What makes the mediterranean so blue

Why is the Mediterranean so perfectly blue in colour? It is lacking in a number of nutrients that lead to plant growth in other seas and oceans causing that more familiar green-brown colour that is so unattractive , and as such it retains its wonderful blue hue. Despite efforts to clean up the Mediterranean sea, it is still one of the most polluted oceans on Earth, but just how bad is it?

The Mediterranean Sea is completely enclosed, apart from the 14km-wide Strait of Gibraltar and the m-wide Suez Canal, so water cycles very slowly and pollutants tend to accumulate. Mediterranean sea is thought to be home for 47 shark species like:Angelshark,Blue shark,Great white shark,Kitefin shark,Longfin mako,Sandbar shark,Scalloped hammerhead,Great hammerhead,Shortnose spurdog,Thresher shark.

The most dangerous one is the Great White,however they are seen seldomly. The report estimates that more than one million tonnes of plastic have accumulated in the Mediterranean Sea. Plastic pollution can cause long-term damage to terrestrial and marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Ships use the Suez Canal as a route between the Mediterranean and Red seas. The Mediterranean has almost no tides. For centuries, the Mediterranean Sea has been the focal point of western civilization. It is an area rich in history and has played critical roles in the development of shipping and trade, as a resource for feeding growing populations, and as an aid to the spread and mingling of races and cultures.

In brief, the importance of the Mediterranean Sea is conditional and its nature favors continental control; it is a sea of passage and a sea of land powers. The Atlantic has plenty of nutrients to offer, but these are mostly found in the deep waters because algae out in the ocean greedily consume the surface nutrients.

The Gibraltar Strait is relatively shallow though, so very little deep-water exchange — and thus nutrient exchange — takes place. In addition, the Mediterranean surface waters are more salty than those of the Atlantic because the Mediterranean is relatively warm and its surface water tends to evaporate in the summer leaving the salt behind.

You can definitely taste this if you swim at a beach off the Atlantic coast, compared to Mediterranean waters. A cross-section of the Gibraltar Strait looks something like this:. Posted by A. Scientist at Email This BlogThis!

Scientists have discovered that the salt and sediments at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea prove that on several occasions over the course of history, the Mediterranean Sea has indeed dried up, leaving a large layer of salt behind it. At that time the Strait of Gibraltar itself closed up, stopping any water from flowing back and forth between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. During what researchers call the Messinian Salinity Crisis, a geological event occurring from 5.

This enabled the migration of mammals , including camels, into Europe. The basin then filled up again with water from the Atlantic during what is called the Zanclean Flood.

As can be seen from the NASA satellite image above, the Mediterranean is still clearly among the saltiest bodies of water anywhere on the planet. The data depicted shows average salinity from May 27 to June 2, , in a range from 30 to 40 grams per kilogram, with 35 grams being the average. Lower values are represented in purples and blues; higher values are shown in shades of orange and red.

Black areas occur where no data was available, either due to the orbit of the satellite or because the ocean was covered by ice, which Aquarius cannot see through. NASA created an animation, clickable here, of how salinity patterns changed week by week in all the major bodies of water on the Earth, including the Mediterranean, over the year Rivers such as the Amazon carry tremendous amounts of fresh runoff from land and spread plumes far into the sea.

Near most coastlines and inland seas in the map, waters appear much fresher or saltier than in open-ocean locations. Notice the Red Sea and the Mediterranean are remarkable for their much saltier waters. If you wish to use our content ask us — some of the world's leading publishers regularly license our content.

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