Nuclear power is a great source of clean energy. It has been used around the world for generations now, with relatively few problems. Of course, the problems that do occur are often very dangerous and get reported on in a very negative way, which is likely nuclear energy is still a controversial topic.

One of the most important features of any nuclear plant is being able to cool the reactors. The reactors generate a lot of heat, which in turn creates steam to turn a turbine and create electricity. If the facility doesn’t have sufficient water to cool the reactors, it doesn’t just mean that electricity can’t be made, it could lead to a very dangerous nuclear meltdown.

Of course, all modern reactors have safety features built in so if water becomes unavailable, or it can’t keep up with the cooling, the reactor can be safely shut down. This can happen for many different reasons, but at the Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in France recently, it happened due to something that sounds unexpected.

Jellyfish.

That’s right, a swarm of jellyfish were detected in the filters of the plants ocean water pumping stations. These pumping stations are used to pump cool ocean water into the nuclear power plant for proper operations. When the jellyfish were detected, the operators of this plant, which is one of the largest in Europe, had to shut down four out of the six reactors as a precaution.

While this sounds like a very weird problem, and it is, it actually isn’t quite as rare as one might think. In the past, jellyfish swarms have caused impacts on other nuclear power plants in Japan, Israel, Sweden, and Scotland.

It is believed that this is happening because the number of jellyfish in the ocean is growing rapidly, likely due to the changing climate. The Oceanic Invertebrate Research Institute website says:

“The issue of jellyfish and power generation disruption remains a global challenge, as blooms of jellyfish are becoming more frequent and widespread due to factors such as overfishing, climate change and increased coastal development.”

Ocean jellies can survive, and even thrive, in ocean environments that are much less welcome to other sea creatures including when there is high salt levels, low oxygen, and higher temperatures.

If the global climate continues to get warmer, it could mean that the jellies could breed even faster, putting power plants and other marine industries at further risk.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.