights) form when charged particles emitted from the sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth's magnetic shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. These collisions result in countless little bursts of light, called photons, which make up the aurora. Collisions with oxygen produce red and green auroras, while nitrogen produces the pink and purple colors. This reaction encircles the polar regions of the earth and occurs at an altitude of 40-400 miles (65-650 km) in a zone called the "Auroral Oval."

When & Where

The aurora borealis most commonly occur between 60°-75° latitude, but during great geomagnetic storms the auroral oval expands equatorially and can reach 30° latitude or further. In the northern hemisphere they are called the aurora borealis (northern lights) and in the southern hemisphere aurora australis (southern lights).

An auroral display might be observed any night from dusk until dawn as long as it is dark, which excludes Alaskan summer nights (May-July). The best time to view them is between midnight and 2 am.

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What Are the Northern Lights? | Aurora Hunter

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The aurora borealis (northern lights) form when charged particles emitted from the sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth's magnetic shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. These collisions result in countless little bursts of light, called photons, which make up the aurora.

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wow if you touch a brinicle it can freeze you!

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There are glowing krill, fish, squid, snails and jellyfish that glow at night.

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Home > Research > Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!

Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!
Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!
We can derive a basic understanding of the word "bioluminescence" by breaking it down into two parts. "Bio" refers to a living thing while "luminescence" is an emission of light. Put together, we get living creatures that create and emit light! It sounds astonishing but perhaps you might have seen an example of this in your own life. For example, fireflies and glowworms are among two of the best known bioluminescent creatures. While we don't often see bioluminescence on land, in exists in large numbers within the depths of the ocean. For example, many scuba divers know that waving their limbs about in the water during a dark night dive will cause scores of tiny plankton to light up all around them, as if by magic! However, there is a very valid scientific explanation behind these pretty sights. All of these creatures biologically produce an enzyme called luciferase as well as a pigment called luciferin. When the pigment combines with oxygen, it produces light, while the enzyme accelerates this chemical reaction. Read on to discover more about the fascinating world of underwater bioluminescence!
Krill
Krill are very tiny creatures that resemble shrimp. They have a hard outer shell that is mostly transparent. Krill are so small that they are typically at the bottom of the ocean's food chain. There is some debate as to whether krill produce luciferin themselves, but some studies have shown that they merely ingest it while feeding. While scientists have not agreed on a firm answer as to the purpose of the krill's bioluminescence, some guess that it might be to attract a mate or to help camouflage in brightly lit areas.
Bioluminescent Squid
Although there are several different types of squid, many of them share bioluminescence as a common trait. Often, they have photophores on their bodies, which are cells that produce light. These photophores help the squid to startle any potential predators by emitting bright flashes of light. Other types of luminescence employed by squid are bioluminescent secretions (think of a glow-in-the-dark version of octopus ink) and glowing bacteria that cling to the squid's body.
Bermuda Fireworms
Bermuda fireworms (also known as Bermuda glow worms) are tiny creatures that live in the ocean. However, following a full moon, the female fireworms head to the surface and use their bioluminescent abilities to attract the males. The males themselves also produce brief flashes of light as they swim to mate with the females. Many observers have compared this sight to a swarm of fireflies in the water. It is such a remarkable spectacle that today many cruises are organized in Bermuda simply to allow tourists and visitors a chance to view the fireworms in the water.
Anglerfish
While most people might associate anglerfish with the terrifying deep sea creature with a sort of lantern attached to its head as made famous in the movie, Finding Nemo, the description is actually not that far off from reality. Anglerfish do have sharp, spiky teeth and a series of spines on the outside of their bodies. In addition, they have a long and very prominent spike that protrudes from the top of their heads. At the end of this spike is a piece of flesh inhabited by large amounts of bioluminescent bacteria. Smaller fish are attracted by this strange glow in an otherwise pitch dark environment, and as they come closer to investigate, the anglerfish quickly snaps them up as food.
Clusterwink Snail
At first glance, clusterwink snails might seem a bit of a conundrum. The snail's body is bioluminescent and despite the shell being completely opaque, it still glows in the dark! The answer behind this strange marine party trick is simply that the shell is used to reflect the internal light. When viewed in daylight, the shell appears thick and yellow, while at night it turns a neon green. The reason behind this is simply to scare off possible predators.
Atolla
Atolla are another type of jellyfish that usually exist in very deep waters. They have a round, dome shape with several tentacles at the edges. During its feeding, the atolla consumes large amounts of zooplankton (small marine creatures) which are bioluminescent. When the atolla is threatened or attacked, it can trigger an internal bioluminescent display. Since its coloration typically ranges from red to purple to black, it displays these colors when the internal light is filtered through the pigmentation.
Tomopteris
Tomopteris is a type of small marine worm. It is comprised of many horizontal segments, with the body ending in a tail. Light is emitted through the claw-like appendages that are found at the end of each segment on its body. Unlike most other bioluminescent marine creatures that normally emit light in hues of green and blue, the tomopteris emits light that is yellow.
Vampire Squid
Vampire squid certainly sound quite dramatic and their official name, Vampyroteuthis Infernalis, is even more sinister when translated: "Vampire Squid from Hell." What did this creature do to deserve such a name? A large part of its unfortunate moniker is derived from the squid's physical appearance. Its coloration ranges from red to a deep black and the body is covered with a layer of skin (black on the inner side) that resembles a cloak. The spiked wing-like fins and red eyes only add to its alarming appearance. More importantly, the entire body is coated in the light cells called photophores. Vampire squids are able to control the strength and duration of light that they emit to a very fine degree.
Colonial Jelly
Another name for the colonial jelly is colonial siphonophores. They are a type of invertebrates that live within the ocean. Since the siphonophores often cluster together, they are sometimes mistaken for jellyfish. The Portugese Man 'o War is one of the very well known examples of a colonial jelly. As with other siphonophores, the Portuguese Man 'o War is actually several creatures who cling together and thus travel together. It is thought that most colonial jellies employ bioluminescence as a method of detecting and attracting prey.

