Why is the sea blue?
From The Handy Science Answer Book: there is no single cause for the colors of the sea. It depends in part on when and from where the sea is observed. There are many differing opinions that support almost any explanation. Some explanations include the absorption and scattering of light by pure water; differences caused by suspended matter in sea water; the atmosphere; and even the color and brightness variations of the sky.
One theory is that when sunlight hits seawater, part of the white light is absorbed and part of it is scattered. As white light is composed of different wavelengths of all different colors, what is scattered and absorbed will play a part in what color the water looks like.
In clear water, the red light waves are highly absorbed and the blue is least absorbed. This is perhaps why clean clear water will have a greater likelihood of looking blue. Worth noting is that this effect requires a minimum depth of 10 feet of water.
Source: The Handy Science Answer Book.
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