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"Cold night
Magic night
Glowing water"
6 word memoir by Oscar
Sometimes things that wouldn't cause a raised eyebrow in the normal run of events... recent rains causing nutrient-rich runoff into the Derwent, a brisk northerly breeze, a bay which forms a natural catchment and an unwanted world-traveller known as Noctiluca Scintillans... can see an event occur which makes mainlanders hop on planes, the South Arm Neck become a carpark and photos of the resultant "Sea Sparkles" loop around the world via social media.
This happened in May 2015 when Mortimer Bay lit up with bioluminescence caused by its trillions of tiny visitors.
Noctiluca Scintillans are microscopic single-celled algae. Occasionally you can see a single glowing individual riding the crest of a wave as it rushes to the shore - the light occurs due to a chemical reaction caused by the disturbance of the algae by movement. En masse, such as that night in May, the waterline throbs with light and any disturbance; sand thrown in the waves, the water stirred with a hand, causes an electric blue light display which will remain in the minds of South Arm residents for years to come.
Photo courtesy of Jo Malcomson of Blackpaw Photography