Another oceanic phenomenon which is sometimes confused with bioluminescence is red tides. Red tides are in fact not caused by fish at all, but instead they are simply due to an overgrowth of red-colored algae. They have often been found in the Gulf of Mexico as well as other areas on the U.S. and Canadian coastlines. Red tides, also known as algal blooms, are actually quite dangerous because they release a large amount of toxins in the water that are fatal to fish and aquatic plants alike. Eating fish from a red tide area can also cause illness in humans and animals.

There are many more types of bioluminescence that can be found when exploring life underwater. Very often, these strange creatures evolve in this manner in order to adapt to the demanding conditions that exist at such extreme depths. When exploring or examining marine life, do so with caution and respect for nature.

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Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!

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Home > Research > Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids! Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids! We can derive a basic understanding of the word "bioluminescence" by breaking it down into two parts. "Bio" refers to a living thing while "luminescence" is an emission of light.

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bioluminescent are found throughout marine  habitats, from the ocean surface to the deep sea floor.

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national oceanic and atmospheric administration

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Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism

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The water glows blue when there is bioluminescence

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I got to play with bioluminescence this weekend! Some friends invited me out on a short kayak trip and we able to experience the magical glowing water firsthand! But, of course, it wasn't magic... it was science!

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. The name comes from the Greek word bios for "living" and the Latin word lumen for "light." So, put it together and you have "living lights"! Animals most often use bioluminescence to communicate with each other, to find mates, to catch prey or to defend themselves. You may be most familiar with bioluminescence from fireflies - though other organisms can produce it, including squid, deep-sea fish, some bacteria and even mushrooms! However, dinoflagellates (single-celled protists) are the most common source of bioluminescence.

I've heard about this phenomenon in Puerto Rico. On the southern shore of the island of Isla de Vieques, there is a bay called Puerto Mosquito (Mosquito Bay). Apparently, this bioluminescent bay has been officially declared the brightest recorded in the world by Guinness Book of World Records 2008. Check out this video - the part about the glowing water is 1:38 - 2:12, though the rest of the video has some INCREDIBLE footage of a cuttlefish. (This particular dinoflagellate is Pyrodinium bahamense.)

