p: Here's a short article I wrote for my family newsletter. I ran across this information while surfing the web for ocean mysteries, it's hard to believe that this is real, but it is! I could see Clive putting this phenomena into a Dirk Pitt story, you can almost imagine Dirk and Al swimming through it.






For thousands of years, sailors in the Indian Ocean have told stories of eerie glowing patches of water that stretched for as far as the eye could see. They’ve told of the glow being so bright that they could read books in the middle of the night.

Such “Milky Waters” have even been incorporated in novels such as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, and even though there has been 235 documented reports since 1915, marine biologists had ignored the myth. That all changed in 2005 when scientists discovery a glowing patch of water on a photo image from a satellite. The glowing waters off of the coast of Somalia were found to be roughly the size of Connecticut State and lasted for three days.

The steady glow was different than the sparkling caused by dinoflagellates,
which are microorganisms that light up momentarily when attacked as a defense against predators. Several marine biologists and other scientists think that glowing bacteria is the cause of the unusual find. But others are not so sure.

"The circumstances under which milky seas form is almost entirely unknown,"
says Steven Miller, a Naval Research Laboratory scientist who led the space-based discovery. "Even the source for the light emission is under debate."

Bioluminescent animals and plants occur naturally throughout the world, but this rare find was a first to be seen from space.

While the cause of the glowing waters continues to be a mystery, one thing is for sure. Like the giant squid, this myth is one more sailor’s tale proven true.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006-07-07/

That's so cool. I wonder if Dirk and Al would glow after swimming throught it. :lol:

Wow. PPPPPrrrreeeetttttyyyy.

I looked into this a while back. Fascintating!


Quinn Ireland, 11, watches waves glowing bright enough to be reflected in the thin layer of water just in front him at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas on Tuesday night. The blue glow is caused by the red tide.

more

What a great picture... that would make a cool book cover. The glowing wave in the background with Dirk and Al storming the beach Navy SEAL style. I also found a site on a bay in Puerto Rico, there's a company that gives tours and lets you swim in the bioluminescent water. cop:

[img=http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3331/glowingwaveeq8.th.jpg]

Thanks for all the info, and welcome to the forum, Owen!

Indeed, welcome Owen.

Did someone say red tide? Hmm, better dust off the Calliope...

beer:

Thanks for the warm welcome.

But I must confess, my name is really Chris. Owen Ruger is the name of the main character in a novel that I’m working on. I’m glad that I found this forum; I’ve become quite the Cussler fan since last December. Learning about Dirk Pitt has been like putting everything I find interesting into a blender and making it one; I haven’t been this interested in a character since I was a kid watching 007 movies.

Chris
cop:

Trust me Chris you will fit right in here.