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Since liquid water flows, ocean waters cycle and flow in currents around the world. Since water easily changes phase, it can be carried into the atmosphere as water vapour or frozen as an iceberg. It can then precipitate or melt to become liquid water again. All marine life is immersed in water, the matrix and womb of life itself. [7]
CaCO 3 is supersatured in the great majority of ocean surface waters and undersaturated at depth, [10] meaning the shells are more likely to dissolve as they sink to ocean depths. CaCO 3 can also be dissolved through metabolic dissolution (i.e. can be used as food and excreted) and thus deep ocean sediments have very little calcium carbonate. [16]
In the water cycle, the universal solvent water evaporates from land and oceans to form clouds in the atmosphere, and then precipitates back to different parts of the planet. Precipitation can seep into the ground and become part of groundwater systems used by plants and other organisms, or can runoff the surface to form lakes and rivers.
Carbon dioxide also dissolves directly from the atmosphere into bodies of water (ocean, lakes, etc.), as well as dissolving in precipitation as raindrops fall through the atmosphere. When dissolved in water, carbon dioxide reacts with water molecules and forms carbonic acid, which contributes to ocean acidity. It can then be absorbed by rocks ...
Lakes are net emitters of methane, and organic and inorganic carbon (dissolved and particulate) flow into the ocean through freshwater systems. In the ocean, methane can be released from thawing subsea permafrost, and CO 2 is absorbed due to an undersaturation of CO 2 in the water compared with the atmosphere. In addition, multiple fluxes are ...
Each year, the ocean and atmosphere exchange large amounts of carbon. A major controlling factor in oceanic-atmospheric carbon exchange is thermohaline circulation. In regions of ocean upwelling, carbon-rich water from the deep ocean comes to the surface and releases carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is estimated to range from 20-70% of the carbon content of the oceans, being higher near river outlets and lower in the open ocean. [5] DOM can be recycled and put back into the food web through a process called microbial loop which is essential for nutrient cycling and supporting primary productivity. [6]
Sea water can prevent desiccation although it is much saltier than fresh water. For oceanic organism, not like terrestrial plants and animals, water is never a problem. Sea water carries oxygen and nutrients to oceanic organisms, which allow them to be planktonic or settled. The dissolved minerals and oxygen flow with currents/circulations.