The Ocean.
A deep blue expanse covering four fifths of our planet.
It is regularly claimed that we know more about Mars than we do our own ocean, and perhaps
part of the reason for that is because it is so dark and deep… but what if it was
clear?
Would we be prepared for what we might see?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I am your Host Rebecca Felgate
and today I am asking What if the Ocean was transparent?
Before I get into this vide, I want to ask you guys if you like swimming in the ocean?
I am here for it but a lot of people are creeped out by it, which is understandable!
Let me know your sea thoughts in the comments section and also, if you find our videos entertaining
or informative, please do leave a thumbs up on this video.
Why not share it with a friend too, because sharing is caring as they say.
Stick around to the end of the video where I will be reading comments from another one!
Okay, lets get into some solid ocean chat!
Firstly, lets talk about why oceans and lakes generally aren’t clear, and why some can
appear colours other than blue, like Hiller Lake in Australia, which is blooming PINK!
The answer almost always involves light, but often involves minerals.
If you pour water out from a tap into a glass, you will undoubtedly notice that the water
is clear, however when you fill the bath full, you may notice a blueish tinge.
Light carries different waves.
At the long end of the spectrum is red and yellow and at the short end is blue and violet.
Large bodies of water are blue as the water absorbs all of the light on the spectrum except
for the blue, which is reflected back.
Adding to the blue, water has a tendency to reflect – meaning it is also reflecting
the blue sky above it back up and out, which is why oceans often appear bluer on clear
days.
On top of that, our oceans are filled with chlorophyll from the algae and plakton which
adds a greenish pigment to the ocean.
The reason Hiller Lake is pink is because of its high salinity – saltiness as well
as a reddish algae and pink bacteria.
The reason why some glacial lakes appear turquoise is because of glacial erosion adding small
particles to the water.
I love me some dissolved organic compound chat!
SO, the ocean were clear to the naked eye… it would mean it was either way less deep,
light no longer works the way it currently does in the laws of physics, and or ocean
algae would have disappeared - which would mean the amount of carbon in the atmosphere
would go way up, as algae converts carbon to oxygen….
Annnd it also feeds all kinds of fish …. Less ocean less algae means less fish and less
oxygen… which means less happy days for us fair humans.
Let’s just pretend all of that wouldn’t be the case if the oceans were clear….
They just are…so there.
Thing is though, if the oceans were clear they would much hotter.
Have you ever noticed how water gets darker the more of it there is?
The oceans are blue because of a scattering of light, but if all light was being absorbed
then the photic zone of the ocean would increase, but the sunlight hitting the bottom of the
ocean would warm things up.
Changes in ocean temperature are always a sure fire way to disrupt eco systems, and
of course, have glacial melting implications.
Ocean warming also leads to deoxygenation – less oxygen in the water, and ocean acidification…
which has a detrimental impact on marine life and human life.
If the ocean was transparent then earth would look very different from the international
space station!
We would be far more greenish brownish greyish…with a distinct lack of blue.
BBC’s revered documentary Blue Planet would sound pretty sci fi….
And would need to be rebranded as …brownish greyish greenish planet.
Catchy.
Standing on the shoreline would be pretty cool too; if the water were truly clear we
would see great chasms and underwater mountains… which would be quite epic…and if we swam
out, it would kind of be like we were floating in air… but of course we would be buoyed
by water.
If Oceans were clear, I have to say Diving would be pretty cool, though!
As would canoeing and water sports where you could paddle over shipwrecks and the like.
Perhaps there would be an economic boost from the more attractive tourism and leisure sector…
buuutt I do have to say… would a clear ocean not be like actually terrifying?
Yeah It would be cool to see more fish, but some fish are more visually pleasing and less
fear inducing than others?
Do you really want to know what is lurking below you?
Would you be able to see a shark coming?
Would you be able to see all the people peeing in the ocean at the beach?
YUCK !
Circling back to our Shipwreck chat though….maybe clear oceans would mean it would be easier
to find our many lost things.
Countless vessels have been lost to the water over our history, concealed in the murky depths.
If the ocean were clear would we start finding loads of lost pirate treasure?
Would we finally know what happened to MH370?
Would the lost city of Atlantis finally be found?
How many dead bodies would we be spotting from the decks of cruise ships?
Would we be able to actually see how much pollution is in the ocean?
And plastics?
What would the implications of that be?
I think if I knew what was in the ocean I would be less inclined to take a dip, but
maybe clear oceans are the decisive action we need!
As fun as these thought and imagination adventures are – with the ocean made up of the nutrients
and particles we know it to be, and with light refracting the way we know it does, the ocean
will never be clear – they’ll likely always be blue… unless something weird happens…and…well…
that is a thought experiment for another day.
Guys let me know how you feel about a clear ocean?
Would you be weirded out?
Let a gal know in the comments section down below and also do leave a thumbs up on this
video as a thanks for the entertainment ! Before I go I am going to read some comments from
the video What if We Never Started Hunting Whales
Clay Talman said: Rebecca did you miss that Canada was also a whaling country.
It sadden me that you point out America's flaws but forget to mention Canada's – you
are right, Canada were involved too, with lots of whales around… but I think I said
the biggest countries… not naming all of the countries… plus a lot of our viewers
are from the US, so the facts were more relatable… but you are right…
Canada were most definitely involved in Whaling Zinx 43267 : closest thing to a whale i've
ever seen is an orca OOhh that is COOL…and…Orca’s are Whales…right?!