An Ocean of Color

Introduction

Approximately 75% of the Earth is covered by the oceans of the world. In fact, more than 99% percent of the world’s living space exists in the ocean’s murky depths. Our oceans are a living treasure of color and diversity! There are many organisms that call the ocean their home – many of which have never been discovered. Much can be learned by observing the workings of this ecosystem – scientists have barely scratched the surface.

Life in the Ocean

Since the ancient times, man has attempted to explore the oceans of the world. Still, scientific studies of the ocean and its inhabitants did not begin until well into the 19^th century. Many individuals have played priceless roles in furthering our understanding of the ocean floor, and of this amazing aquatic ecosystem. A diverse collection of organisms live throughout the ocean, from the shallow, brightly lit surface zones all the way down to the darkest and murkiest hollows on the ocean’s floor. Where an organism resides in the ocean depends upon the water temperature, the salinity of the water, and the depths.

Scholastic.com – Contains an overview and timeline of ocean research efforts to date.

Ocean Planet: Marine Life Facts – A fact sheet from NASA about ocean life.

Census of Marine Life – A site devoted to documenting the global effort to assess ocean life and diversity. Great articles and picture resources.

Ocean Life Institute: Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution – A great resource for articles citing current research into ocean life and marine habitats.

Ocean For Life – A global initiative seeking to foster cultural understanding through the study of our oceans from around the world.

Ocean World: Coral Reefs – Maintained by the JASON Project, this page is devoted to educating the public about our Coral Reefs, and the challenges facing them.

Coral Reef Protection – A site from the Environmental Protection Agency devoted to protecting and maintaining coral reef habitats.

Creatures of the Deep Sea – From Seasky.org, a page giving a thorough overview of the abundance of deep sea life lurking in the ocean’s depth’s.

World Oceans – this is a Thinkquest web quest page chock-full of information about our world’s oceans, and biodiversity contained therein.

Oceans – National Geographic brings us a thorough review of the major oceans of the world.

Under the Sea – Another Thinkquest web page, this page is devoted the biodiversity of ocean life. Includes a fact page about sharks.

Shark Facts from the Discovery Channel – A collection of trusted online resources about sharks.

Harmful Algal Blooms – NOAA’s National Ocean Service provides an overview of the dangers posed by algal blooms.

The Oceanic Preservation Society – Informational resources about the challenges facing ocean life and biodiversity.

The Ocean Isn’t Just Blue

One of the characteristics that the ocean is famous for is its deep blue hue. There are many theories as to why the world’s oceans are various shades of the seemingly ubiquitous blue. For scientists it is a question of light wave absorption and reflection. Sunlight is composed of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet light. The water in the ocean absorbs more of the red-orange-yellow light spectrum, but scatters and reflects much of the blue light. This results in our only seeing mainly blue and blue-green as the color of the ocean. But, blue isn’t the only color to be seen in our world’s bodies of water. The Black Sea, for example, looks almost black because of its high concentration of hydrogen sulfide. And, the Red Sea gets its color from the red algae which inhabit those waters.

All About Oceans and Seas – A page written for elementary school learners which provides an excellent overview of how the ocean gets its pretty color.

Why Is the Ocean Blue? – An Everyday Mysteries page from the Library of Congress which provides resources and an explanation for the color of the oceans and seas of the world.

Ocean Facts – A fact page from NOAA providing answers to frequently asked questions about the ocean.

Colors From Bacteria – A Webexhibits.org page about the Red Sea and how it gets its famous red hue.

OceanColor – A page from NASA with images, data, information and various other resources regarding the collection and analysis of ocean color data. 

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