Transcript SALT IN THE OCEANS

SALT IN THE OCEANS
Composition of sea water
Where do the salts come from?
• Weathering of rocks
– Na, Mg, Ca, K
• Underwater volcanic eruptions
– Cl, Br, S
Salinity
• Ratio of dissolved substance to the mass of
water
• %= parts per hundred
• 0/00= parts per thousand
• Seawater averages 35 0/00
What can change salinity?
• Lowers salinity
– Precipitation
– Run-off
– Melting land or sea ice
• Raises salinity
– Evaporation
– Formation of sea ice
Glaciers
• Growing glaciers ________ salinity
• Melting glaciers ________ salinity
Salinity
Salinity map
Dead Sea
• Salinity 300 ppt
• No life forms
Great Salt Lake, Utah
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Salinity 12 ppt
No fish
Stinky brine shrimp
Would you want to boat in this?
Deep ocean currents