2007-02-02 10:59:26 · 7 answers · asked by Raijin19 2 in Environment
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.
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.
The scattering of light by the air, or by water, is called Rayleigh scattering.
There is not enough depth of water in a cup to refract the light sufficiently.
2007-02-02 11:04:14 · answer #1 · answered by the_lipsiot 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is obviously due to the reflection of light rays from sun, being reflected by the water. This is due to the fact that autotrophs (sea organisms that use photosynthesis to make food) absorb all the red and green colours and reflect the blue colour.
Hence, a blue ocean, and a clear glass of water
2007-02-02 11:09:27 · answer #2 · answered by aquaticneko 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ocean is blue because it is reflecting the blue of the sky. The deeper the water the more light that is reflected. This is why shallow water appears clear and deep water blue.
2007-02-02 11:22:08 · answer #3 · answered by cymruqq 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ocean is blue because the colour of the sky is reflected onto the sea. Same reason why some seas, rivers, lakes etc... are green. They reflect the colour from the algea at the bottom of the body of water. Where I am from there is a lake divided by a small bridge. One side is green (the algea) and the other is blue (the sky and lack of algea).
2007-02-02 11:14:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sunlight is reflected back from the sea water. Sea water is not clear, it has literally tons of stuff hanging around the surface such as dissolved minerals, zooplankton, phytoplankton. Water in a glass has been filtered and flocculated to get the extraneous particles out.
2007-02-02 11:13:40 · answer #5 · answered by fenhongjiatu1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
And why the sky is blue and the air clear ? I think this should be the same reason.
When light goes by a certain depth of water, light is dispersed.
2007-02-02 11:06:57 · answer #6 · answered by Scanie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are other ocean colors as well. The color of the seas is caused by many factors. Water depth, plants, zooplankton, sunlight and currents.
2007-02-02 11:06:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