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T-S diagram of a station in the North Pacific. In oceanography, temperature-salinity diagrams, sometimes called T-S diagrams, are used to identify water masses.In a T-S diagram, rather than plotting each water property as a separate "profile," with pressure or depth as the vertical coordinate, potential temperature (on the vertical axis) is plotted versus salinity (on the horizontal axis).
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 ocean temperature plays a crucial role in the global climate system, ocean currents and for marine habitats. It varies depending on depth, geographical location and season. Not only does the temperature differ in seawater, so does the salinity. Warm surface water is generally saltier than the cooler deep or polar waters. [1]
The difference is that the density increases with depth, whereas the salinity and temperature decrease with depth. The halo-, thermo-, and pycnocline at 10E, 30S. For this image the annual means of the year 2000 from the GODAS Data [4] has been used. In the ocean, a specific range of temperature and salinity occurs.
The density of surface seawater ranges from about 1020 to 1029 kg/m 3, depending on the temperature and salinity. At a temperature of 25 °C, the salinity of 35 g/kg and 1 atm pressure, the density of seawater is 1023.6 kg/m 3. [7] [8] Deep in the ocean, under high pressure, seawater can reach a density of 1050 kg/m 3 or higher. The density of ...
Typically, warm freshwater is less dense than cold salty water, thus the colder water will sink below the warmer water. Isopycnals are used to display this vertical distribution of the water. Variations in temperature and salinity along isopycnals can be described with spiciness. This creates distinguishable layers of water with differing ...
Plot of temperature and salinity in the Arctic Ocean at 85,18 north and 117,28 east dated Jan. 1st 2010. [4] 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.
Salinity is an important factor in determining many aspects of the chemistry of natural waters and of biological processes within it, and is a thermodynamic state variable that, along with temperature and pressure, governs physical characteristics like the density and heat capacity of the water.