Mysterious 400-year-old 'sea of milk', strange light swallows the ocean, scientific barrier

The phenomenon of the "milky sea" that has lasted for the past four centuries remains a mystery to scientists. The white light covering the ocean, not following any rules, has confused researchers around the world and urged them to find the final answer.

Since the 17th century, many sailors have recorded a strange phenomenon called "milky sea" - when the sea surface glows evenly, spreading from horizon to horizon, with a pale green light that seems to glow in the dark.

A new study published in the journal Earth and Space Science has compiled for the first time more than 400 reports of this phenomenon to build a database for future forecasting and research. The study’s lead author, Justin Hudson, a graduate student at Colorado State University (USA), hopes that this database will help scientists access the actual scene for the first time to conduct direct surveys.

“We don’t know exactly why this happens, but the leading hypothesis is that it’s due to dense concentrations of bioluminescent bacteria called Vibrio harveyi,” said co-author Steven Miller, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Colorado State University. These bacteria can glow steadily for hours or even months, covering areas as large as 100,000 square kilometers — large enough to be observed from satellites.

Unlike the usual bioluminescence phenomenon caused by algae that glow when stimulated by waves or movement, the "milky sea" has a steady and continuous light, creating a giant bioluminescent curtain covering the water surface. Some theories suggest that the bacteria glow to attract fish - potential hosts - to live in their intestines.

The phenomenon occurs mainly in the Arabian Sea and Southeast Asia, where deep, nutrient-rich waters often rise to the surface. The study also suggests that the “milky sea” is likely influenced by large-scale climate events such as El Niño or the Indian Ocean Oscillation.

However, the biggest question remains unanswered: Is this phenomenon a sign of a healthy ecosystem or a manifestation of biological imbalance? Scientists are concerned that climate change could alter the frequency or scale of these glows, affecting the ocean food chain.

Dr Edith Widder, a veteran oceanographer, said the new research was a major step towards solving one of the oldest mysteries of the sea.

The mysterious “milky sea” phenomenon has been captured on close-up footage for the first time by the crew of a cruise ship in the eastern Indian Ocean. While the crew of the Ganesha cruise ship was circumnavigating the globe in 2019, they noticed that the water around the ship turned white and looked as if the ship was sitting on snow. The image was published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) in early July 2021.

The crew captured the phenomenon using a GoPro and a Samsung Galaxy S9. The GoPro captured an extremely grainy image, but it showed the scene as a snowfield leading to the horizon. The Galaxy S9 produced better results, with a distinct soft luminescence coming from the water. Unfortunately, a professional photographer was not on board.

The crew described the color of the sea as "like a starlit wall, a very gentle light for the eyes," PNAS reported.

In addition to the two unedited images from the camera, an image edited to depict the phenomenon as closely as possible to the human eye has also been released. Captain Lemmens believes the light originated at a depth of -10 meters below the sea surface.

A team of researchers at Colorado State University led by professor Stephen Miller released satellite images of the milky sea phenomenon at the time of the Ganesha's passage. The milky sea only appears twice a year, and sometimes it doesn't appear at all. Until now, the rare event has only been described by word of mouth from seafarers, according to Miller.

According to satellite data, the Ganesha cruise ship was sailing near Indonesia at the time, and is believed to have passed through a milky sea that stretched over 100,000 square kilometers.

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