The color of the ocean

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Green rivers and lakes, blue oceans, absolutely colorless water in a glass. So what color water actually is? The answer to this question only one. Pure water is blue. The fact that the color is very faint, and therefore invisible in a small glass. But if we fill this with water even a small pool, you will notice a distinct blue hue, shade the water.

What affects the color of the water?

The color and shade of water is directly dependent on the reflection and absorption of light by the molecules of the liquid. For example, white sunlight can be decomposed into several component colors, their combination is called a spectrum. The PurePro molecules absorb the red-green spectrum, the rays of the blue end of the spectrum are reflected from the molecules of the liquid, therefore, the actual and perceived color of the water is as blue.

But in natural pond the color of the water can be very diverse. For example, in the heart of ocean water is dark blue, along the shore is blue, greenish or yellowish. Such a wide variety of colors and shades occur due to the presence in water of different particles and on the depth of the reservoir.

The green shade of the water gets because of the presence of a large number of chlorophyll containing phytoplankton – microscopic aquatic plants. Like land vegetation, these organisms absorb the rays of the red and green part of the spectrum and reflect green. So we see greenish water near the shores of seas and oceans. During the active growth of microorganisms this color intensifies, becoming more intense and explicit.

Color perception under water

Interestingly, the water changes color perception under water. For example, if you dive under the water in the yellow suit, then at the surface it will appear to be yellow. If you dive a little deeper, the color of the suit will begin to change. Since you're starting to get the rays only blue and green part of the spectrum, the costume will appear to be blue or bluish.

In the literature dedicated to underwater photography, you can find a diagram illustrating the absorption of water with increasing depth. This schema roughly demonstrates the process of absorption of colors in a very transparent sea water, with high standing sun.

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