Safety stopping in a plankton bloom

Plankton blooming

Here’s Tony at the safety stop in a notable plankton bloom, at the end of a dive at Justin’s Caves. Fortunately the water was clean at the bottom, and even cleaner inshore on the landward side of the rocks!

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtRLRI4TFXI&w=540″]

A strong south easterly wind that brings clear, nutrient rich water from deep offshore, followed by even a few windless hours of sunshine, will turn the surface waters of the sea on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula to pea soup. Here’s a salutary example from a dive we did where the top 20 metres or so were thick, green sludge.

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Clare

Lapsed mathematician, creator of order, formulator of hypotheses. Lover of the ocean, being outdoors, the bush, reading, photography, travelling (especially in Africa) and road trips.