This particular dinoflagellate is
There is also some incredible footage of luminescent algae (dinoflagellate) blooms in Southern California, where the waves appear to glow! ( Lingulodinium polyedrum)

I have also had the opportunity to see some bioluminescent organisms at the Marin Headlands -

But little did I know this also occurred right here in northern California in Tomales Bay! According to the Blue Waters Kayaking site, "bluish flickers are visible in the water column, which come from blooms of bioluminescent "dinoflagellates". These tiny creatures emit short flashes of light when disturbed, and at certain times of the year put on quite a show for kayakers. Schools of fish in the bay create a phosphorescent trail which can look like a glowing cloud in the water. Seals chasing the fish may create a phosphorescent event which can be very exciting to watch. ... All this glowing activity is only visible at night when the sun and moon are both down. In 2012, this will be the case on the days July 21, July 28, August 11, August 18, August 25, September 8, September 15, September 22, October 6, October 13, October 20 from sunset until the moon rises." (You should go!)

In the daylight, we saw pelicans, sea jellies, seals, and even a bat ray! By 9:30 pm, the light show had begun. Along the edges, where the water met the sand, you could see little glowing spots. Once we pushed off in the kayaks, we could see an eerie glow emanating from the bow of each boats as it moved through the water. Paddling created swirling, glowing eddies. Fish, as stated above, made themselves known by the glowing streaks they left in the wave of their movements. And, perhaps most fun of all, dangling your fingers over the edge of the boat created all sorts of glowing patterns... splashing made a liquid fireworks display!

According to the Vieques site, the best time to observe the bioluminesence aligns with particular phases of the moon, between full and new moon, to be exact. Other sites are more vague, for example, "bioluminescence is only present for a couple of months a year when the variables all align: water temperature, air temperature, winds, currents, and tides."

However, the moon phase connection makes sense. You want it to be very dark with little to no moonlight. Yesterday, on August 11, the Moon rose at 12:57 am and set at 3:47 pm, leaving our ideal viewing time (around 9 - 10 pm) without any moonlight. The Moon's phase was waning crescent, partway between a 3rd quarter (moon rise at midnight, moonset at noon) and new moon (moonrise at sunrise, moonset at sunset).

My roommate and I also discussed the fact that it may have to do with the wind. She says it is much foggier lately because of the cold upwelling (read more if you are interested). This same upwelling brings nutrients to the surface, providing good conditions for dinoflagellate population growth. And according to this sobering article about the effect of climate change on coastal ecosystems, the most intensive upwelling occurs in Tomales Bay during the summer, "in response to strong, often persistent northwesterly winds." This also aligns with the dates the bioluminescence is best viewed.

Dinoflagellates are single celled protists; with some animal characteristics like locomotion and some plant characteristics such as photosynthesis. According to Wikipedia, more than 18 genera of dinoflagellates are bioluminescent and the phylum containing dinoflagellates is termed Pyrrophyta, meaning "fireplant"! (The following list of facts comes directly from the Dinoflagellates and Red Tides page from the Latz Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography - if you want to learn more, those pages contain a wealth of information!)

Dinoflagellates are planktonic - 90% of all dinoflagellates are marine plankton.

Dinoflagellates are small. - many of them are microscopic and range from 15 to 40 microns in size, the largest, Noctiluca, may be as large as 2 mm in diameter!

Dinoflagellates are motile - dinoflagellates swim by means of two flagella... as a result of the action of the two flagella the cell spirals as it moves.

Some dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, some are heterotrophic

Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, manufacturing their own food using the energy from sunlight, and providing a food source for other organisms. The photosynthetic dinoflagellates are important primary producers in coastal waters.

Some photosynthetic dinoflagellates are symbiotic, living in the cells of their hosts, such as corals. Called zooxanthellae, they are found in many marine invertebrates, including sponges, corals, jellyfish, and flatworms, as well as within protists, such as ciliates, foraminiferans, and colonial radiolarians.

