'Magical' clip of dolphins swimming in bioluminescent water goes viral

A nighttime view of dolphins swimming in blue-tinted bioluminescent waves in Marina del Rey, California, has mesmerized viewers on TikTok.

The mesmerizing scene was captured in a video posted by Josh Gravley (@joshg_photos), 25, who lives in Orange County in Southern California. The clip has been viewed 5.6 million times since it was posted on October 28th.

A caption shared with the post reads: “Dolphins jumping around in bioluminescence near Venice Pier!”

Gravley told Newsweek: “I work normally from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m [job] but take photos as much as I can. My passion in photography is definitely nature and wildlife.”

The footage was taken on October 25 and the dolphins were spotted around 11pm or midnight local time, the poster said. The clip shows dolphins bouncing back and forth in the water in blue-lit pockets created by bioluminescent organisms in the ocean that emit light.

“We knew there might be a chance of seeing them, but it's exponentially harder to find dolphins at night,” Gravley noted, adding, “We had expectations, but they were decidedly low.”

About a week and a half before he shot this video, “there had been an exceptionally bright bioluminescence in the L.A. area,” Gravley said, noting, “This was the second time we've been on a boat in that area that week. The first time we said “I didn’t see any dolphins.”

What is bioluminescence?

Bioluminescence is the ability of an organism to produce and emit light.

“The light emitted by a bioluminescent organism is generated by energy released by (or expelled from) chemical reactions within the organism,” explains the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The natural phenomenon is relatively rare to observe on land, but is quite common in marine waters within the “pelagic zone,” where 80 percent of animals living between depths of 656 feet and 3,280 feet are bioluminescent, according to NOAA.

Bioluminescence is commonly observed in fish, squid, and gelatinous zooplankton such as jellyfish, siphonophores, comb jellyfish, and other animals that are largely composed of water.

While bioluminescence typically appears blue, as “the light that best propagates through water,” its color can also range from almost violet to green-yellow, as well as “very occasionally red,” according to NOAA.

Seeing bioluminescence can feel like a rare experience because bioluminescent organisms are difficult to observe. Bright light can cause some animals to move away, while transparent and camouflaged organisms can be “virtually invisible even in strong light,” and “many types of bioluminescence are not visible under normal visible light,” NOAA says.

Bioluminescence is typically used to warn or evade predators, to attract or track prey, and to communicate between members of the same species. However, the functions of bioluminescence are not known in all animals, NOAA notes, so “much about bioluminescence remains a mystery.”

“Fascinating”

The poster of the viral TikTok clip told Newsweek: “Bioluminescence in Southern California is always a welcome treat.”

Gravley said he has been fortunate to see dolphins in bioluminescence probably about 10 to 12 times so far, including several species from the common dolphin to the bottlenose dolphin. He has also seen them on the east coast of Florida and the west coast of California.

“Moments like these are why I’m proud to be a photographer. There is something very special about capturing such beautiful animals and phenomena,” Gravley concluded in a caption shared with the post.

Viewers on TikTok were blown away by the moment captured in the viral clip.

User @bryceadambrown wrote: “Our planet is truly magical.”

Cheybabyxoxo said: “No one can convince that this is NOT magic.”

“Wow, this video captures the pure magic of nature! Watching the dolphins playfully jump in the fascinating bioluminescence near Venice Pier is a unique experience. Hats off to the talented photographer who beautifully captured this extraordinary moment,” said @qkn55qvtl0.

“This is absolutely incredible,” Zoya remarked.