Why does shallow water appear blue

We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Why is the ocean blue? Do all bodies of water appear blue? Why are some oceans more clear than others? Tags: See All Tags , absorption , algae , blue , Caribbean , Christopher Columbus , color , coral , eye , green , light , mirror , molecule , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , ocean , phytoplankton , pollution , reflection , river , sand , sediment , shallow , sky , sunlight , water , wavelength.

Wonder What's Next? Keep WONDERing with a few friends or family members when you explore the following activities: Want to virtually explore some of the world's beautiful waters? If you could pick any of the places to visit, which would you choose? If you'd like to try a cool experiment that involves colored water, jump online and check out the Floating Colored Water Experiment. You'll need just a few simple supplies: two glasses, salt, food coloring, water, and a spoon.

Have fun learning about density with this easy experiment! Up for a challenge? See for yourself how light absorption affects how we perceive the color of water.

You'll need to take a short field trip with a friend or family member to a nearby body of water. It could be an ocean, a river, a lake, or even a small pond. Be sure to bring a clear drinking glass with you. Look at the body of water and determine what color it appears to be.

Does the color change depending upon how far away the water is from you? Now take your clear drinking glass and fill it with water from your source. Hold it up and compare its color to the body of water it came from. Can you see the difference? Isn't it interesting how it looks different than the larger body of water due to differing absorption of light?

Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? Wonder Words ocean shade shore pond coral rhyme mirror absorb shallow sediment stir composition characteristic molecule algae phytoplankton exceptional Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. Jul 3, Aliyah May 23, May 23, Thanks for the shout-out, Aliyah! Apr 9, General Science. AdaMcVean Leave a comment!

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Blog posts Videos How-tos Handbooks. Contact Cell Mentor. It is just so pale that in small quantities it appears clear. The reason a small amount of water appears clear is because not much light is scattered. In larger bodies of water there are more water molecules for light to collide with, resulting in more blue light being scattered. Think of it like throwing a bucket-full of tennis balls against a tree from a distance: the chances are that most balls will miss the tree and keep going.

But if you stand in a forest and throw tennis balls, more balls will hit trees and bounce back. It is exactly the same when it comes to light hitting water molecules: if there are more water molecules in the way, more light particles will collide with them and be scattered, making the water appear a deeper shade of blue. There are of course other things that can change the colour of water. Lots of mud and sediment in rivers can make them appear brown; the same is true in shallow areas of the ocean, especially if a storm has stirred up lots of sediment from the seabed.