Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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).
In contrast, variations in salinity were much greater than they are today. Modern day salinities are all within 0.5 psu of the global average salinity of 34.7 psu, whereas salinities during the last glacial maximum (LGM) ranged from 35.8 psu in the North Atlantic to 37.1 in the Southern Ocean.
Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximately 35 grams (1.2 oz) of dissolved salts (predominantly sodium ( Na +
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.
Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is
Deep sea water column. The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined geographical point.
The salinity is associated with the difference between evaporation and precipitation. [1] Ocean currents are important in moving fresh and saline waters around and in keeping a balance. Evaporation causes the water to become more saline, and hence denser. Precipitation has the opposite effect, since it decreases the density of the surface water.
A characteristic of seawater is that it is salty. Salinity is usually measured in parts per thousand (‰ or per mil), and the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) solids per litre, a salinity of 35 ‰. The Mediterranean Sea is slightly higher at 38 ‰, [22] while the salinity of the northern Red Sea can reach 41‰. [23]