eli5: Why is water clear in small amount but blue in large amount like an ocean?

Question

I thought it might be the reflection from the sky but if that was the case, why does the ocean appears more blue the deeper you go?

In: 2918

Answer 1

Ocean waters are blue for the same reason the sky is, and some eyes are.

Sunlight that reaches Earth is scattered in all directions by the small scattering particles present in the air, in the water, and in the eyes.

Blue light is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves.

This is why we see a blue sky and blue ocean waters most of the time (on sunny days).

Eyes appear brown, hazel, blue, or green because of the front layer of the iris.

People with blue eyes have no pigment in the iris at all, causing the fibers to scatter and absorb some of the longer wavelengths of light that come in.

More blue light gets back out and the eyes appear to be blue.