Songs have been sung, books written, movies made – and millions of photos taken of the liquid luxury that is the Caribbean and its clear aqua waters. But what makes it the way it is?
Here are three main factors that enable the Caribbean to sparkle so brightly:
Light
The reason oceans are blue to begin with is because of light. Light rays are made up of a rainbow of colors, and depending on which colors are absorbed and which are refracted, will result in the color we see.
When the sun shines down onto the ocean, red light is absorbed, and blue light is refracted, meaning the blue tones are what our eyes pick up.
Depth
When the water is shallow and relatively clear, light rays penetrate straight down to the sand – and then reflect back immediately. The Caribbean has many shallow depths, especially near the islands and coastlines, which is also why one can see so many shades of blue next to each other. The varying depths of the sea cause varying shades of blue.
What’s In the Water
As a ray beams down, it contacts everything in the water. So as mentioned above, when the ray penetrates shallow water it simply hits the white Caribbean sand – and then reflects off it, producing a light blue hue. But if the light were to come into contact with any “life,” then the color will alter.
Due to its warm temperature, the Caribbean sea holds less oxygen and carbon dioxide, making it a challenging environment for organisms to live in. Fewer organisms = fewer things for the light to reflect off of, leaving a pure blue hue. An ocean housing many phytoplankton will take on a greenish hue instead, for example.
The Caribbean Sea with uniquely transparent and blue beaches of the world have its magnificent beauty that no one could resist to visit, thanks to the shallow waters, the bright sun and minimal sea-life.
You could enjoy your moments watching this live video with splendid views of the two most beautiful blue beaches on Earth!
