Viewers who tune up in to watch the women’s10 - meter synchronized platform finalon August 9 were treated to a surprise : The water in the consortium had turned an alarming shade of emerald green . Olympian functionary find fault the discoloration on " a proliferation of algae cause by the heat and deficiency of wind , " but , asNew Scientistexplains , the " sodding storm " of constituent that led to the dramatic color modification is actually a bit more complicated .
As anyone who has ever owned or been pressure to scavenge a consortium knows , atomic number 17 keeps a tidy sum of undesirable stuff from boom in there — include algae . In the caseful of the Olympic syndicate , the chlorine seem to have fail at its job , and sunlight could be to pick . This is reportedly one of the first Olympics in recent history where the swim events are being held outdoors . Under the direct heating plant of the sun , chlorine - based disinfectants can break down and evaporate , leaving pee vulnerable to extraneous organism .
However , this phenomenon alone does n’t explicate the alga problem . As spectators see on Tuesday , the swimming pool leave a severe , sparklingly clear dividing line to the diving pool just yard off . One crucial divergence between the two pools was temperature . The diving pool is kept fond , creating a more inviting atmosphere for biography forms to grow . The diving pool is also much calmer than the swimming syndicate . The still H2O helps competitors place their dives , but it also intend that Cl circulates through the pool at a much slow rate .
in brief after the incident , Rio spokesman Mario Andrada toldAPthat the pool would be back to its desired nicety by the following day . The next twenty-four hours ’s events have since started and the puddle ’s sickly hue has remain unchanged . In the meantime , the neighboring water supply polo pool isslowly turning greento equal . Fortunately trial have hold the water safe to float in .
[ h / tNew Scientist ]
