![]() At the very least, it’s wise to first experience a few night dives with the usual bright torch lights (both for safety and the protection of fragile species). The only fluorescent diving requirement is the standard PADI open-water certification, but the organization’s night-dive specialty course promises added safety in these dark conditions. Unlike bioluminescence, which is most common in summer, travelers can see biofluorescence year-round. He says anywhere with “tropical seas and healthy coral” is ideal. See this secret worldįluorescent diving may feel like an exotic expedition, but it’s increasingly available in dive centers around the globe, according to Eric Albinsson of the global dive authority Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). Humans, however, need special equipment like yellow mask filters and blue dive lights to see these creatures glow in kaleidoscopic colors underwater. Many marine animals closer to the sea floor have evolved to have yellow eye filters that help them detect biofluorescence in other fish. After 100 feet, it’s virtually all blue and green until you hit the light-free midnight zone, roughly 3,000 feet below the surface. As the ocean gets deeper, certain wavelengths of color in the visible light spectrum are filtered out. ![]() While humans can see light in shades of red, green, and blue, our vision falters underwater. The ocean adds a layer of complexity to the phenomenon. ( See amazing ocean creatures that glow.) This is different from bioluminescence, where animals such as jellyfish or fireflies generate their own light through a chemical reaction. With biofluorescence, blue wavelengths of light hit the surface of an animal and are then emitted as a different color, usually vivid greens, oranges, and reds. But with blue light and a yellow filter attached to a camera to catch fluorescence, it turns a stunning red. Under white light, this triplefin blenny appears orange. Just as animals hear the world differently-consider bats, which communicate largely via frequencies beyond our hearing range-they see the world differently, too. The logistics of a night dive are pretty simple: “You put on a yellow mask then turn on your blue light, and suddenly, especially on a coral reef, it’ll just totally light up,” says Gruber. “These animals are sharing a secret with us,” he says, and that it’s our responsibility to use this knowledge to protect them. He notes that this glimpse behind the curtain, while fantastical in color, is not just for our novelty. ![]() “People who think they’ve seen the ocean and know it well, suddenly they’re just blown away,” he says. His research has also shown that certain sharks and even reptiles, including sea turtles, display glow-in-the-dark powers-a revolutionary finding that was named one of National Geographic’s top 20 discoveries of the 2010s.Īccording to Gruber, fluorescent dives and snorkeling trips make even the most familiar reefs and dive spots look brand new. He worked on a 2014 study proving biofluorescence is widespread among more than 200 fish. He has helmed several breakthroughs on the subject, including a 2019 study that found how animals create these glowing effects with molecules that were previously unknown to science. Scientists have tuned into the phenomenon within the past 10 years, says marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer David Gruber. And we’re only just beginning to understand topics such as ocean biofluorescence. More than 80 percent of the ocean has never been explored, and according to NASA, we know more about the moon’s surface than we do our own sea floor. Like many marine phenomena, biofluorescence might as well be something from a different planet. ![]() National Geographic Explorer David Gruber discovers a biofluorescent sea turtle near the Solomon Islands in 2015. ![]()
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