For hundreds of years, sailors have told stories of the “milky seas” they encountered during their journeys. Now, two scientists in Florida believe that they may have finally solved the phenomena. Just like fireflies giving off light, the “milky seas” are caused by glowing bacteria. But how many bacteria does it take to light up the sea? Around four billion – trillion. According to bio-luminescence expert Steve Haddock, it’s like covering “the surface of the earth with a four-inch layer of sand and then count all the grains of sand in that layer, that’s the same number as the number of bacteria in the milky sea.” Unfortunately, the milky seas only last a few days, and it usually only occurs in the Indian Ocean, so scientists have not yet been able to get a boat out fast enough to be able to study the occurrence. Long thought to be folklore, the dilemma of the “milky seas” is now a bit more fact than fiction.
What causes this much of one type of bacteria to gather in one area?
Why does this happen more in the Indian Ocean than anywhere else in the world?
1 Response to “Fact or Fiction? “Milky Seas” are under investigation”
It’s not even that it was ever a fiction story; the milky sea is a rather common thing. The British Meteorological Office has established a Bioluminescence Database, which presently contains 235 reports of milky seas seen since 1915. It occurs strong in August and a second little session during January. Yet there is no real explanation to what causes it and what bacteria may be present, plus its not really understood why the Indian ocean is the only place this occurs and not its neighboring bodies of water. The mass quantities of bacteria needed to create such a glowing affect just amazes me though and makes it kind of unreal to believe.