Two teenage girl bathers enjoy covering themselves in brown froth. The frothy brown tides occurred along the beaches at Alexandra Head on the Sunshi


Two teenage girl bathers enjoy covering themselves in brown froth. The frothy brown tides occurred along the beaches at Alexandra Head on the Sunshine coast in Queensland, Australia. Due to the unusual recent heavy rains and tropical storms in the Australian summer of 2010/11, the water from the nearby estuaries turned the sea into a frothy brown colour and also bringing debris and driftwood onto the shore. Due to the unusual heavy rains and tropical storms during the hot Australian summer, the water from the nearby estuaries turned the sea into a frothy brown colour and also bought debris and driftwood onto the shore. Algal blooms are one common source of thick sea foams. When large blooms of algae decay offshore, great amounts of decaying algal matter often wash ashore. Foam forms as this organic matter is churned up by the surf. Most sea foam is not harmful to humans and is often an indication of a productive ocean ecosystem.


Size: 2848px × 4288px
Location: Alexandra Head , Queensland, Australia
Photo credit: © richard sowersby / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: algal, australia, australia., australian, beach, bloom, brown, change, climate, coast, ecosystem, environment, foam, froth, global, health, human, ocean, pollution, queensland, rain, sea, shore, storm, sunshine, surfer, tide, tropical, warming, water, weather