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Evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice further increase the salinity of the ocean. However these processes which increase salinity are continually counterbalanced by processes that decrease salinity, such as the continuous input of fresh water from rivers, precipitation of rain and snow, and the melting of ice. [13]
The water is full of salts, selenium, and fertilizers (mainly nitrates). [31] As it drains through the soil, the water leaches out ancient salt deposits that also raise the salinity. Evaporation in the desert heat further concentrates the salt. The transformation of the lake made it increasingly inhospitable to wildlife.
Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. The salinity of water bodies varies widely, being lower near the surface and the mouths of large rivers and higher in the depths of the ocean; however, the relative proportions of ...
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, [1] [2] is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root brak.
If the water cannot drain into the ground, it remains on the surface until it evaporates, leaving behind minerals precipitated from the salt ions dissolved in the water. Over thousands of years, the minerals (usually salts) accumulate on the surface. [1] These minerals reflect the sun's rays and often appear as white areas. Salt pans can be ...
Salinity from irrigation can occur over time wherever irrigation occurs, since almost all water (even natural rainfall) contains some dissolved salts. [5] When the plants use the water, the salts are left behind in the soil and eventually begin to accumulate. This water in excess of plant needs is called the leaching fraction.
Another problem of growing crops in this way is the build-up of salinity in the soil caused by the evaporation of river water. [122] The greening of the desert remains an aspiration and was at one time viewed as a future means for increasing food production for the world's growing population. This prospect has proved false as it disregarded the ...
As salinity increases within a freshwater ecosystem, often this results in a decrease of biota diversity and richness. [19] The extinction rate for freshwater organisms are among the highest worldwide, [3] and as salinity levels in these aquatic ecosystems continue to increase, more species and their environments will become threatened.