Beaches are the kids’ birthday parties of nature.
On one hand, they’re heartwarming and photogenic. But after an hour or so, you’re seriously considering gouging out your eyes and ears with one of those party kazoos.
I live on the East Coast — South Carolina, or as North Carolinians call us, Sub-Carolina. Between my current locale and the previous, multiple places in Florida, combined with a birth and childhood a long, long time ago in a state far, far away (California), I’ve spent my fair share of time on beaches. They’re wonderful. But they also kinda suck. At least the ones on the United States’ coastlines.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade any opportunity to go for the day, or better yet, live in a beachfront home, but compared to the tropical paradise pictures on postcards and Instagram, our water just doesn’t look nearly Blue Lagoon-like. It’s usually some flavor of greenish-brown resembling backwash from a kale smoothie, or perhaps mop water from that old truck stop bathroom off I-95. The men’s, not the women’s.
While planning a trip (to the beach), I started to wonder, why do the islands, not all that far away, have such idyllic water? Clear as a top-shelf potato vodka and tinted with emerald green or maybe Topaz blue.
It’s Sedimentary, Watson
Well, for the “yeah, duh” part of this story, coastal sediment has a lot to do with it.
Coastal waters surround bigger land masses, complete with rivers dumping all sorts of muck into the ocean. Even if the rivers are pollution-free, there’s plenty of silt and sediment carried down from the mountains that can cloud the water.
Differing temperatures and the introduction of organic matter can also foster the growth of plankton, which may add aqua cataracts.
Speaking of phytoplankton (small plant-like organisms — the grass of the sea), they tend to like deeper, cooler water. Tropical island waters are generally warmer and more stable, so there’s less mixing of the surface layers of the ocean water and the deep stuff with all those aquatic mini-plants.
Did you know phytoplankton generate about 50% of all of Earth’s oxygen? Even more than all the forests combined? Industrious little photosynthesizing beasts, aren’t they? Back to the topic at hand…
No Reefs for You
Our coastal waters aren’t known for coral reefs either. I have it on good authority that the snorkeling off Martha’s Vineyard stinks. The good news is that there are hardly any Barracuda or Moray Eels.
Too bad, because ocean utopias have lots of them. The coral reefs not only help filter the water, adding to clarity, but they also contribute to a white, sandy bottom. This helps reflect sunlight, and like a diamond ring, adds to the brilliance of the water.
Speaking of sunlight, the tropics get a hidden boost from it. Water tends to absorb longer light wavelengths (think reds and oranges) while reflecting back shorter-wavelength light like the blue tones. So all that pollution-free sun native to island getaways helps us see even more beautiful blue.
So, there you have it, the reason why places like Fiji, the Virgin Islands and many more Island dreams have such postcard-worthy crystalline water.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering about that nasty foam that so frequently washes ashore on coastal beaches? It’s usually a result of all that phytoplankton and other ocean-faring organic material getting churned up by the waves. At least it’s not (usually) from pollution. Foamy day at the beach? Go on in. It (probably) won’t kill ya.
