A bioluminescent red tide off the coast of La Jolla was caught on tape Thursday morning by scientists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography as dolphins played in the neon blue surf.

UC San Diego photographer Erik Jepsen took the photos Thursday while Rich Walsh, Scripps dive room manager, drove the boat.

Red tides are typically caused by accumulations of the microscopic dinoflagellates Lingulodinium polyedra, a phytoplankton that glows blue when moved by waves, boats – or in this case, dolphins.

“We recently had dinoflagellate blooms along the California coast,” said Clarissa Anderson, a biological oceanographer at Scripps and director of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System. “After looking at the data collected from Scripps Pier, I see a lot of that Lingulodinium polyedra And Tripos furca the last days. Both are producers of the bioluminescent light shows we see.”

According to UCSD, the number of bioluminescent algae is huge, but how long the current red tide will last is anyone's guess. Previous events have lasted several days, a week to a month or longer.

During the day, the phytoplankton are reddish-brown in color, giving its flowers the nickname “red tide.” Local species of bioluminescent creatures do not produce toxins like species in the Mediterranean, and there is no public health warning related to red tide, although some people may be more sensitive.