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William West / AFP - Getty Images
A swimmer stops short of a red algae bloom at Sydney's Clovelly Beach on Tuesday. Clovelly and Bondi beaches were closed to swimmers.
Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach and Clovelly Beach were closed to swimmers on Tuesday as a red algae bloom drifted close to shore, Agence France-Presse reports.
While the red algae, known as Noctiluca scintillans or sea sparkle, has no toxic effects, people are still advised to avoid swimming in areas with discolored water because the algae, which can be high in ammonia, can cause skin irritation.
"It has got quite a fishy smell to it," lifeguard Bruce Hopkins told the Australian Associated Press. "It can irritate some people's skin but generally not much more than that."
William West / AFP - Getty Images
A boy walks along Sydney's Clovelly Beach on Tuesday.
William West / AFP - Getty Images
A seagull stands in a red algae bloom at Sydney's Clovelly Beach on Tuesday.
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Giant floating swarms of red algae have appeared in Sydney, Australia, forcing authorities to close some beaches. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
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Red Algae? Sounds like a country singers name.
"Run for your lives....it's global warming.....the sky is falling!"
-Al Gore-
LOL!!! I swear I heard your head explode when you hit the "Post Comment" button.
Now someone's going to have to clean Pudding off the walls.
Um, how do we know its non-toxic?? Just because a government tells us its not? I'm not overly paranoid, but governments have been known to lie to prevent public panic.
Bad news: The ocean has turned into blood. The end is nigh.
Good news: Only Australia will sink on December 21st. The Mayans were only part right. Buh-bye, Aussies. See you in the funny papers!
We called it the Red Tide in So Cal. It happens once in a while. No big deal.
Safe or not I wouldn't swim in it.
I kept waitin' for that old joke to surface..."What's it all about, algae?"...oh well, I guess it's just my age a-showin'! LOL
I swear, it looks like someone spilled tomato soup.
i have the same red stuff out side my house when it is wet it looks just like blood we been here 15 years the only thing it don,t do i smell
Pam Montgomery can't you just spell GOD out instead of g-d. Or are you afraid of offending an atheist?
Poor journalism brings out all of the crazy people. the algae blooms is also called red tide and is not a warning from God or any kind of manifestation. Don't eat the shellfish.
Beautiful pictures. As to the cause I'll speculate being that the article doesn't give any hint of explanation.
Ammonia is a byproduct of red algae. Red Algae kills organisms, DE-oxygenation, and converts the rot to food thus producing ammonia, which supports yet more red algae. Red algae is supported in a warmer sea, by the now occurring warming.
Whats God got to do with this?
nice color, same as the color on My rage saw and emblem on My shoes. nice flip off C...