![density of ocean water density of ocean water](https://s3.studylib.net/store/data/006603482_1-1c67f579a4d40f5beb1a0a40c37938e2.png)
The surface waters of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans become very cold and finally freeze. The winters in the Arctic and the Antarctic are extremely cold. However when the wind blows and the sea becomes rough, the two waters become all mixed up. This means that when rivers flow out into the sea the river freshwater floats on top of the sea water. Seawater is a little bit more dense than fresh water so it sinks beneath freshwater. Increasing the mass by adding salt increases the density. That mass would be the salt, which makes the mass of water greater, without adding much to its volume.ĭensity = mass/volume. Salt water has more mass in it than fresh water. (see image) Salt water is more dense than fresh water
![density of ocean water density of ocean water](https://image2.slideserve.com/5076641/composition-l.jpg)
The other salts are made up of chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulphur, calcium, and potassium. Or, put another way, one litre of seawater contains 35 grams of salt - that is approximately six teaspoons.Ībout 90% of sea salt is sodium chloride or table salt. This means that in a 100gm solution of salty water, there is 3.5 grams of salt. Ocean water has a salinity of about 3.5% salt. Salinity is a measure of how much salt there is in water. Watch this video demonstration that shows cold water sinking below warm water. That means that cold water will sink below warm water. Cold water is more dense than warm waterĬold water is heavier or more dense than warm water. The average surface temperature is about 17☌. The average temperature of the sea is about 2☌.
![density of ocean water density of ocean water](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z3sz9cPDb7M/maxresdefault.jpg)
For example the sea temperature around the Persian Gulf can be as warm as 36☌. The sea water around the equator can be very warm.The sea water around the Antarctic continent is always very cold.The lack of a pycnocline (or a thermocline) allows cold, nutrient-rich deep water to more easily mix with the surface water, leading to higher primary production in polar regions. In the high latitudes the water is uniformly cold at all depths, so there is little density stratification. As stated above, this stratification prevents nutrient-rich water from reaching the surface and as a result tropical regions often have low productivity. In the tropics the surface water is warm and low density, and there is a pronounced thermocline separating it from the colder, denser deep water. In this way, nutrient-rich deep water may be prevented from coming to the surface to support primary production.Īs with temperature, there are also latitudinal differences in density. By creating a stratified water column, the thermocline and pycnocline together create a barrier that prevents mixing between the warmer, less dense surface water and the colder, denser bottom water.
![density of ocean water density of ocean water](https://www.klaiyihair.com/cdn/shop/articles/low_density_wig.jpg)
This vertical movement of water masses based on density (as determined by temperature and salinity) is referred to as thermohaline circulation, which is the topic of section 9.8. If denser water happened to form at the surface, the water masses would be unstable, and the denser water would sink to the bottom, to be replaced by less dense water at the surface. The profile above represents a stable state, or a high degree of stratification, where the warm, low density layer sits atop the colder, denser layer. The warm surface water causes a decrease in surface density (PW). \) Representative density profile for the open ocean at mid-latitudes.