why?
2006-08-30 18:52:56 · 6 answers · asked by Mhikko 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
There are two reasons for the color of the sea; both of them contribute to the answer.
A. The sea reflects the sky.
You have probably noticed that the sea is not very blue-looking when the sky is overcast. Water reflects and scatters the light that strikes it; this is shown by the fact that you can see your reflection in puddles. When the sky is brilliant blue, the sea is also, because it reflects the blue of the sky. A good answer to why the sky is blue has already been posted at MADSci.
B. The sea refracts light just as the sky does.
Blue light is more easily bent, or refracted, than red light; thus, light refracted back from the surface of the sea appears blue. Furthermore, when you are underwater the water around you appears blue because more blue light is scattered back to your eye than red light. Here are some professional shots to show what I mean.
The scattering of light by the air, or by water, is called Rayleigh scattering.
2006-09-01 05:16:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sea is blue because that's the color of water. Normally, water is transparent, because you need a lot of it - a whole lot - in order for its color to really show.
No, the color of water is not the result of it reflecting the sky. If that were the case, then water would be gray on cloudy days; it isn't, it's still blue just like always.
Sometimes the color of ocean water will vary because of the stuff in it; lots of algae might make it more green, for example.
2006-08-31 02:03:55 · answer #2 · answered by extton 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's like this... The color is "BLUE" because "WATER" in nature only absorbs a very little amount of light from space. WATER reflects much of the light energy from the sun. The BLUE color is just a REFLECTION of the SKY. The BLUEGREEN color is caused by algae (which is color green). Algae also does not absorb more on the GREEN spectrum which in sattelites, they appear green.
2006-08-31 02:42:27 · answer #3 · answered by Ronald 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
because of the reflection of the sky and it also depends on the algae and other things under water which makes it appear blue-green.
2006-08-31 02:18:47 · answer #4 · answered by Nicegirl 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is due to the colour of the sky that is refelcted on water and the alge in sea that gives it colour.
2006-08-31 07:03:49 · answer #5 · answered by Subakthi D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Classically speaking water has unique color and can be termed as "WATER" or "WATERY". it is neither white nor blue or green. it is reflection of sky and greenry that makes it look like that
2006-08-31 01:56:46 · answer #6 · answered by Sindhie 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