Locals were stunned by the beautiful display of luminescent waves that crashed to the shores near Koggelbaai and Fish Hoek this past weekend, September 7 to 8, 2019.
Bioluminescence is the unique natural phenomenon where a living organism emits or produces light. A common example of this is seen in fireflies, although this phenomenon occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates alike. The light produced is called a “cold light”, meaning that less than 20% of the light generates heat or thermal radiation.
A type of plankton called bioluminescent dinoflagellates are tiny organisms that cause the surface of the ocean to glow a bright blue at night. Ecosystems where these creatures live are rare and are mostly found in warm lagoons or bays where these unique lifeforms gather.
Locals who were lucky enough to be near Fish Hoek and Koggelbaai over the weekend got a firsthand show of this amazing occurrence as the waves just offshore lit up with a bright blue hue.
Luckily, local photographer Kyle Goetsch managed to capture a series of photographs showcasing the luminescent waves in all their glory.
“Saw other people’s photos of it from Saturday night near fishhoek and kogelbaai so decided to go to see if it was still there last night. Managed to find it in a bay near Kogelbaai beach sitting just on the backline. It was really bright and reminded me of the Avatar movie. I was there from about 8:30pm to 10pm at which point it started to move out to sea with less bioluminescence visible,” says Goetsch.
Locals also managed to snap a few amazing shots and many were left in awe following the grand display.
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Lord knows we need all the illumination we can get ?? #luminouswaves #whatliesbeneath #beautiful
Pictures: Kyle Goetsch (@kyleincpt) and social links: www.facebook.com/kyleincpt www.instagram.com/kyleincpt