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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Tess McClure in Auckland

‘Aurora of the sea’: luminous plankton light up New Zealand shores

New Zealand Siouxsie Wiles
Bioluminescence in the waves at Westshore, Napier, New Zealand.
Bioluminescence plankton light up the waves in Napier, New Zealand. The phenomenon is also known as the ‘aurora of the sea’. Photograph: Sajith Muraleedharan

On the shorelines of New Zealand’s north island, shores have been lit up by the glowing “aurora of the sea”: blooms of plankton that glow blue-green after nightfall.

The elusive, beautiful phenomenon that sometimes sweeps into the coasts was witnessed by local “biohunter” enthusiasts who scour the shorelines for bioluminescence.

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