Approximately half of all species are heterotrophic, eating other plankton, and sometimes each other, by snaring or stinging their prey. Non-photosynthetic species of dinoflagellates feed on diatoms or other protists (including other dinoflagellates); Noctiluca is large enough to eat zooplankton and fish eggs. Some species are parasites on algae, zooplankton, fish or other organisms.

Dinoflagellates usually reproduce asexually - the most form of reproduction is asexual, where daughter cells form by simple mitosis and division of the cell. The daughter cells will be genetically identical to that of the original cell.

Why do they do it?
The most common trigger for dinoflagellates glow is mechanical stimulation, like the disturbance of a boat, paddle, swimmer, fish, or our fingers! Apparently, they can react to chemical stimulation as well - reducing the pH of their environment can cause some dinoflagellates to glow continuously ( source).

The most common theory on why these organisms bioluminescence is that the reaction acts as a type of "burglar alarm" defense mechanism. When the dinoflagellate is disturbed, it is likely it is going to get eaten (most often by a shrimp). So it sends out a brief flash, which may distract the predator, or attract a secondary predator that might eat the predator that is trying to eat the dinoflagellate. Or, perhaps the dinoflagellate will get eaten anyway, but by attracting a secondary predator to eat the first predator, the dinoflagellate is saving the rest of its protist buddies from being eaten.

SHORT STORY: There basically needs to be a chemical mix of a luciferin (a "light-producing substance") and a luciferase (an enzyme that helps the interaction among luciferin, oxygen and water) to produce a new substance that emits light. When a dinoflagellate is disturbed, these substances are mixed in the cell and emit light. (kind of, but not exactly, like how a glo stick works)

LONG VERSION: According to some studies, including this one, here is the general idea of how this reaction goes down: Inside the cells, luciferin is packed in vesicles called scintillons. This luciferin is produced throughout daylight hours. The luciferin is usually bound to a protein called a Luciferin Binding Protein or LBP. At a neutral pH, LBP stabilizes the luciferin from being spontaneously oxidized.

When movement of surrounding water bends the cell membrane, it sends electrical impulses around the vacuole - which holds a bunch of protons (why? I don't know). These electrical impulses open proton channels, and those protons can now move from the vacuole into the cytoplasm (where the scintillons are kept). The cytoplasm becomes acidified, and the process is activated in the scintillons.

When the pH drops to around 6, the luciferin and the LBP dissociate. In the process of being oxidized, luciferin briefly exists in an excited state, after which it decays to the ground state- releasing energy in the form of light. The oxidation of the luciferin by the luciferase results in inactive oxyluciferin. This reaction can happen more than once, but once the luciferin is used up, that dinoflagellate is done for the night, until it can replenish its supplies the next day.

Ready for the NSF image? (It's government work, so it should be in the public domain.)

If you want to read more, or know where I got my information, you can check out this source (although I am not sure as to its reliability), or you can read the HowStuffWorks article on bioluminescence - esp this page, which has the more technical details of the chemical reactions. Or, this Science Daily article is pretty good. And if that's not technical enough, you may want to visit this UCSB biolum page for more information than you'll ever need. :)

Can I get some dinoflagellates and make them glow?

Yep. Last year, some of my students did their science fair project on bioluminescence. So, I bought some dinoflagellates ( Pyrocystis fusiformis) from Sunnyside SeaFarms. They basically do this:

Check out this art installation using bioluminesence (although using bacteria, not protists). (From the NSF site) "This arch was composed with Petri dishes painted with bioluminescent bacteria. The piece--approximately 9 feet high by 5 feet wide--was installed in December 2002 at the O'Malley Library, Manhattan College, Riverdale, N.Y. "Bioglyphs" was an exhibition of living bioluminescent paintings that brought science and art together in the form of a collaborative project involving students from the MSU School of Art, and science and engineering students from MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)." (read more about the project)

That is about as cool as that giant petri dish Contagion billboard!

UPDATE 8.21.13: Yonder Biology started a Kickstarter campaign to create a Dino Pet, a "dinosaur-shaped habitat for a species of bioluminescent marine algae that photosynthesizes during the day and glows at night." Hilarious!

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bioluminescent dinoflagellates (or awesome glowing water!)

