Waves And Aquatic Plants

There seems to be a general feeling that the waves on the surface of a body of water have little effect on the plant life deep under the water. It is thought of as somewhat like flying above the clouds and thus being unaffected by the weather below. However, I find that this cannot be the case.

Waves on the surface are caused by wind. The waves and splashing on the surface assist in the dissolution of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the water. A wave presents a greater surface area to the air than a calm surface, enabling a faster rate of dissolution of gases in the air into the water.

Thus, it would seem that surface waves without excessive force are a boon to plant life under the water. But on the other hand, aquatic plants depend on the sunlight that passes through the surface of the water and these plants tend to be a darker shade of green than terrestrial plants to aid in the absorption of the greatest possible amount of light.

Thus, my reasoning is that the condition of the water's surface will affect how much sunlight enters the water. Light will penetrate water to about 180 meters but longer wavelengths are absorbed in much less distance. Red light will vanish about 9 meters underwater. This is why deep water appears blue, it is the only color (colour) that can pass through enough distance of water without being absorbed to be refracted back to the surface.

Waves are low and rounded in shape before they break upon the shore. My logic is that as sunlight enters the wave, some of the light will be refracted out of the opposite side of the wave and will be lost to the water. This lost light is light that would have entered the water and been of use to aquatic plants if the surface of the water had been calm.

My conclusion is that waves on the surface of a deep body of water will benefit plants near the surface because they cause more carbon dioxide to be absorbed into the water but will hinder plants located deeper because the waves will result in the loss of sunlight to the water that would not have been lost if the surface had been calm. Thus, the waviness due to weather of the surface of a body of deep water will be a factor in the distribution of plants within that body of water. I have been unable to find any reference to this.