It is nearly August, and it is, perhaps, time for heavy rain and blooms along the beaches in Chennai.
Adequate nutrients brought by substantial rain and a high abundance of the plankton, called diatom Thalassiosira sp. triggered the (bioluminescent) bloom of Noctiluca scintillans, says a study done by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR).
The plankton is available in the ocean and due to nutrition available, it will multiply and becomes the bloom. Low wind speed, lowering of atmospheric temperature, high rain and low sea surface temperature are cited as probable environmental cues, the report said.
