Post #258690 by tiki mick on Tue, Oct 3, 2006 11:14 AM

I actually read that page before, but I can't seem to understand it. Basically, they are saying it is the phytoplankton that determines it. Why would there be a dramatic difference in phytoplankton in a tropical ocean versus oceans the rest of the world over? Take california, for instance. The ocean color goes from grey to dark green-blue. It always looks exactly the same as any ocean you would find in England, for example.

Now look at this:
http://community.middlebury.edu/~scs/corbis_big/10917280.jpg

Is it the phytoplankton only, or the color of that sand underneath? I have seen rivers in Hawaii, or lagoons that should not have any plankton, that also have that color. Particularly, last time I was on the west shore of Oahu, we passed over a bridge where a river was coming out, with this exact color.

I looked for a picture I once saw of Chinese Junks floating in the China sea. The entire harbor looked like green anti-freeze. Is that all plankton?

I wish I knew for sure.