‘Heck of a light show’: spectacular bloom of bioluminescence returns to Tasmania’s coastline
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Phenomenon known as ‘sea sparkles’ or ‘red tide’ is caused by masses of noctiluca scintillans, a pink-coloured algae. Masses of glittering algae have returned to Tasmania’s coastline in a spectacular bloom of bioluminescence that experts say is the largest seen in years.
![[New Year’s Eve ‘sea sparkles’ at Montagu Bay Reserve, Tasmania.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a9335ca0367f15edd000cb1312838804b7250413/0_545_3648_2189/master/3648.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The phenomenon, known as “sea sparkles” or “red tide”, was caused by masses of noctiluca scintillans, a pink-coloured algae that experts say was beautiful to look at, but considered bad news for the environment. Dr Lisa-ann Gershwin, a scientist and writer who runs tours of Tasmania’s naturally glowing flora and fauna, said the current algal bloom throughout Storm Bay, south-east of Hobart, was on a “truly epic” scale.
![[Blue luminescence on the shore at night with moored yachts in the background]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/18e33ce0e8ea3e0884035a56a0ac3302c151a021/0_0_3648_2736/master/3648.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The algae was “putting on a heck of a light show”, she said. What looked like a “pink slick” during the day, emitted a “mesmerising sparkle” after dark, turning the arc of each wavelet a luminous blue that stretched as far as the eye could see.
![[‘Sea sparkles’, caused by masses of noctiluca scintillans, on display at Montagu Bay Reserve, Tasmania, 31 December 2024.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7ef93746e5ea549b533e26bd571d3e60548cc487/0_0_3648_2189/master/3648.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. “It is quite an amazing spectacle. It is really an emotional experience, a very spiritual experience, to see something so awe inspiring,” she said. Dr Jen Matthews, a marine biologist from the future reefs research group at the University of Technology Sydney, said the organism’s balloon shape allowed it to float on the surface.
