Description

On hot summer days you might see in coastal waters a phenomenon that looks as though massive amount of red paint have been dumped in the water. This popular, but dangerous, event is called red tide. The phrase has litle to do with what happens, though, because red tide is not caused by tides. It is actually caused by little planktons.These little planktons do what we call bioluminescence so they give off light. Also, red tide sometimes is not even red, but comes in the color brown. Red tides only last for no more than a few months, but its devasting affect on the marine life can last for years.

Red tide not only come in red, but also in brown.

Picture taken from http://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/rtphotos/rtphotos.html

red tide kills local marine animals.

photo taken from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/recreat/redtide.htm