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The density of air at sea level is about 1.2 kg/m 3 (1.2 g/L, 0.0012 g/cm 3). Density is not measured directly but is calculated from measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity using the equation of state for air (a form of the ideal gas law). Atmospheric density decreases as the altitude increases.
Like inorganic carbon, there are two main forms of organic carbon found in the ocean (dissolved and particulate). Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is defined operationally as any organic molecule that can pass through a 0.2 μm filter. DOC can be converted into particulate organic carbon through heterotrophy and it can also be converted back to ...
Water is the medium of the oceans, the medium which carries all the substances and elements involved in the marine biogeochemical cycles. Water as found in nature almost always includes dissolved substances, so water has been described as the "universal solvent" for its ability to dissolve so many substances.
Measurements of primary productivity in the ocean can be made using this ratio. The concentration of oxygen dissolved in seawater varies according to biological processes (photosynthesis and respiration) as well as physical processes (air-sea gas exchange, temperature and pressure changes, lateral mixing and vertical diffusion).
In the ocean by volume, the most abundant gases dissolved in seawater are carbon dioxide (including bicarbonate and carbonate ions, 14 mL/L on average), nitrogen (9 mL/L), and oxygen (5 mL/L) at equilibrium at 24 °C (75 °F) [122] [123] [124] All gases are more soluble – more easily dissolved – in colder water than in warmer water. For ...
However, for aqueous solutions, the Henry's law solubility constant for many species goes through a minimum. For most permanent gases, the minimum is below 120 °C. Often, the smaller the gas molecule (and the lower the gas solubility in water), the lower the temperature of the maximum of the Henry's law constant.
Ocean warming decreases the solubility of CO 2 in seawater, slowing the ocean's response to emissions. Warming also acts to increase ocean stratification, isolating the surface ocean from deeper waters. Additionally, changes in the ocean's thermohaline circulation (specifically slowing) [6] may act to decrease transport of dissolved CO 2 into ...
In aquatic animals, dissolved oxygen in water is absorbed by specialized respiratory organs called gills, through the skin or via the gut; in terrestrial animals such as tetrapods, oxygen in air is actively taken into the body via specialized organs known as lungs, where gas exchange takes place to diffuse oxygen into the blood and carbon ...