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

The reflection of the sky IS part of it. Even brown muddy water will look blue at certain angles because of this, and you can actually see the real color of the water if you wear polarized sunglasses (which can filter out life reflected off the surface). Water IS just a bit reflective

But also, as others have said, water does just also happen to be very slightly blue, the same way tinted glass can be green or brown. It’s just pretty faint and not obvious until it’s a LOT of water