In some parts of the ocean, the water suddenly begins to glow at night. So far, the phenomenon is largely unexplained. This could change now.
Parts of the ocean that suddenly glow milky at night. At first it sounds like a scene from a fantasy film – but it really does exist: “Sea of Milk” is the name given to the phenomenon in which the sea lights up at night. A researcher is now hoping to finally make progress with new methods to find an explanation for the mysterious sea glow.
Mysterious seaglow may finally be uncovered
As the researcher Dr. Steven Miller in a recent article in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Explained, “seas of milk” mean specifically “huge plumes of evenly and steadily luminous oceans visible at night.” Although it is assumed that this is basically caused by glowing bacteria, the exact details are still largely unclear – for example how they are composed or what effects they can have in nature.
Real progress in research could now be achieved. Because, as Miller writes in his report, between July and August 2019, special satellite sensors were able to locate a possible bioluminescent sea of milk south of Java near Indonesia that stretched over more than 100,000 km2. This find could then be confirmed without a doubt by eyewitnesses on site: crew members of a yacht reported and said that they had seen the mysterious glow with their own eyes. “One has the impression of sailing on snow,” the eyewitnesses are quoted as saying in the report. In doing so, they provided evidence that the researchers’ satellite sensors had actually found such an area.
An example photo of bioluminescence:
Researchers launch expedition to said “Sea of Milk”
There have been reports of sightings for centuries. But: “Milky seas have eluded scientific investigation because they are remote, fleeting and rare,” it continues. The crew reported that the entire ocean suddenly shone brighter than the night sky. Looking more closely at some seawater in a bucket, they saw several dots of even glow that darkened with movement.
The sea surface found by the sensors now enables the researchers to take possible samples and further investigations that could bring more clarity to the phenomenon. “With renewed confidence in our space-based lookouts, a targeted expedition to a sea of milk is becoming a possibility.”
With a new telescope, NASA enables incredible insights into the universe. This marks a major milestone in science. (na)
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