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I got to play with bioluminescence this weekend! Some friends invited me out on a short kayak trip and we able to experience the magical glowing water firsthand! But, of course, it wasn't magic... it was science! Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism.

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The origin of the aurora is 93 million  miles.

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Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Aurora borealis

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Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Aurora borealis

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wow!At night  blue bioluminescent bloom lights up that is awsome

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On the beaches of Southern California, a phytoplankton called Lingulodinium polyedrum is responsible for a spate of red tide. Massive algal blooms like this make the water ruddy during the day, but disrupting the microorganisms at night results in bursts of electric blue bioluminescence. Says Scripps Institution of Oceanography Professor Dr. Peter Franks of this phenomenon:

[ Lingulodinium polyedrum is] intensely bioluminescent. When jostled, each organism will give off a flash of blue light created by a chemical reaction within the cell. When billions and billions of cells are jostled - say, by a breaking wave - you get a seriously spectacular flash of light.

As you can see in the above video, the surfers cause neon bursts whenever they begin paddling. This particular dinoflagellate is not toxic, and the electric blue waves should last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

[Via The Scuttlefish and The L.A. Times]

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Watch surfers ride neon blue bioluminescent waves caused by red tide

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On the beaches of Southern California, a phytoplankton called Lingulodinium polyedrum is responsible for a spate of red tide. Massive algal blooms like this make the water ruddy during the day, but disrupting the microorganisms at night results in bursts of electric blue bioluminescence.

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Quiet, can you hear it? It's as if a thousand voices suddenly cried out at once! And they cried out "FAAAKE PIXLZZZ!!!"

That's either clearly Photoshopped, or we've finally discovered the gateway to Oz. The interior of the rainbow is daytime, the exterior is night. You expect us to believe this fantasy bullshit? Well, you should probably start: While it may look like the pseudo-surrealist pap you'd find hanging in some naturopath dentist's office, this is a real photo of a real phenomenon. There are such things as rainbows in the middle of the night. If it looks like the sun's coming up in the middle of that rainbow, it's not -- that's just the long exposure augmenting background light.

But the effect isn't just long-exposure trickery. If the conditions are just right, you can see Moonbows with the naked eye, if you're paying attention to the sky opposite the moon. For once, the explanation is simple: Moonbows work exactly like rainbows and appear whenever bright moonlight refracts just so off of moisture in the air.

And they happen fairly often, it's just that most are duller rainbows, or less sharp eyes only pick up on a faint white shimmering arc, while some lucky bastards can squint and see a rainbow in the dark. So it turns out Dio wasn't a poet, after all: Dude just had some keen peepers.

Is Old Man Winter whittling a shiv? Is Frosty the Snowman rolling up the bodies of all the children that didn't believe in him in giant ice-rugs for later disposal?

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The 7 Most Bizarre Natural Phenomena Caught on Camera

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Quiet, can you hear it? It's as if a thousand voices suddenly cried out at once! And they cried out "FAAAKE PIXLZZZ!!!" That's either clearly Photoshopped, or we've finally discovered the gateway to Oz. The interior of the rainbow is daytime, the exterior is night. You expect us to believe this fantasy bullshit?

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a brincle is formed by rich salty sea water. When salt-rich water leaks out of sea ice, it sinks into the sea and can sometimes create a finger of ice called a brinicle.

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What's cooler than being cool? Brine-cold.

When salt-rich water leaks out of sea ice, it sinks into the sea and can occasionally create an eerie finger of ice called a brinicle. New research explains how these strange fingers of ice form and how the salty water within sea ice could have been a prime environment in which life may have evolved.

The study, published in the American Chemical Society's journal Langmuir, suggests that brinicles form in the same way as hydrothermal vents, except in reverse. Hydrothermal vents are spiny-looking towers on the ocean bottom where boiling, chemical-rich water flows out of the seafloor.

The brinicle-forming process goes like this: When sea ice freezes in the Arctic and Antarctic, the salt and other ions in the water is excluded from the water crystals, said study author Bruno Escribano, a researcher at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics in the Basque Country in northern Spain. This salt-heavy brine accumulates in fractures and compartments within the sea ice.

