Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 18:23
Forums
Seawater Property Changes in the Southern Ocean

Dear Juan, Hello my name is Dylan, and i am a 6th grader from John Wood's science class. I was wondering, what is the difference appearence in the Antatctic Ocean, than up here in the pacific ocean? If there are visual differences will you please send me some pictures of them, and if there are not visual differences, if you have a machine that shows you would you take a picture of that, and send it to me to show my class? Sincerely, Dylan from John Wood's 6th grade science class.

Thu, 03/03/2011 - 21:19

Juan Botella

Hi Dylan, thanks for writing. I have asked more experienced people on board to
help construct a good answer. I could write what I think could be
differences in appearance between both oceans, but I think it will be
better to wait until we hear from the experts. That is one of the benefits
of this cruise, there are a lot of knowledgeable people. I hope you are not
in a rush for getting the answer.
Thanks,
Juan.

Thu, 03/03/2011 - 22:34

Juan Botella

Hi Dylan, I got you a response from one of our scientists on board:
"I would say that the appearance of an ocean depends on the distance and
perspective of the viewer, whether or not the sun is shining and its angle
to the water and viewer, other weather factors, the amount/type/color of
suspended matter (including plankton, sediments, etc.), and the
amount/type/color of dissolved matter. There is also gross appearance, such
as ice & icebergs, or floating seaweed or plastic.
The region we are traveling now is to some degree and oceanographic desert,
meaning very little plankton. So, when the sun is shining, there is little
of the plant-green color. There are some subtropical gyre areas of the
Pacific that also have low plankton levels, and so also have that blue
appearance. But other areas of the Pacific have lots of plankton, and thus
a greener color. Some coastal waters get blooms of certain plankton that
have a reddish color, hence "red tides".
The sun is lower-angle here, and that also affects how the water looks to
the eye."
Sounds like you want an image to go with the explanation. I do not have a
picture from the Pacific, but I do agree that the water here looks very
blue when there is a white surface underneath. Look at the ice pictures on
the "An ice patch" entry (February28, I believe). You can see the blueness
of the water when the ice is below. We also see this in white caps, but the
pictures that I have taken fail to show this.
Definitively the icebergs and sea ice provide an appearance that I have
only seen in the North Pacific around Alaska, but even there I do not
remember that blueness of the water.
We are not measuring water color. I know it is done in other places. We
used to use a Sechii disk to do this, but we are not doing that on this
cruise.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other question,
Juan.

Sat, 03/05/2011 - 16:59

Anonymous

Dear Juan,Thanks that taught me a lot. I will share that with my class and see what they have to say.
From,
Dylan from Mr. Wood's science class