Neon bioluminescent waves fading after making the ocean glow off Southern California coast

The ocean neon light show that has been entertaining crowds at the coast at sundown for nearly a month is starting to dissipate, putting an end to a rare phenomenon that makes waves glow at night.

Areas where thick red tides were persistent during the day – an indicator that the waves would glow at night – are starting to turn back to their natural blue hue. While there are still some spots of the coast showing the red tide, the remaining rusty red areas are moving with currents and are tough to track.

The end marks one of the largest phytoplankton, bioluminescent red tides that have happened in the area in about a decade, with the last of this size and magnitude back in October 2011, and one previously in 1995, according to Michael Latz, a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Both, like this one, lasted about a month. This event spanned from Baja, California up to Los Angeles.

As the red tide wanes and breaks down, it comes with a strong odor and could cause fish to die from low oxygen levels.

As the bioluminescence down around the Scripps Pier in San Diego started to weaken last week, Latz said the intense odor, which smells like sulfur, was detected as far as a mile and a half inland.

“There is also foam, indicating the breakdown of protein and other organic material,” he noted. “There are also reports of fish kills along beaches and in lagoons and harbors.”

Red tides are unpredictable and not all of them produce bioluminescence.

The glowing blue waves had an added allure for people stuck at home and looking for excitement, but with some area beaches shut down by coronavirus concerns and parking limited, it wasn’t always easy to find a place to view the rare sight, especially as word spread.

Coastal residents griped on social media about the influx of people coming to town to see the ocean, so great the Orange County Sheriff’s Department gave out parking tickets in busy areas of San Clemente last week.

“We are having large crowds going to the beach, which is legal, but we are dealing with parking issues,” department spokesperson Carrie Braun said last week. “Parking lots are closed, therefore the residential areas have seen a dramatic increase of activity. We have been issuing parking tickets and are working to balance the needs of the residents with the ability for people to actively recreate at the beach.”

Resident Frank Brennan couldn’t believe the crowds on the sand when he showed up last week to check out the glowing waves. Neighbors have been complaining about the nightly influx of people, he said.

“The word has gotten out and everyone wants to come and see it,” he said.

But Brennan, a boat captain with Dana Wharf Whale Watching, said he has also noticed the red tide starting to fade away, adding the brightness of the waves was also dimmed by the recent full moon.

Surfers also aren’t going to gripe about the red tide going away: the odd-color ocean isn’t the most appealing during the day, not to mention the stink it can leave on wet suits.

If you missed it, there’s plenty of amazing footage and images that captured spectacular moments – everything from glowing dolphins frolicking next to a boat off Newport, surfers riding glowing waves or people watching their footsteps light up the sand.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Watch these dolphins glow in the dark in bioluminescent water off Newport Beach
• Rare bioluminescent, glowing waves show up off Huntington, Sunset and South Bay
• Red tide sticks around O.C.: 7 things to know about glowing bioluminescent waves
• Neon blue waves move to South OC, South Bay, here are tips on how to view, shoot images
• Watch this guy cannonball into glowing, neon blue bioluminescent water in Newport Harbor