Is a salinity monitoring network "Worth its salt"? Year Published: Why is the ocean salty? Swenson, Herbert. Date published: June 4, Date published: May 22, Filter Total Items: 9. List Grid. July 16, March 22, A short video on why the ocean is salty.
March 23, Salt is also used as feedstock for chlorine and caustic soda manufacture; these two inorganic chemicals are used to make many consumer-related end-use products, such as November 8, Attribution: Western Ecological Research Center. April 27, Attribution: Environments Program. December 31, Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.
October 1, January 1, August 15, Shallow water often appears clear as there are fewer water molecules to absorb the light, so other colours are able to reach the sea floor and reflect. The deeper you go, the more other colours are absorbed and the deeper blue the light becomes, until you reach the point where no visible light can reach, where it is completely dark.
The colour of the water also depends on other factors, such as what particles are floating in it. Coastal areas can sometimes look murky and brown as they contain sand from the seabed that has been churned up by waves.
Living things influence the colour, too. Phytoplankton are tiny organisms that act a bit like plants, using chlorophyll to absorb sunlight and grow. They absorb red and blue light, reflecting green light and giving the sea a greener look. The oceans cover about 70 percent of the Earth's surface, and that about 97 percent of all water on and in the Earth is saline—there's a lot of salty water on our planet.
Find out here how the water in the seas became salty. Why is the ocean salty? Rivers discharge mineral-rich water to the oceans. One way minerals and salts are deposited into the oceans is from outflow from rivers, which drain the landscape, thus causing the oceans to be salty.
You may know that the oceans cover about 70 percent of the of Earth's surface, and that about 97 percent of all water on and in the Earth is saline—there's a lot of salty water on our planet. By some estimates, if the salt in the ocean could be removed and spread evenly over the Earth's land surface it would form a layer more than feet meters thick, about the height of a story office building Source: NOAA.
But, where did all this salt come from? If you get into folk stories and mythology you will see that almost every culture has a story explaining how the oceans became salty.
The answer is really very simple. Salt in the ocean comes from rocks on land. Here's how it works The rain that falls on the land contains some dissolved carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. This causes the rainwater to be slightly acidic due to carbonic acid. The rain physically erodes the rock and the acids chemically break down the rocks and carries salts and minerals along in a dissolved state as ions.
The ions in the runoff are carried to the streams and rivers and then to the ocean. Many of the dissolved ions are used by organisms in the ocean and are removed from the water. Others are not used up and are left for long periods of time where their concentrations increase over time.
Rainwater that falls on land is slightly acidic, so it erodes rocks. This releases ions that are carried away to streams and rivers that eventually feed into the ocean. Many of the dissolved ions are used by organisms in the ocean and are removed from the water.
Others are not removed, so their concentrations increase over time. Another source of salts in the ocean is hydrothermal fluids, which come from vents in the seafloor. The heat causes a series of chemical reactions.
0コメント