What causes some Arctic ice to be bright blue, green or pink? I love those opalescent ice blocks. The look like fairy tale cities carved from the glacial floes. What causes the colors--is it different minerals in the water?
2007-03-28 15:10:59 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Environment
More than the minerals in the water, it has to do with the thickness, size and shape of the crystals. All of these things will affect the refraction of the light and create different colors as though you were seeing light through a camera filter.
Thickness of the ice affects the absorption of the light. Reds and Greens are closer to the surface, and Blues are deeper, through thickers sheets of ice or larger crystals. Similarly when you scuba dive, you will see many multicolored corals with reds and yellows closer to the surface, but deeper down much of the red color is absorbed and only a little green and mostly blue remains.
The shape of the crystals can also be a major factor. In the second article I reference below, the scientist found that petal shaped ice formations created fascinating refractions and unusual colors, because of the bubbles in the ice. It was not the Methane Gas itself, but the shape of the ice that was left behind that created the color.
2007-03-28 16:26:39 · answer #1 · answered by sam_alot 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some of it is mierals, dirt sand, and dust. Also the blue ice (my favorite) is caused by a chemical change due to pressure, it indicates old ice.
2007-03-28 16:25:07 · answer #2 · answered by MSG 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