What is salinity and what are the factors that affect it?

What is salinity and what are the factors that affect it?

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 2 factors affect ocean salinity?

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 affects salinity?

Salinity affects production in crops, pastures and trees by interfering with nitrogen uptake, reducing growth and stopping plant reproduction. Some ions (particularly chloride) are toxic to plants and as the concentration of these ions increases, the plant is poisoned and dies.

What is salinity defined as?

Ocean salinity is generally defined as the salt concentration (e.g., Sodium and Chlorure) in sea water. It is measured in unit of PSU (Practical Salinity Unit), which is a unit based on the properties of sea water conductivity. It is equivalent to per thousand or (o/00) or to g/kg.

What are the reasons of high salinity in the ocean?

Salt in the sea, or ocean salinity, is mainly caused by rain washing mineral ions from the land into water. Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves into rainwater, making it slightly acidic. When rain falls, it weathers rocks, releasing mineral salts that separate into ions.

Is salinity an abiotic factor?

An abiotic factor is a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment. In a terrestrial ecosystem, examples might include temperature, light, and water. In a marine ecosystem, abiotic factors would include salinity and ocean currents.

What environmental factors affect 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 does high salinity mean?

High salinity makes water denser. This is because there is more salt packed into the water. High temperature makes water less dense. As water gets warmer, its molecules spread out, so it becomes less dense. As it gets colder, it becomes denser. Most chemicals get denser when they turn from a liquid to a solid,…

What causes ocean salinity to increase?

Evaporation is the process that contributes to increased salinity of the ocean. The process of evaporation removes water and hence as the water level decreases due to the rise of water vapor into the atmosphere, more salt is left behind in lesser water, thus increasing the salinity.

What is salinity in biology?

Salinity refers to the amount of dissolved salts in water. Since salts conduct electricity, electro conductivity is used to measure the concentration of dissolved salts. Salinity influences the ecology of a water-body and determines what biological processes occur.

What is the salinity of the Atlantic Ocean?

On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3–3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season.