What is Sea foam? here is an explanation

Having written the entry recently about super sea foam at Praa Sands a member of the fishing-blog forum sent me a very interesting mail containing an article called “The mystery of the foam on the sea shore” written by Wim van Egmond of The Netherlands.

It might not explain exactly what was happening on Praa sands but there is a good possibility it was a similar event or linked in some way.

To quote from the article

“For years I have been wondering about the origin of the foam you can often find on the beach during the summer. I already figured out it had nothing to do with soap. It’s supposed to be caused by the decaying remains of microscopic organisms in the sea. As a microscopist, I immediately became curious as to what kind of micro-organisms.”

and more….

“The foam on the sea shore is eventually formed by the wind that sweeps up the decaying remains of the colonies. It’s a relief that the foam is not some sort accumulation of soap from millions of dishwashers and bath tubs. However, there is evidence that pollution does play a role in the story of the foam on the shore. Too many nutrients in the water may cause much larger blooms than would normally exist. This way, extremely tiny creatures can have a great effect, even to the environment. It is already thought that these blooms of algae form a role in global warming.”

To read the full article please visit this link Phaeocystis and it well worth visiting Wim’s site - Stereo photo Micrography for some great images.

Related Posts B

1. Praa sands super sea foam
2. Beach casting and plugging Praa sands