A Sea of Colors

Abstract

Although we always associate the oceans to the blue color, other colors such as green, brown, and even yellowish can be observed. The diverse color palette presented in the oceans and other water bodies is due to the presence of colored components that interact with the light in the water. Those components are, for instance, (1) the water itself, which gives a blue color to the oceans; (2) very tiny plants that can give a greenish color to the water; (3) dissolved compounds that turns the water into a brown-yellowish color; and (4) sediments, which gives a milky color to the oceans. In this article, we explain how those components change the color of the water and how marine scientists use satellites to capture those changes from space and convert them into information for their research.