What are the two factors that affect the salinity of the sea water?
What are the two factors that affect the salinity of ocean water ? The salinity of Ocean water in the surface layer of oceans depend mainly on evaporation and precipitation. Evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice both increase the salinity of the ocean.
What does the term salinity in the ocean mean?
You may have heard of the term saline — it means something containing salt. The ocean is saline. The term salinity refers to the level of salt in a solution and is used to describe the level of salt in the land and water. Salinity is high in many areas throughout the Murray–Darling Basin and is a major environmental problem.
Why does the density of sea water vary?
Seawater density varies with temperature, degree of salinity, and depth. High temperature produces low density, and high salinity produces high density. Deep water has high density because of low temperature and because of the pressure of the overlying water.
How does the vertical distribution of salinity change with depth?
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.
How are high and low tides related to salinity?
This next factor includes the rise and the fall of the ocean water which is also known as tides. Both high and low tides are important in determining what the salinity would be like for the ocean water. High tide will mean high salinity as ocean water increases.
Where is maximum salinity found in the ocean?
Maximum salinity is found in the upper layer of the ocean water. Salinity decreases with increasing depth. • The upper zone of maximum salinity and the lower zone of minimum salinity is separated by a transition zone called Thermocline zone. This article is shared by Priyanka Duta.
What is the percentage of salinity in the Dead Sea?
Take one as the example, Lake Vanda is being categorized as the Salt lake as it has 35% percentage of the salinity water level. On the another hand, the Dead sea has 33.7% salinity in percentage while ocean water in the world also has approximately 3.5% of salinity level on average.
How does thawing of icebergs affect seawater salinity?
Nile, Amazon, Ganges, etc considerably affect the salinity due to its little or no salt content. Thawing of large icebergs: Out of 3% freshwater available on earth, 67% is stored in glaciers, icebergs and ice caps.
Where is the lowest salinity in the ocean?
Lowest salinity (violet and blue areas) is found in areas of freshwater runoff, such as the mouths of rivers, and where rainfall is high (as in the ITCZ); highest salinity (red and yellow) is found where evaporation rates are highest.