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LitreOfCockPus t1_iu9j4ol wrote

Reply to comment by Gi0vannamaria in Brúarfoss, Iceland [OC] [3163x4742] by jameshunter3

Wouldn't advise drinking it, no matter what your brain tells you though!

The light blue color comes from rock that has been ground so fine by glacier movement that it behaves more like flour than sand, taking a very long time to settle.Flowing water can keep the miniscule flecks in suspension for even longer!

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wpnw t1_iu9szdi wrote

The light blue color in this case comes from air bubbles, not silt. This river isn't sourced in a glacier at all. The light blue stripe below the waterfall is a former lava tube, so it's quite deep in that area. As the water gets agitated where it drops into the crevasse at the waterfall the air bubbles end up getting pushed into the deep water where the current is strong, and they get pulled downstream rather than bubbling to the surface. If you turn around on the bridge this picture was taken from, you can see where the bubble trail eventually works its way to the surface and the light blue color fades out. If it was caused by silt, you'd see the light blue color everywhere in the river, not just in the deep sections, and it would be less blue and more milky on overcast days like depicted in OP's picture.

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Gi0vannamaria t1_iu9jcae wrote

Thanks for the fun fact haha. I have to say the water I did drink in Iceland was incredible.

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ch-12 t1_iuan6qh wrote

Oops, I think I refilled from the river water like 3 times during this hike.

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LitreOfCockPus t1_iuanjjv wrote

Apparently this is light-blue from aeration, so you're 👍

Unless you're a spooky skeleton wearing touchscreen gloves

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ch-12 t1_iubaxe1 wrote

Yeah, I’ve seen the light blue water from sediment in places like to Canadian Rockies (Reddit lake) and this Iceland river was definitely different haha.

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LitreOfCockPus t1_iubb95g wrote

Why is it funny?

Ignorance is shameful, not something to be laughed at.

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