Pink water glows blue at night as sea sparkle arrive at Tottori

Video footage taken April 21 shows the water along a beach in Iwami, Tottori Prefecture, turning luminescent blue at night due to the presence of sea sparkle, a type of plankton, when disturbed by sand, pebbles and water thrown in by visitors. In the daytime, sea sparkle (Noctiluca scintillans) and other planktons give the water a pinkish color. The microorganisms, which breed when the water temperature reaches between 16 and 22 degrees, are observed from mid-April to late May, according to a curator at the San’in Kaigan Geopark Museum of the Earth and Sea. The town of Iwami forms part of the San’in Kaigan UNESCO Global Geopark.