{"id":7438,"date":"2021-08-29T13:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1365329"},"modified":"2021-08-29T13:00:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-29T13:00:34","slug":"new-satellite-tech-could-reveal-the-cause-of-the-rare-milky-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=7438","title":{"rendered":"New satellite tech could reveal the cause of the rare milky seas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe whole appearance of the ocean was like a plain covered with snow<\/a>. There was scarce a cloud in the heavens, yet the sky \u2026 appeared as black as if a storm was raging. The scene was one of awful grandeur, the sea having turned to phosphorus, and the heavens being hung in blackness, and the stars going out, seemed to indicate that all nature was preparing for that last grand conflagration which we are taught to believe is to annihilate this material world.\u201d
\u2013 Captain Kingman of the American clipper ship Shooting Star, offshore of Java, Indonesia, 1854<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For centuries, sailors have been reporting strange encounters like the one above. These events are called milky seas. They are a rare nocturnal phenomenon in which the ocean\u2019s surface emits a steady bright glow. They can cover thousands of square miles and, thanks to the colorful accounts of 19th-century mariners like Capt. Kingman, milky seas are a well-known part of maritime folklore. But because of their remote and elusive nature, they are extremely difficult to study and so remain more a part of that folklore than of science.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a professor of atmospheric science<\/a> specializing insatellites used to study Earth<\/a>. Via a state-of-the-art generation of satellites, my colleagues and I have developed a new way to detect milky seas<\/a>. Using this technique, we aim to learn about these luminous waters remotely and guide research vessels to them so that we can begin to reconcile the surreal tales with scientific understanding.<\/p>\n

Sailors\u2019 tales<\/h2>\n

To date, only one research vessel <\/span>has ever encountered a milky sea<\/a>. <\/span>That crew collected samples and found a strain of luminous bacteria called Vibrio harveyi<\/em> colonizing algae at the water\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

Unlike bioluminescence that happens close to shore, where small organisms called dinoflagellates flash brilliantly when disturbed, luminous bacteria work in an entirely different way. Once their population gets large enough \u2013 about 100 million individual cells per milliliter of water \u2013 a sort of internal biological switch is flipped<\/a> and they all start glowing steadily.<\/p>\n

Luminous bacteria cause the particles they colonize to glow. Researchers think the purpose of this glow could be to attract fish that eat them<\/a>. These bacteria thrive in the guts of fishes, so when their populations get too big for their main food supply, a fish\u2019s stomach makes a great second option. In fact, if you go into a refrigerated fish locker and turn off the light, you may notice that some fish emit a greenish-blue glow<\/a> \u2013 this is bacterial light<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now imagine if a gargantuan number of bacteria, spread across a huge area of open ocean, all started glowing simultaneously. That makes a milky sea.<\/p>\n

While biologists know a lot about these bacteria, what causes these massive displays remains a mystery. If bacteria growing on algae were the main cause of milky seas, they\u2019d be happening all over the place, all the time. Yet, per surface reports, only about two or three milky seas occur per year<\/a> worldwide, mostly in the waters of the northwest Indian Ocean and off the coast of Indonesia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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