Why is the ocean blue?
When sunlight hits the ocean it is scattered by the water in the ocean. White sunlight is made up of all of the colors of the rainbow (red through purple). Water molecules scatter blue light the most. This makes the ocean look blue.
Sometimes the ocean doesn't appear blue! Have you seen a part of the ocean that looked green? This is because the blue we would see is mixed with the yellow coloring of floating plants, and blue and yellow make...GREEN!
Submitted by Nick (VA, USA)
(October 17, 1997)
