Ocean Color

2. – The typical color of open-ocean water, which is low in phytoplankton and suspended particles, allowing for the reflection of short-wavelength blue light.
4. A complex food web of microbes, small zooplankton, viruses, that turns dissolved organic matter into biomass.
7. Tiny inorganic and organic materials in the water (such as sediment, plankton, and detritus) that scatter and absorb light, influencing ocean color.
8. Organic material from decaying organisms that microbes eat and return to the food web
9. Microscopic marine plants that contribute to ocean color by producing chlorophyll, which absorbs red and blue light while reflecting green.

1. The primary pigment in phytoplankton that absorbs light for photosynthesis; its concentration is used to indicate phytoplankton biomass in the ocean.
3. – Ocean water that appears green due to moderate to high concentrations of phytoplankton and chlorophyll.
5. A white or black-and-white circular disk lowered into the water to measure water clarity and light penetration, indirectly indicating phytoplankton or sediment concentration.
6. A measure of water clarity that depends on the amount of suspended particles; high turbidity results in murkier water with reduced light penetration.