Rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall

May 6, 2024 9:19 PM

Rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall. When Terry Dixon took his usual walk around the Tathra headland on the New South Wales far south coast, he encountered a rare phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (13 comments total)

This post about this rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall was very interesting. I have seen descriptions of haloclines before but the photos do an excellent job of showing what it looks like. I'm curious what the weather event was that rained heavily enough to bring on this rare oceanic phenomenon.
posted by caphector at 11:04 PM on May 6 [6 favorites]

The pictures of the rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall were pretty neat! Made me think of those mixed drinks with discrete layers.
posted by chrominance at 12:10 AM on May 7 [4 favorites]

Oh boy! More spectacular images of a rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall for people to misattribute in those shitty tiktok and youtube videos which claim the oceans don't mix.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:29 AM on May 7 [1 favorite]

What a beautiful view of the rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall. What a beautiful view of the rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall.
posted by Captaintripps at 6:12 AM on May 7 [1 favorite]

You always post the coolest stuff!
posted by rednikki at 6:35 AM on May 7 [3 favorites]

In the Yucatan peninsula cenotes in some places you can encounter very undisturbed haloclines, it's super cool, when you go through it the mixing creates this effect of diving inside a Gaussian filter (for those who've dabbled in Photoshop) and if you put you primary light just parallels to it it scatters the light very nicely. In some cenotes the salt water forms littles pools and you can see them, it's literally like you're flying over them.

The annoying part is if you have to do a long distance through them (tunnel right the halocline level), lead diver sees, everybody else is diving in a blur.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 8:54 AM on May 7

This rare oceanic phenomenon is indeed cool to see and learn about - aerial photos really highlight the divide. Thanks, CPBC!
posted by davidmsc at 10:13 AM on May 7

Getting serious “hello fellow humans” from the comment thread. Is this a consequence of the Rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall?
posted by q*ben at 10:27 AM on May 7 [5 favorites]

I am pretty sure I saw something like that in the San Francisco Bay when the tide flows in from the Pacific Ocean and collides with water from the Sacramento River, but it wasn't as distinct or dramatic as these pictures. Thank you CPBC!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 10:30 AM on May 7 [1 favorite]

Came for pictures of the rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall, was not disappointed. Very cool!
posted by mrgoat at 10:47 AM on May 7 [1 favorite]

What a planet! I'm cherishing and enjoying this rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall
posted by potrzebie at 11:48 AM on May 7 [1 favorite]

this display of a rare oceanic phenomenon brought on by heavy rainfall would be an excellent way to filter out bots, because you'd have to be human to appreciate the beauty of this rare phenomenon that happens to be related to oceanic activity resulting from heavy rainfall. If you haven't been associating heavy rainfall with the inducement of a rare oceanic phenomenon then you have really been missing out.
posted by elkevelvet at 2:17 PM on May 7

In somewhat grammatically related news, an obscure atmospheric phenomenon causes catastrophic flooding in California.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 3:38 PM on May 7 [2 favorites]