how much percentage salt in seawater

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Why is the ocean salty?

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. 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

Another source of salts in the ocean is hydrothermal fluids, which come from vents in the seafloor. Ocean water seeps into cracks in the seafloor and is heated by magma from the Earth’s core. The heat causes a series of chemical reactions. The water tends to lose oxygen, magnesium, and sulfates, and pick up metals such as iron, zinc, and copper from surrounding rocks. The heated water is released through vents in the seafloor, carrying the metals with it. Some ocean salts come from underwater volcanic eruptions, which directly release minerals into the ocean.

Salt domes

Salt domes also contribute to the ocean’s saltiness. These domes, vast deposits of salt that form over geological timescales, are found underground and undersea around the world. They are common across the continental shelf of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

chloride and sodium

Two of the most prevalent ions in seawater are chloride and sodium. Together, they make up around 85 percent of all dissolved ions in the ocean. Magnesium and sulfate make up another 10 percent of the total. Other ions are found in very small concentrations. The concentration of salt in seawater (salinity) varies with temperature, evaporation, and precipitation. Salinity is generally low at the equator and at the poles, and high at mid-latitudes. The average salinity is about 35 parts per thousand. Stated in another way, about 3.5 percent of the weight of seawater comes from the dissolved salts.

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Seawater

it is, water that makes up the oceans and seas, covering more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface. it is a complex mixture of 96.5 percent water, 2.5 percent salts, and smaller amounts of other substances, including dissolved inorganic and organic materials, particulates, and a few atmospheric gases.

Seawater constitutes a rich source of various commercially important chemical elements. Much of the world’s magnesium is recovered from seawater, as are large quantities of bromine. In certain parts of the world, sodium chloride (table salt) is still obtained by evaporating seawater. In addition, water from the sea, when desalted, can furnish a limitless supply of drinking water. Many large desalination plants have been built in dry areas along seacoasts in the Middle East and elsewhere to relieve shortages of fresh water.

Chemical and physical properties of seawater

The six most abundant ions of seawater are chloride (Cl⁻), sodium (Na⁺), sulfate (SO²₄⁻), magnesium (Mg²⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), and potassium (K⁺). By weight these ions make up about 99 percent of all sea salts. The amount of these salts in a volume of seawater varies because of the addition or removal of water locally (e.g., through precipitation and evaporation). 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. Salinities in the open ocean have been observed to range from about 34 to 37 parts per thousand (0/00 or ppt), which may also be expressed as 34 to 37 practical salinity units (psu).

major dissolved substances of seawater

Inorganic carbon, bromide, boron, strontium, and fluoride constitute the other major dissolved substances of seawater. Of the many minor dissolved chemical constituents, inorganic phosphorus and inorganic nitrogen are among the most notable, since they are important for the growth of organisms that inhabit the oceans and seas. Seawater also contains various dissolved atmospheric gases, chiefly nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. Some other components of seawater are dissolved organic substances, such as carbohydrates and amino acids, and organic-rich particulates. These materials originate primarily in the upper 100 metres (330 feet) of the ocean, where dissolved inorganic carbon is transformed by photosynthesis into organic matter.

how much percentage salt in seawater

Many of the characteristics of seawater

Many of the characteristics of seawater correspond to those of water in general, because of their common chemical and physical properties. For example, the molecular structure of seawater, like that of fresh water, favours the formation of bonds among molecules. Some of the distinctive qualities of seawater are attributable to its salt content. The viscosity (i.e., internal resistance to flow) of seawater, for example, is higher than that of fresh water because of its higher salinity. The density of seawater also is higher for the same reason. Seawater’s freezing point is lower than that of pure water, and its boiling point is higher.

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of seawater is influenced by a wide variety of chemical transport mechanisms. Rivers add dissolved and particulate chemicals to the oceanic margins.

Wind-borne particulates are carried to mid-ocean regions thousands of kilometres from their continental source areas. Hydrothermal solutions that have circulated through crustal materials beneath the seafloor add both dissolved and particulate materials to the deep ocean.

Organisms in the upper ocean convert dissolved materials to solids, which eventually settle to greater oceanic depths.

Particulates in transit to the seafloor

Particulates in transit to the seafloor, as well as materials both on and within the seafloor, undergo chemical exchange with surrounding solutions.

Through these local and regional chemical input and removal mechanisms, each element in the oceans tends to exhibit spatial and temporal concentration variations.

Physical mixing in the oceans (thermohaline and wind-driven circulation) tends to homogenize the chemical composition of seawater.

The opposing influences of physical mixing and of biogeochemical input and removal mechanisms result in a substantial variety of chemical distributions in the oceans.

Seawater

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⁺
) and chloride (Cl⁻
) ions). Average density at the surface is 1.025 kg/l. Seawater is denser than both fresh water and pure water (density 1.0 kg/l at 4 °C (39 °F)) because the dissolved salts increase the mass by a larger proportion than the volume. The freezing point of seawater decreases as salt concentration increases.

At typical salinity, it freezes at about −2 °C (28 °F).The coldest seawater still in the liquid state ever recorded was found in 2010, in a stream under an Antarctic glacier: the measured temperature was −2.6 °C (27.3 °F).^[2] Seawater pH is typically limited to a range between 7.5 and 8.4. However, there is no universally accepted reference pH-scale for seawater and the difference between measurements based on different reference scales may be up to 0.14 units.

resource: wikipedia