Why is the sea differently coloured from place to place?

Question

The northern sea such as in the UK or Scandinavia is so dark...in the Mediteranean it is blue to bright blue and in the tropical and the Caribbean it is so light vivid blue and beautiful. What are the factors for these differences?

Obviously I am talking about comparing the same depth...lets say beaches for example. 10 metres off shore.

photonymphasis, that sounds rich from someone that all he does is "getting stoned"....get a life and I hope you have some brain shells still left.

I meant cells not shells

Answer 1

the big reasons are "nutrients" or other particles suspended in the water and depth. in most of the tropics, the water is very clear and blue because of the lack of nutrients. in areas of the world where major rivers flow into the ocean bringing silt (such as near the Amazon or Mississippi rivers) the water is dark because of the overload of nutrients.

here's a great website that explains in more depth:
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/oceans/living/color.html

Answer 2

It all has to do with depth. You could stand 5 feet off shore in one body of water and it could be up to your knees and be so light blue it is almost clear and in another body of water you could stand 5 feet off shore and it would be over your head and the water is so dark it almost looks black. It also has to do with what type of sand, such as the tropics the sand is almost white which will make the water appear clearer, some bodies of water have dark silt on the sea floor which will make it appear darker.

Answer 3

The color that the water appears to be has a lot to do with the depth of the water combined with the color of the bottom. A bottom made up of mostly very white sand and water 30 to 60 feet deep would make the water appear to be a very light and vivid blue. Same depth water with a little darker sand bottom would make the water appear a little darker blue. A bottom covered in seaweed accounts for darker colors, with deeper waters appearing darker, shallower waters lighter. Sunlight plays a big part in shallower waters with lighter colored bottoms.

Answer 4

I think it has to do with the color of sand, the structure of the ground, the depth of the water and the sun/light.

this is only a guess.

By the way the Red Sea was called this way because its ground/surface had so much corals (that are red in color) that made a red reflection on the water to shine are red

Answer 5

eye percieved colour comes from the angle at which white light is bent, so this is why the sky is blue. differences in the content of the water bend the light differently, not to mention reflection, refraction and focal point
additionally, the sky changes colour when the angle of the white light is bent by more atmosphere which the light travels through

Answer 6

Main factor in sea colour - DEPTH

The caribbean is mainly shallow, so looks lighter than deeper water.

Air pressure also has an effect - racing sailors can tell where areas of low pressure are by looking for lighter coloured water.

Answer 7

Probably different depths, the closer the object under the water is, the darker the water is likey to be above said object.

Answer 8

Even though the oceans are all connected and are really one ocean...... sea currents seperate them from each other enough to allow each area to develop differently (with different PH levels, fish, organisms, etc...), also water temperature changes appearence slightly, as does sunlight.

Answer 9

The colour of the sea depends on how deep it is:i.e. dark blue colour is deeper than the light one or green

Answer 10

Depth, temperature, chemical compounds in the water, level of salination.