system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does water especially in the beach looks blue when you gaze at it from a distance, but then turns somewhat green when you are near it, and then when you kinda scoop it the water turns white?
gpt
Water is blue because it absorbs the other colors of light, reflecting the blue light to your eyes -- or Blue light penetrates water the deepest. First is absorbs the reds and oranges and ultra violet and violet, then the yellows and greens. 

This is what you see at the macro-level when you view the ocean from far away. 

As you get closer, and see water that is closer to shore, there isn't enough water to absorb those yellows and greens so this is what will cause that blue-green hue to start showing up. 

When you scoop up a tiny bit of water, there really isn't enough water there to absorb a significant amount of light, which is why the water shows clear.