Hmmmm Green Ice?

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**Lordhat**

First off, I didn't know exactly where to post this, but since painting and modeling are intrinsically tied to color and color theory, this was my best guess.

For a few years I've been contemplating modelling bases with 'green ice', as opposed to blue ice like we have here on earth. Now from my research I've found out that (glacier) ice here on earth is blue because the ice absorbs light from the red and yellow spectrum. What I'm wondering: How would green ice occur?

A different color star?
A different compound?
A combination of the two?
Simply wouldn't occur as we understand physics?

**Sean_OBrien**

It appears blue (or other colors) because of the atmospheric conditions. At sunset/sunrise it can look red hear depending on the sky. You can find some extremely dramatic images of icebergs which are nearly glowing red from the setting (or rising) sun.

The same could be true with other planets - their atmosphere could be green, red or some other color as a result minerals (like Mars) or from atmospheric gases like you find on the outer planets. You also have certain organisms which can change the color of the ice (you can find green ice in some areas on Earth as a result of algae which are able to survive freezing temperatures).

Of course, you can also do things just because you want to and not worry too much about the specific reason for why something might be green, blue, red, orange, pink or purple. It might not be ice at all - it could be some sort of odd chemical formation.

**snooggums**

Bacteria or some other organism could be living in the ice, like an alien version of a red tide.

**Greenizbest**

I think one of the drawbacks of doing green ice is that it would just look like grass or moss from a distance simply because we don't associate the color with ice. It would probably be pretty difficult to make it recognizable but if you could pull it off then more power to ya.

**Squidmanlolz**

Perhaps the ice has high levels of dissolved copper

**Dr H**

Bacteria and algae could do it.

Also the lighting, as was said. But that would also affect the colour of the surroundings as well, so green light could reflect off ice to make it appear green but that green light would also be shining on whatever it standing by that ice and would also have to look green (at least in places).

Also, various chemical compounds etc... can affect the colour of the solution (and potentially the ice) they are in. For example; gold nanoparticles encased in glass scatter green light strongly and so the glass looks red when lit from behind, but looks green when lit from the front.
And some metal complexes are also green in solution, as well as other colours.

So you can have any colour you like, it is possible, and it can be for any reason (especially if it's on an alien world).