Why is the Gulf water so clear while the Alatantic Ocean is so dirty?

Answer 1

Gulf of St. Lawrence? Gulf of Carpentaria? Persian Gulf? Gulf of Alaska? Gulf of Mexico? Gulf of Bothnia? You get the idea, we need a more specific question.

Turbidity in a large body of water such as the Atlantic Ocean can vary greatly, and is affected by a great number of complex factors such as natural sediments such as the Mississippi or Congo River, man-made made pollutants such as the Long Island Sound area in New York, and volcanic debris such as the active volcanoes in Indonesia (Pacific). Also waters with strong currents will have higher turbidity because the energy level of the water is too high for the sediments and other impurities to settle out to the bottom.

Shallow water with a white sandy bottom often looks cleaner than deeper water or a dark bottom because the sunlight reflects off the bottom giving an illusion that it is clear.

Answer 2

I don't know what part of the gulf you are referring to that is clear, because I live near the gulf coast of Texas and until you get past the Keys in Florida, the gulf is filthy. It is full of sewage from the Mississippi and the oil derricks all along the gulf coast. I can walk the beach in say Galveston, or Pensacola, and see miles and miles of dead fish on the sand from all the sewage. I have seen small parts of the Atlantic where there were dead fish or birds, but never as bad as the gulf coast shoreline. Once you get into the Keys you see beautiful clear water in the gulf, but I'm not so sure if that's the gulf water, or actually the Caribbean sea overlapping with the gulf of Mexico.

Answer 3

There is some exaggeration as to the pollutant levels of the Gulf of Mexico. The description of the water condition near Pensacola and Galveston, above, is not accurate for the entire region. From the Big Bend region down to the Keys, the water and beaches are beautiful. Obviously, any inlets near population centers affect the conditions on a local level, but for the most part, the water is clean, relatively speaking.

Answer 4

It isn't.

The water in the gulf is much more poluted than the Atlantic. It just looks cleaer to you because of currents close to the shore.

Go about 10 miles offshore some day, and you'll see what I mean.

Answer 5

The Atlantic Ocean is not dirty is just has more algae and micro-organisms floating around in it. It is actually a more healthy place for fish to live and it can be seen with the numbers of fish living in it.

Answer 6

The soil content. If the soil is very silty and dirty, the water is mirky. In the gulf, the waterbed is just sand, so it is cleaner looking.

Answer 7

its in the sea bed the alantic is deep looks dark and "dirty" the Gulf well you didnt say which one so all go out on a limb and say mexico thats also in the atlantic.

Answer 8

Which Gulf? The Gulf of Mexico you mean? No, I do not know but thanks for the points dude.

Answer 9

pollution, depth, weather and currents.