Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Under the Sea


Have you ever wondered how water of the South Carolina coast can differ so much from the waters of the Italian coast (the murky green of the Atlantic versus the clear blue of the Mediterranean)? They are indeed two separate entities of water, but the reason lies much deeper than that. The Mediterranean Sea is “oligotrophic,” meaning that it doesn’t contain enough nutrients to support massive growth of algae, unlike the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, you can see several feet deep into the oligotrophic waters off of Italy’s coast without obstruction. Click here for more information on oligotrophic waters.

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