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Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. Data from the World Ocean Atlas 2009. [1] International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) standard seawater. Salinity (/ s ə ˈ l ɪ n ɪ t i /) is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity).
Plot of temperature and salinity in the Arctic Ocean at 85,18 north and 117,28 east dated Jan. 1st 2010. [6] In the graphical representation, three layers can be discerned: About 50 m (160 ft) of low salinity water "swimming" on top of the ocean. The temperature is −1.8 °C (28.8 °F), which is very near to the freezing point. This layer ...
Of crucial importance for paleoclimatology is the observation that an increase in salinity will thus reduce the solubility of carbon dioxide in the oceans. Since there is thought to have been a 120 m depression in sea level at the last glacial maximum due to the extensive formation of ice sheets (which are solely freshwater), this represents a ...
The abyssopelagic zone is the portion of the ocean deeper than about 4,000 m (13,000 feet) and shallower than about 6,000 m (20,000 feet). The zone is defined mainly by its extremely uniform environmental conditions, as reflected in the distinct life forms inhabiting it. [ 8 ]
A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Worldwide there is about 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats extend to the margins of the continental shelves, occupying about 7 percent of the ocean surface area.
The level of salinity can also be quite variable. Low salinities can be caused by rainwater or river inputs of freshwater. Estuarine species must be especially euryhaline, or able to tolerate a wide range of salinities. High salinities occur in locations with high evaporation rates, such as in salt marshes and high intertidal pools.
In the diagram pictured at the top, it categorises a water mass by the temperature and salinity of the water and is represented by a single point. However, water masses are not constant. Throughout time climates can change, seasons can drag out, or there could be less rainfall meaning that the water masses might change in temperature or salinity.
The quantity and the spatial distribution of those fluxes determine the ocean salinity (the salt concentration of the ocean water). A positive freshwater flux leads to mixing of water with low to zero salinity with the salty ocean water, resulting in a decrease of the water salinity.