Watch ‘glowing’ dolphins light up the ocean waters in stunning California video

Glowing dolphins lit up the waters off Newport Beach in a stunning video shared to social media but how are they glowing?

Newport Coastal Adventure, a whale watching company in California, shared the video to its social media accounts Thursday night, and people were stunned and amazed that the swimming dolphins appeared to be glowing.

“Electrical dolphins!!” the group said on Instagram. “Last night Capt. Ryan took the Zodiac out in the amazing bioluminescence condition we’ve been having in Newport. With the talents of Patrick Coyne, we captured this incredible display as dolphins swam through the dinoflagellate plankton, producing one of the most amazing light shows in nature!”

Bioluminescence is the ability of organisms to create and emit light when chemical reactions happen, according to NOAA. Marine animals can use it to communicate, lure in their next meal or emit light to ward off predators, according to the Smithsonian Institute.

It’s fairly common in animals that live in the open ocean, according to NOAA. About 90% of animals living in waters below 1,640 feet can use bioluminescence.

“Humans primarily see bioluminescence triggered by a physical disturbance, such as waves or a moving boat hull, that gets the animal to show their light off, but often animals light up in response to an attack or in order to attract a mate,” the Smithsonian Institute reported on its website. “Bioluminescent organisms live throughout the water column, from the surface to the seafloor, from near the coast to the open ocean.”

Animals can control when they light up by regulating their chemistry and brain process, Smithsonian said. They can also choose the intensity and color of the lights.

Newport Coastal Adventure said the glowing dolphins swam through dinoflagellate plankton, which are single-celled organisms that float on or near the ocean’s surface, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The single-celled organisms are found in oceans across the world, and can make amazing light shows from bioluminescence at night, the Scripps Institution said. Waves of concentrations of the dinoflagellate can be hard to predict, and typically don’t last very long.

Newport Coastal Adventure, however, said the recent bloom is one of the best they’ve seen.

“This recent bloom is more intense than we’ve seen in at least 5 years!” the group said on Facebook. “No telling how long it may last.”

This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Watch ‘glowing’ dolphins light up the ocean waters in stunning California video."