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Solar radiation provides light for photosynthesis, which supports the entire ocean ecosystem. The energy reaching Earth from the sun is a form of electromagnetic radiation, which is represented by the electromagnetic spectrum (Figure 6.5.1).
- What Is Light
- Light Under Ocean Waves
- Eyes in The Twilight Zone
- What Colors Are Found in The Deep?
- What Color of Animals Do We Find there?
Light is energy traveling at the fastest speed in the universe through what are called light waves. Unlike ocean waves, light waves are electromagnetic energy. Like all electromagnetic energy, they have different wavelengths. Parts of a wave: 1. Crest – the highest point of a wave 2. Trough – the lowest point of a wave 3. Wavelength – the distance ...
Sunlight contains all of the colors of our visible spectrum— red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet (ROYGBV). When all of these colors are combined together, they appear white as white light. Each visible color has its own wavelength, or distance between two waves. Red light has the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum and violet has th...
Very little light from the surface penetrates between 200 and 1,000 meters, in what’s known as the dysphotic or twilight zone. Once we reach about 1,000 meters depth, light from above has disappeared entirely. This sunless realm is known as the aphotic zone. Light conditions affect how much both humans and organisms see. Some deep- sea organisms’ e...
The wavelength of light that reflects off an object is the color we see. For example, an object we see as red in white light appears that way because it reflects longer, less energetic red light waves. It absorbs the other colors (all of which are present in white light). Red and orange light waves have less energy, so they are absorbed near the oc...
Red and black animals are common in the deep ocean. At this depth, few, if any, red light waves reflect back to one’s eye. Since there is no red light available, red animals here will appear gray or black, making them nearly invisible to other organisms. This helps them evade predators when there is nowhere to hide. Why are so many deep-sea animals...
Nov 11, 2024 · Light in the ocean travels at a velocity equal to the velocity of light in a vacuum divided by the index of refraction (n), which is typically n = 1.33. Hence the velocity in water is about 2.25 ×108 m/s. Because light travels slower in water than in air, some light is reflected at the sea surface. For light shining straight down on the sea ...
Evaporation and precipitation determine the salinity of the ocean in any given region and both of these processes depend on energy from the sun. Heat from the sun drives the ocean currents and modifies our climate. Sunlight also provides an energy source for the photosynthetic processes of phytoplankton, on which most life in the sea depends ...
Similar to the atmosphere, light attenuation in the ocean is dependent on the concentration of "stuff" in the water. For example, light can shine all the water to the bottom of clear Caribbean waters, whereas you can barely see your hand beneath the surface in muddy river waters.
Plants use sunlight as their primary source of energy through a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthetic organisms in the ocean such as algae and phytoplankton must live in well-lit surface waters called the euphotic zone (Fig. 9.4).
Radiant energy from the sun is important for several major oceanic processes: Climate, winds, and major ocean currents are ultimately dependent on solar radiation reaching the Earth and heating different areas to different degrees. Sunlight warms the surface water where much oceanic life lives.
