Today's plankton tow revealed a diatom bloom I didn't expect this late in the season

Pulled a sample this afternoon off the pier — water was still warm, but the composition was all wrong for October. Chaetoceros and Rhizosolenia, thick as soup. I've been doing this long enough to know when a system is off, and this one felt like a drumbeat I couldn't place. Maybe it's the changing currents, maybe it's just a weird year. Either way, I spent an extra hour at the scope, and I'm still turning it over in my head.