Earth’s oceans may soon turn purple

Photo: Clouds over the sea shore at Belmont, NSW, Australia. Photo credit: Steven Raines via Pexels. Article by Joshua Hawkins. BGR – May 1, 2025. Research article: Nature Ecology & Evolution.

We’ve always called Earth the blue planet, but that color might not be permanent. Previous research claims our oceans were once green, and if environmental conditions shift dramatically, a new study says they could eventually turn purple. The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, explores how ocean color has changed over billions of years, driven by the chemistry of the water and the light filtering through it. Between 3.8 and 1.8 billion years ago, during the Archean eon, the seas weren’t blue at all. Back then, high levels of dissolved iron from volcanic vents and eroded rock turned the oceans green. […]

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