--- title: A Red Tide Made California's Ocean Glow Blue This Week description: A red tide made up of organisms called dinoflagellates made the ocean off the coast of San Diego glow bright blue this week. See photos. canonical: https://time.com/5275303/red-tide-california-photos/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-12T18:09:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:15:38.012Z article:section: Science og:title: A Rare Phenomenon Made The Ocean In California Glow Blue og:description: It's called a red tide og:url: https://time.com/5275303/red-tide-california-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04776e1334e0bf0e/6989303ebc6cfcc5bb3e5ec0/red-tide.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4231 og:image:height: 2380 og:image:alt: Sea coast og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Rare Phenomenon Made The Ocean In California Glow Blue twitter:description: It's called a red tide twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04776e1334e0bf0e/6989303ebc6cfcc5bb3e5ec0/red-tide.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Rare Phenomenon Made the Ocean in California Glow Blue This Week > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. May 12, 2018 6:09 PM UTC  Coast of Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego. Coast of Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego. Alexander S. Kunz—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. May 12, 2018 6:09 PM UTC Beachgoers in California were treated to a rare spectacle this week: glowing tides. The unique sight is called a red tide, but, at least at night, it results in an other-worldly blue light in the water. Numerous people spotted and photographed the light show off the coast of San Diego this week. The phenomenon is caused by high concentrations of tiny aquatic organisms called dinoflagellates, [according to the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography](https://scripps.ucsd.edu/labs/mlatz/bioluminescence/dinoflagellates-and-red-tides/). By day, these organisms turn the water red or brown. But at night, according to the Scripps Institution, the organisms create bioluminescence in waves that break on the shore. > [](https://twitter.com/Scripps%5FOcean/status/993993722713989121) The effect appears to have mostly petered out in California, Scripps says, and there’s no way to predict when or where it will return. They are, however, fairly rare — one was last observed in California in 2013, [the Los Angeles _Times_ reports](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-coast-glow-20180509-story.html). > [](https://twitter.com/Scripps%5FOcean/status/994985452884013058) Couldn’t see the spectacle for yourself? 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