Scuba divers perceive colors differently depending on the depth because light is filtered and absorbed by the water; the wavelengths of dominant colors like red are absorbed first, resulting in a more blueish vision of the seabed as the depth increases.
Underwater, colors gradually disappear as you go deeper. In reality, water acts as a filter that absorbs certain colors faster than others. Red is the first color to be absorbed: it becomes dull just a few meters below the surface, and soon, it appears completely gray or blackish. Next comes orange, followed by yellow. In contrast, cool colors like blue and green remain visible and bright at much greater depths, as their wavelengths are less absorbed. This is why, the deeper you dive, the more the world seems dominated by cool shades of blue and green.
Underwater, the deeper you go, the faster certain colors are absorbed by the water. From the first few meters, red disappears, giving a grayish or bluish appearance to red objects. Next, orange and yellow gradually fade as you go deeper. Meanwhile, blue and green are much more resilient; they persist in depth, which is why a diver often sees the surrounding environment dominated by a fairly cold blue-green hue. With depth, brightness also decreases significantly, gradually giving way to a darker environment, with dull or almost nonexistent colors. As a result, without artificial lighting, the deep underwater world often appears monotonous, dominated by dark blue or gray.
Underwater, light does not travel straight like it does in the air; it mainly undergoes two phenomena: scattering and refraction. Scattering occurs when particles suspended in water (such as plankton, dust, or even tiny air bubbles) scatter light rays in all directions. The result is reduced visibility, and we often have a blurry or hazy view in the distance, especially if the water is murky. Refraction, on the other hand, is when light changes direction as it passes between two mediums (like air and water). Because of this, objects underwater appear larger and closer than they actually are, an illusion that often misleads beginner divers. These phenomena significantly alter our perception of the underwater environment, particularly the shapes, distances, and intensities of colors.
Underwater, your eyes must quickly adapt to less light and different colors. Your pupil automatically reacts by widening to capture as much available light as possible. The light-sensitive cells in your retina (rods and cones) gradually adjust. The rods, specialists in low-light vision, work much harder underwater, while the cones, which usually handle color, become less effective as light diminishes with depth. Your brain then tries to compensate for all this by adjusting its perception of colors, even when they become dull or bluish a few meters underwater. Nevertheless, without a mask or appropriate goggles, your vision remains blurry due to the difference in refraction between your eye and the water.
To better perceive colors underwater, divers often use color filters that can be attached to the mask or directly to the lens of their camera, which correct the blue tint at various depths. There are also powerful dive lights equipped with neutral or slightly warm lighting to restore the natural rendering of colors. Some divers prefer masks with tinted or contrasted glass, which enhance contrast and increase the perception of details in poorly lit areas. This equipment greatly facilitates underwater observation and photography by bringing back the colors lost at depth.
At great depths, below the photic zone, darkness prevails, and marine organisms develop bioluminescence to generate their own light.
Did you know that some marine fish use their red color as a means of camouflage because this color quickly disappears underwater, making them almost invisible to distant predators?
The phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering, responsible for the blue color of the sky, also acts underwater by scattering the short blue and green wavelengths.
Underwater photographers use red filters or high-power lights to restore the natural colors lost underwater.
In cases of high turbidity (the presence of suspended particles in the water), light is scattered more, reducing visibility and further altering the colors perceived by the diver. Under these conditions, even at shallow depths, colors may appear dull or blurred.
The human eye has a certain ability to adapt to the decrease in underwater light but is not capable of specifically compensating for the loss of certain colors, such as red. This makes the use of artificial lighting necessary to clearly distinguish color nuances at certain depths.
The perception of red diminishes significantly within the first few meters below the surface, usually around 5 meters. By 10 to 15 meters, this color can almost completely disappear, making way mainly for blues and greens.
Sure! Here’s the translation: "Yes, divers often use flashlights or special wide-spectrum lights to illuminate their environment and restore the natural colors lost due to selective absorption. Colored filters for cameras also exist to artificially recreate the correct perception of colors."
Masks with yellow or orange tinted lenses can help enhance contrast perception and partially compensate for the loss of warm colors underwater. They improve clarity and visual comfort by filtering out certain dominant shades of blue or green while submerged.
As depth increases, water selectively absorbs certain wavelengths of light, primarily reds, oranges, and then yellows. Thus, the deeper you go, the warmer colors disappear first, giving a bluish or greenish tint to the images.
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