When salinity changes occur in a vertical profile?
Vertical Distribution of Salinity Salinity changes with depth, but the way it changes depends upon the location of the sea. Salinity at the surface increases by the loss of water to ice or evaporation, or decreased by the input of fresh waters, such as from the rivers.
What represents the vertical concentration of salt in the ocean?
The salt content in seawater is indicated by salinity (S), which is defined as the amount of salt in grams dissolved in one kilogram of seawater and expressed in parts per thousand.
What is the salinity of seawater?
about 35 parts per thousand
The concentration of salt in seawater (its salinity) is about 35 parts per thousand; in other words, about 3.5% of the weight of seawater comes from the dissolved salts.
Which influence the oceanic salinity?
Evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice both increase the salinity of the ocean. However these “salinity raising” factors are continually counterbalanced by processes that decrease salinity such as the continuous input of fresh water from rivers, precipitation of rain and snow, and melting of ice.
What is salinity What are the factors affecting salinity of sea water?
Salinity of seawater is affected by evaporation, precipitation, ice formation, and ice melting. Evaporation increases the salinity of seawater because when seawater evaporates, the salts are left behind, thus increasing their concentration.
What is special about Dittmar’s 77 samples of sea water?
Dittmar’s 77 samples showed no significant global differences in relative composition, and his average concentrations are used today to represent the ratios of major constituents in sea water.
What are the main reasons for high Na+ and Cl concentration in ocean?
Salt in the ocean comes from two sources: runoff from the land and openings in the seafloor. Rocks on land are the major source of salts dissolved in seawater. Rainwater that falls on land is slightly acidic, so it erodes rocks.
Which sea has the highest salinity?
The saltiest ocean water is in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf region (around 40‰) due to very high evaporation and little fresh water inflow.
Which ocean has salinity more than 37 %?
the Atlantic
the Atlantic have the highest salinity, higher than 37 parts per thousand in some areas. This is because, on average, there is more evaporation than combined rainfall and river runoff into the Atlantic Ocean, maintaining.
What caused the salinity of ocean water?
Salt in the ocean comes from two sources: runoff from the land and openings in the seafloor. Rocks on land are the major source of salts dissolved in seawater. Rainwater that falls on land is slightly acidic, so it erodes rocks. The heated water is released through vents in the seafloor, carrying the metals with it.
How does salinity affect marine organisms?
Salinity can affect the density of ocean water: Water that has higher salinity is denser and heavier and will sink underneath less saline, warmer water. This can affect the movement of ocean currents. It can also affect marine life, which may need to regulate its intake of saltwater.
Why does the salinity of seawater remain constant?
why does the salinity of seawater remain relatively constant over time? because the ocean is well mixed so the relative concentrations of the major components in sea water are essentially constant. It can get very deep and cold at the bottom and nutrients can get trapped at the bottom.