Is the ocean blue or green?

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

Here in Galveston its more like chocolate milk.

that's not chocolate!

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[KJB]

The SF Bay is most definitely green.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Interesting yesterday I was at the ocean and it looked green. I was at the ocean a few days earlier and it looked blue. Do see the same two colors or am I losing it?

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The last 2 days I've been in the Long Island Sound and now I think the ocean must be brown.

[Sandero]

Ocean is blue

[tuffr2]

There are spots in the ocean that is turquoise, dark blue, light blue, green, gray, tan, brown.

But in general I see the same water...sometimes blue, sometimes green.

Agree that over all and as seen from space it is blue.



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[Hudson Force]

Hold up a glass full to the light.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by KJB

The SF Bay is most definitely green.

And it is most definitely NOT the ocean...

Jim

[44'cruisingcat]

Right here it looks like this:

[Va2shp]

I was alway's told that the salt content was what was making the difference?

[varkpilot]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

Here in Galveston its more like chocolate milk.

LOL! Amen to that!!! Unfortunately, that describes most of the Texas coast. Been my experience that you've got to get about 20 miles into the Gulf before you see clear, blue water.

[Hudson Force]

Sometimes it's like this:

[KJB]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

And it is most definitely NOT the ocean...

Jim

I suppose someone got up on the wrong side of the berth today!? Here's an idea - tell that to the whales and sharks and other oceanic creatures here...I am certain you are way smarter than they are!

But seriously, I understand that the Bay isn't THE ocean. However it is mostly saltwater and it has a very intricate and complex relationship with the Pacific...seeing as how, you know, they're connected.

I didn't understand this was that literal of a thread. Happy sailing!

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[Alan Mighty]

You need the Forel-Ule modified cyanometer scale:

• Indigo blue to greenish blue (1–5 ** scale). Low nutrient levels and low organic growth. The color is dominated by microscopic algae (phytoplankton).
• Greenish blue to bluish green (6–9 ** scale). The color is still dominated by algae, but also increased dissolved matter and some sediment may be present. Typical for areas toward the open sea.
• Greenish (10–13 ** scale). Often coastal waters which usually display increased nutrient and phytoplankton levels, but also contain minerals and dissolved organic material.
• Greenish brown to brownish green (14–17 ** scale). High nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations, but also increased sediment and dissolved organic matter. Typical for near-shore areas and tidal flats.
• Brownish green to cola brown (18–21 ** scale). Waters with an extremely high concentration of humic acids, which are typical for rivers and estuaries.



Do yourself a favor! Get a copy of Tristan Gooley's <How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea>.

[knockabout]

we are dried out in the mud pen at the moment / the river is a clear blue / the sunrise was a deep red / outside the bar the water colour is usually green /looks blue in the deeper holes over 80 feet outside the reef usually blue or white / further north from here the water is bauxite ochre colour / no- you're form of temporary visual colour derangement must either be universal or quite normal / keep questioning the environment and enjoy

[billgewater]

There is a marina near Cairns, Australia. Built by a real estate developer and called Bluewater Marina. To date no one has seen it as being blue. Brown, green, iridescent from oil spills etc.

But this probably confirms the common view about real estate developers fudging the truth, rather than the reality of the ocean's colours.

In many tropical areas, the coastal regions are usually muddy due to the heavy rainfall. Around most coastal cities any rain produces muddy water due to excessive land clearing. Darker, thus warmer water probably contributes to global warming as well. Stir, stir.

The observation that the colour we see is what is left over - reflected - from the incident light after absorption, may account for the twinkly effect sometimes observed after a few beers and watching the sea at night. Or it could be stars or the moon or noctiluca scintillanis.

Also, according to my wife, whenever I talk about the mood of the sea, she jests that maybe the colour is actually a display of the ocean mood. Very philosophical. Blue for sad, green for jealous, brown for shitty. If pink or yellow, then you are probably drunk or the sunset has got at you.