Under a blood red tide
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:26 pm
Tourists heading for world-famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red.
Bondi was among several popular beaches in and around Sydney, Australia, which had to be closed after a huge algae bloom transformed the sea into something resembling a scene from a Jaws movie.
But despite the warnings a number of intrepid beachgoers were seen venturing into the water and swimming through the red surface, Ten News Sydney reported.
Local lifeguard Bruce Hopkins said: 'It has quite a fishy smell to it.
'It makes the water look like it has a coating of tomato-sauce coloured oil.’
The algae has already disappointing thousands who had headed to the coast to cool off as the summer Down Under finally gets under way of a prolonged cold period.
The New South Wales (NSW) Office of Water has been carrying out a series of tests to discover what caused the bloom.
One theory is that it was caused by an upwelling of colder nutrient-rich water.
