"How could there be bioluminescent plankton in the dead of winter?"
Feng Ye shook his head, thinking he was seeing things.
Just then, a splash of blue appeared on the sea surface, rolling in with the waves.
This time, it lasted a little longer.
"Holy crap, it really is blue tears."
Feng Ye was surprised, then turned and called out towards the kitchen, "Ah Ling, Ah Ling..."
"What are you shouting for, trying to call back your soul?"
"Quickly, come out and take a look."
Ye Qingling was wiping her son's hands when she suddenly said irritably, "It's already dark, what's there to see..."
"No, come out quickly! There are good things in the sea that you've never seen before."
Hearing him say that, Ye Qingling couldn't help but feel curious. She quickly dried her son's hands, picked him up, and walked out.
"Where can I find it..."
The sound stopped abruptly.
She had only said a few words when she saw a blue light flickering in the waves, like a ghostly fire.
I was immediately captivated by the scene before me.
Her eyes widened instantly, and for a moment she forgot to speak.
She only came to her senses when the blue light and shadow disappeared.
"It's blue, what's going on? Why is the seawater emitting blue light?"
"This is called blue tears, a type of red tide."
"Ah, a red tide?"
"Yes, because it's blue, like a dream, it's called Blue Tears."
Actually, there is no such thing as "blue tears" yet.
People don't consider it a red tide because fishing at sea is not affected.
Because it emits a blue light, much like the legendary will-o'-the-wisp, it is called "sea fire," "sea ghost," or "sea will-o'-the-wisp."
The culprit behind blue tears is Noctiluca scintillans or sea fireflies, which cause bioluminescence.
Noctiluca scintillans and seaweed do not glow when floating in calm seawater, but they emit a faint blue light when subjected to strong external disturbances.
However, most blue tears are caused by Noctiluca scintillans.
High-density Noctiluca scintillans locally gathers with the wind and waves. When disturbed at night, the large amount of luciferin stored in the algae reacts rapidly under the oxidation of luciferase, converting most of the energy into blue fluorescence.
This creates the "blue tears" phenomenon.
Noctiluca scintillans itself is non-toxic and does not contain red tide toxins.
Not all red tide algae contain red tide toxins!
However, when Noctiluca scintillans proliferates in large quantities, the large amount of Noctiluca scintillans attaches to the gills of fish, which will obstruct the fish's breathing and cause the fish to suffocate and die.
In addition, the decomposition of Noctiluca scintillans after it dies produces cadaverine and hydrogen sulfide, which can pollute seawater.
The rampant reproduction of Noctiluca scintillans also consumes huge amounts of oxygen, causing marine life to die from lack of oxygen.
However, the appearance of "blue tears" does not mean that a red tide has occurred.
The beauty of bioluminescent plankton lies not only in its captivating blue color, but also in the exceptionally clear waters in which it occurs.
"Blue tears" do not only occur when water is polluted.
"Blue Tears" is only considered a red tide when the concentration of red tide algae in the seawater reaches a certain threshold.
Generally, the peak season for "blue tears" is from late spring to early summer, specifically from April to August each year.
At this time, the marine climate is suitable, and there is a large amount of diatom reproduction, which is conducive to the reproduction of Noctiluca scintillans, which loves to prey on diatoms.
Although it's already the end of January in the Gregorian calendar, spring has not yet arrived, so it's very strange for blue tears to appear in the middle of winter.
It's important to know that the explosive proliferation of Noctiluca scintillans began in early March, a full month later.
I had heard in my past life that blue tears appeared in Xiamen in mid-February.
"It's quite pretty, but aren't all red tides red? I've never even heard of a blue one before?"
"Red tides can come in many colors, including red, yellow, green, and brown, depending on the organism that causes them."
"I see. So, will a lot of dead fish and shrimp be washed ashore by the waves tomorrow?"
"No, although blue tears are a type of red tide, they are not poisonous and will not cause fish and shrimp to die."
For blue tears to cause a large-scale death of fish and shrimp, the area covered by the blue tears would have to be extremely large, covering as far as the eye could see, or even larger.
This little bit is simply not enough.
While they were talking, the blue tears phenomenon continued to appear as the waves surged.
Meanwhile, the Feng family next door also heard their conversation and went outside.
Immediately, gasps of amazement rose and fell.
"Ah, this is... a will-o'-the-wisp?"
"Why are will-o'-the-wisps appearing at this time? Don't they usually only appear after Qingming Festival?"
Blue tears can be seen occasionally in the waters near Baishi Island, and most older people have seen them.
No one could answer that question; even Feng Ye himself was confused.
Feng Yanmei and Feng Xidong were overjoyed, jumping and skipping around, which made Feng Xinan struggle to get down and join her older siblings in the fun.
Blue tears are just a novelty; after a while, they become nothing special.
After watching for a while, the adults reminded them not to go to the beach, and then went inside to prepare dinner.
The three younger children, however, seemed unable to get enough of the sight and kept shouting and yelling outside the door.
Even while eating dinner, I was still thinking about it, eating my food at the doorway, but my eyes never left that mysterious blue.
It was time for bed, but none of the three children wanted to go inside.
Their excitement lasted even longer than the bioluminescent plankton phenomenon at sea.
Feng Xinan was coaxed by Feng Ye and threatened by Ye Qingling with a whip before she was finally coaxed into the house.
Feng Xidong and Feng Yanmei didn't receive such good treatment. After being called several times without response, Du Guilan started hitting them and chased the two siblings inside.
...
The next day, news of will-o'-the-wisps appearing on the beach spread throughout the village.
Although Feng Ye and Feng Xuan's families lived the closest to each other, they weren't the only ones to have seen the blue tears.
Many people live on higher ground and can see the sea.
There were also those who were keeping watch in the workshop at night, and they saw them too.
By evening, countless people had gathered on the beach, men and women, young and old.
It's possible that most of the villagers have come.
As darkness fell and night descended, the blue tears reappeared.
Amidst the rolling waves, streaks of blue light adorned the sea surface, making it appear as beautiful as a dream.
People stood on the shore, their eyes glued to this rare natural wonder.
The children just thought it looked beautiful, jumping and shouting excitedly...
The blue tears phenomenon lasted for quite a long time, several days.
Every day, it attracts many people to the seaside to watch.
Especially for families with children, even if the adults don't want to go out, they have no choice but to accompany them.
It was evening, after all, and I didn't feel comfortable letting the children play on the beach alone.
They didn't appear again until the evening of the 29th, when everyone came out to look.
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