Inevitably, however, sea ice cracks, and the brine leaks out. The brine itself is colder than the freezing point of seawater, since salt-rich water freezes at lower temperatures (hence the reason people put salt on icy sidewalks in the winter, enabling the ice to remain a liquid when it's below freezing), Escribano told OurAmazingPlanet.

Since the concentration of water in the brine is lower than that in the ocean - and water moves from high to low concentrations, via osmosis - water is attracted to the brine. But the brine is so cold that the water freezes, forming a descending tube of ice, Escribano said.

Hydrothermal vents form by an analogous method: Ion-rich hot water is expelled from the seafloor and then begins to dissolve, forming a porous shell of metal extending upward. Water then rushes in, moving from high to low concentration, rupturing the membrane and causing more metal-rich water to spurt out, extending the tube and repeating the process.

Both are examples of "chemical gardens," a type of chemical process and the name of an experiment common in chemistry sets that operates along the same principles and forms tubes of crystals that make plant-like shapes, Escribano said.

Brine-rich compartments within sea ice have some properties that could have helped life originate, Escribano said. "Inside these compartments inside the ice, you have a high concentration of chemical compounds, and you also have lipids, fats, that coat the inside of the compartment," he said. "These can act as a primitive membrane - one of the conditions necessary for life." They also contain a mixture of acidic and basic components that could provide energy necessary to form more complex molecules, perhaps even DNA, he said.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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What's cooler than being cool? Brine-cold. When salt-rich water leaks out of sea ice, it sinks into the sea and can occasionally create an eerie finger of ice called a brinicle. New research explains how these strange fingers of ice form and how the salty water within sea ice could have been a prime environment in which life may have evolved.

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krill and Plankton make the sparks in Bioluminescent bloom

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Home > Research > Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!

Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!
Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!
We can derive a basic understanding of the word "bioluminescence" by breaking it down into two parts. "Bio" refers to a living thing while "luminescence" is an emission of light. Put together, we get living creatures that create and emit light! It sounds astonishing but perhaps you might have seen an example of this in your own life. For example, fireflies and glowworms are among two of the best known bioluminescent creatures. While we don't often see bioluminescence on land, in exists in large numbers within the depths of the ocean. For example, many scuba divers know that waving their limbs about in the water during a dark night dive will cause scores of tiny plankton to light up all around them, as if by magic! However, there is a very valid scientific explanation behind these pretty sights. All of these creatures biologically produce an enzyme called luciferase as well as a pigment called luciferin. When the pigment combines with oxygen, it produces light, while the enzyme accelerates this chemical reaction. Read on to discover more about the fascinating world of underwater bioluminescence!
Krill
Krill are very tiny creatures that resemble shrimp. They have a hard outer shell that is mostly transparent. Krill are so small that they are typically at the bottom of the ocean's food chain. There is some debate as to whether krill produce luciferin themselves, but some studies have shown that they merely ingest it while feeding. While scientists have not agreed on a firm answer as to the purpose of the krill's bioluminescence, some guess that it might be to attract a mate or to help camouflage in brightly lit areas.
Bioluminescent Squid
Although there are several different types of squid, many of them share bioluminescence as a common trait. Often, they have photophores on their bodies, which are cells that produce light. These photophores help the squid to startle any potential predators by emitting bright flashes of light. Other types of luminescence employed by squid are bioluminescent secretions (think of a glow-in-the-dark version of octopus ink) and glowing bacteria that cling to the squid's body.
Bermuda Fireworms
Bermuda fireworms (also known as Bermuda glow worms) are tiny creatures that live in the ocean. However, following a full moon, the female fireworms head to the surface and use their bioluminescent abilities to attract the males. The males themselves also produce brief flashes of light as they swim to mate with the females. Many observers have compared this sight to a swarm of fireflies in the water. It is such a remarkable spectacle that today many cruises are organized in Bermuda simply to allow tourists and visitors a chance to view the fireworms in the water.
Anglerfish
While most people might associate anglerfish with the terrifying deep sea creature with a sort of lantern attached to its head as made famous in the movie, Finding Nemo, the description is actually not that far off from reality. Anglerfish do have sharp, spiky teeth and a series of spines on the outside of their bodies. In addition, they have a long and very prominent spike that protrudes from the top of their heads. At the end of this spike is a piece of flesh inhabited by large amounts of bioluminescent bacteria. Smaller fish are attracted by this strange glow in an otherwise pitch dark environment, and as they come closer to investigate, the anglerfish quickly snaps them up as food.
Clusterwink Snail
At first glance, clusterwink snails might seem a bit of a conundrum. The snail's body is bioluminescent and despite the shell being completely opaque, it still glows in the dark! The answer behind this strange marine party trick is simply that the shell is used to reflect the internal light. When viewed in daylight, the shell appears thick and yellow, while at night it turns a neon green. The reason behind this is simply to scare off possible predators.
Atolla
Atolla are another type of jellyfish that usually exist in very deep waters. They have a round, dome shape with several tentacles at the edges. During its feeding, the atolla consumes large amounts of zooplankton (small marine creatures) which are bioluminescent. When the atolla is threatened or attacked, it can trigger an internal bioluminescent display. Since its coloration typically ranges from red to purple to black, it displays these colors when the internal light is filtered through the pigmentation.
Tomopteris
Tomopteris is a type of small marine worm. It is comprised of many horizontal segments, with the body ending in a tail. Light is emitted through the claw-like appendages that are found at the end of each segment on its body. Unlike most other bioluminescent marine creatures that normally emit light in hues of green and blue, the tomopteris emits light that is yellow.
Vampire Squid
Vampire squid certainly sound quite dramatic and their official name, Vampyroteuthis Infernalis, is even more sinister when translated: "Vampire Squid from Hell." What did this creature do to deserve such a name? A large part of its unfortunate moniker is derived from the squid's physical appearance. Its coloration ranges from red to a deep black and the body is covered with a layer of skin (black on the inner side) that resembles a cloak. The spiked wing-like fins and red eyes only add to its alarming appearance. More importantly, the entire body is coated in the light cells called photophores. Vampire squids are able to control the strength and duration of light that they emit to a very fine degree.
Colonial Jelly
Another name for the colonial jelly is colonial siphonophores. They are a type of invertebrates that live within the ocean. Since the siphonophores often cluster together, they are sometimes mistaken for jellyfish. The Portugese Man 'o War is one of the very well known examples of a colonial jelly. As with other siphonophores, the Portuguese Man 'o War is actually several creatures who cling together and thus travel together. It is thought that most colonial jellies employ bioluminescence as a method of detecting and attracting prey.

Another oceanic phenomenon which is sometimes confused with bioluminescence is red tides. Red tides are in fact not caused by fish at all, but instead they are simply due to an overgrowth of red-colored algae. They have often been found in the Gulf of Mexico as well as other areas on the U.S. and Canadian coastlines. Red tides, also known as algal blooms, are actually quite dangerous because they release a large amount of toxins in the water that are fatal to fish and aquatic plants alike. Eating fish from a red tide area can also cause illness in humans and animals.

There are many more types of bioluminescence that can be found when exploring life underwater. Very often, these strange creatures evolve in this manner in order to adapt to the demanding conditions that exist at such extreme depths. When exploring or examining marine life, do so with caution and respect for nature.

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Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids!

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Home > Research > Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids! Bioluminescence in Krill and Other Deep Sea Creatures for Kids! We can derive a basic understanding of the word "bioluminescence" by breaking it down into two parts. "Bio" refers to a living thing while "luminescence" is an emission of light.

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Bioluminescence occurs when certain chemicals are mixed together.

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wow i just found out that a brinicle can last about 5 or 6 hours or even a day before it melts.

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Bioluminescence for five reasons:  camouflage, attraction, repulsion, communication (between bacteria), and illumination.

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On land, it can be seen as the soft yellow-green flash of fireflies.

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Lights Alive! from the San Diego Natural History Museum

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Glow worms use bioluminescence to attract mates.

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Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Bioluminescence

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Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Bioluminescence