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

Well the water is reflecting the sky. I know a lot of people disagree, but hear me out.

The ocean is blue because it’s reflective and the sky is blue. The sky, during the day, is reflective, and it’s blue because it’s reflecting the ocean.

Best I can figure is that probably each morning, a fish jumps, probably more than one really, and the fish, or majority thereof, is blue.

So the blue fish(es) jump out at a bug or something, and the water reflects the blue fish, bounces the blue fish-light to the sky, and back and forth all day until nighttime.

That’s also why the sky will be blue in the east, but not the west, during a sunrise.

Now this is just a hypothesis, and to be honest it could just as easily be reflecting light off of a dragonfly or something, but the premise holds regardless.

Source: I’m a father of three, and have explained numerous things to five year olds. More than my own. For some reason if you have one five year old, then other five year olds will start to congregate near your five year old. It’s terrifying really. I’ll never go back to build a bear.