bioluminescence in waves and sand

Description and Comments

This was at Rosemary Beach in Northwest Florida along the Gulf of Mexico around 9:30pm. There was no moon and it appeared that the white caps of the waves coming in were glowing. I thought it was starlight but then noticed that the sand sparkled with each step! I live near the beach and have never seen anything like it... each step produced a display of bioluminescent filaments sometimes several feet long. It seemed that movement or pressure created the effect.

Author

Type of organism

Red Tide
bioluminescent algae?

Quantity

100

Latitude

30.28

Longitude

-86.02