Color of water

[swom]

I have a stupid question.......Ok, another one. :D

I just got back from a beach in South Carolina. The water was brownish green near the shore as it is all the time. So is the beach I go to in Virginia. Why is the water on those beaches greenish brown and the beaches in the Caribbean always so beautiful and sparkling clear? SC doesn't get cold, cold in the winter, but does get cooler than the Caribbean. I just always wondered why some beaches were such a beautiful blue/green and sparkling clear and then others on the eastern shores of the USA so yucky looking.

I figure if anyone can answer this, you guys can.

Thanks so much in advance.....

[alibail]

microscopic organism's, plants (eg: seaweed - you never seem to see that in the carribean) and different coloured sand :)

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

I think the waters on the east coast of the US have more plankton, i.e., microscopic oraganisms. The water is still cooler than the carribean and attracts this type of organism; thus giving it the brownish-greenish hue.

[derf5585]

What color is the ocean?

from

http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/oceans/ocolor/index.html

 

Ocean Color Web Feature

from

http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/

[JAMESCC]

I have a stupid question.......Ok, another one. :D

I just got back from a beach in South Carolina. The water was brownish green near the shore as it is all the time. So is the beach I go to in Virginia. Why is the water on those beaches greenish brown and the beaches in the Caribbean always so beautiful and sparkling clear? SC doesn't get cold, cold in the winter, but does get cooler than the Caribbean. I just always wondered why some beaches were such a beautiful blue/green and sparkling clear and then others on the eastern shores of the USA so yucky looking.

I figure if anyone can answer this, you guys can.

Thanks so much in advance.....

What a great question that I was always too scared to ask because I thought i would look stupid. I always ask why the beaches in NJ look so dark and gross but the beaches in the caribbean look so clear blue and beautiful. Its incrdible the difference. I mean on the Crown when we went to Cayman islands the water was the nicest perhaps in the entire world. Its just an amazing difference. Also I always think of Florida water looking beautiful and blue but again on the Crown Princess in Port Canaveral the water was not beautiful blue like i was expecting. Any reason for that? Is it because we were in port and a lot of ships are there chrning up the bottom?

[ewheelock]

You can also go to the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico like Destin, Fla and see sugar white beaches and beautiful water.

[stoneharborlady]

I think its a trade off, our east coast beaches do have green or brown water, BUT we do get that wonderful ocean smell, I love that. I thought I would have that on my Caribbean cruise too, especially with a balcony, but no ocean smell. I guess the gorgeous turquoise water color more than made up for the loss. Karen

[pollyanno]

SC doesn't get cold, cold in the winter,

 

I don't know the answer to your question and I wish all beaches were that lovely clear beautiful color but the year our heat pump died in december.. when it was in the teens every night the week it took to get it replaced and we were trying to keep a whole house warm with one wood-burning fireplace, we thought it was cold cold extremely cold.. cold.

 

it gets cold in SC.. not minnesota cold, usually. and it doesn't stay really cold very long but.. frost on the windshields cold, we get snow, we get ice.. not every year, and usually not a lot.. I've been here 15 years now and we really have only had one significant snow that stayed around for a few days but it was not the only snow.. usually every year we SEE snow.. mostly every other year we see snow on the grass.. snow on the streets is more rare.. half the years we don't get snow we get ice.. some years we get it all! but every year it gets significantly colder than the caribbean!

 

sc is a great place. :) it's cheap to live here, we get 4 seasons, we have great public schools! if you're fortunate enough to live in the right districts, we also have embarrassing ones.. :(.. our summers are long (and humid), our winters are short, our bbq is a horrid nasty yellow stuff :( and our bugs are HUGE.. our ocean is not a very pretty color. but! our beaches are nice.. and! if you stay here long enough, you do get snow. :)

 

anno

[Tatka]

Ocean doesn't smell at all, it's seaweed that smells.

 

I have never seen that wonderful color, untill our vacation in Dominican Republic in 2000. When I saw it from the plane I couldn't belive my eyes!

 

But I do miss the smell of the sea/ocean, it's strange to be on the ship in the open ocean and do not feel it. Weird.:confused:

[seamama1]

Those beautiful waters are a result of several things. A short list is: in the Caribbean, the sand is white, mostly being limestone. The water is usually crystal clear because there isn't the heavy surf experienced elsewhere (except during really bad weather). Along the east coast, the sand is much darker, therefor the sunlight reflects differently.....and the surf is much heavier which keeps things stirred up.:p

[derf5585]

in the Caribbean, the sand is white, mostly being limestone.

 

Question - What color is the sand at the bottom of the ocean?

from

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/env99/env99307.htm

 

Not all beaches are composed of fine sand grains. Some, called cobble beaches, are made up of rather large rocks.

from

http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/factsheets/sand.html

[cruisingisawesome]

I might be stupid but I always thought for instance I live in Connecticut and we have the sound....................obviously it is not that open and therefor the water doesnt move around as much as if it was open.............

 

I can see the difference when I go from the shore in Connecticut to the south Jersey shore and love it there!!!!!!!!!!

 

Connecticut the water is just so gross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[swom]

Well, as usual I knew I could count on all of you to answer my rather strange question. Thank you so much. You guys are the greatest!!!!!!

[Tom O.]

The main reason for the difference in sea color is this: Rivers and streams carry all sorts of soil and other things from the interior of the continent to the sea. This is why most continental beaches are not crystal blue. On an island there is very little soil brought to the sea, because there is so little land mass, and no island has enough land to create any river of any size. So all island beaches have cleaner water than continental beaches, unless the island is close to a continental shoreline.

Some continental beaches will have clean water if there are no rivers anywhere near. This usually only happens in a desert like area.

[tequilasunrise]

The main reason for the difference in sea color is this: Rivers and streams carry all sorts of soil and other things from the interior of the continent to the sea. This is why most continental beaches are not crystal blue. On an island there is very little soil brought to the sea, because there is so little land mass, and no island has enough land to create any river of any size. So all island beaches have cleaner water than continental beaches, unless the island is close to a continental shoreline.

Some continental beaches will have clean water if there are no rivers anywhere near. This usually only happens in a desert like area.

 

This is true; however, there is another reason for the color of the Carribean beaches. Note the sand underneath is often pale white. Also, the water is not very deep comparatively in many spots. As the light rays enter the water, they continue to absorb until they bounce from the bottom. The longer the spectrum, the farther they go (blue being the longest of the primary colors of light--red and green are the others). So this blue is bouncing off white sand, and is scarcely absorbed, then filtering through crystal clear water. Green, being the second longest of the three primary, is also reflected in the water off many of the island beaches. White being the presence of all colors (in pigments), lightens the appearance but doesn't change the hue significantly. When the water deepens, more color absorbs and it appears darker. You can see this clearly if you choose to parasail--the deeper spots aren't nearly as turquoise blue :)

 

I love the color of the Carribean beaches!