The waters directly off Southern California have been putting on a fairly spectacular show as of late, with glowing swaths of blue lighting up and crashing in the surf.

We spoke with Valerie Burkholder of the Aquarium of the Pacific and she explained that the bioluminescence we’re witnessing is caused by a microscopic organism called dinoflagellates which chemically synthesize their own light. Though Burkholder agrees they put on a beautiful show—she’s such a fan, she grows them at home (see video below)—she said dinoflagellates developed the ability to produce light as a way to startle and scare off approaching predators.

This is why the light reaction is triggered by movement, most noticeably crashing waves and why Long Beach waters have not really been able to join in much on the show because, as you know, waves and Long Beach don’t really go together.

But in places like Orange County, San Diego and the South Bay, the water, and the videos of the water, have been spectacular; perhaps none more eye-catching as the video below shot off the coast of Newport Beach, showing the stunning reaction in the water to a few dolphins. It’s like something out of “Spirited Away.”

Burkholder, who’s in charge of the aquarium’s jellyfish, filled us in on not only what’s going on in the ocean but at the aquarium, where the animals are getting used to having far less people looking at them. Some, according to Burkholder, like it better than others.