Perhaps not everyone has personally met the ocean, but everyone has seen it at least on school atlases. Everyone would like to go there, right? The oceans are incredibly beautiful, their inhabitants will make you freeze in surprise. But … many also might have a question: "S alt or fresh water in the ocean?". Still, fresh rivers flow into the oceans. Could this be the cause of ocean water desalination? And if the water is still s alty, then how did the ocean manage to keep it that way after so much time? So what kind of water in the oceans is fresh or s alty? Now let's figure it all out.
Why is there s alt water in the oceans?
It is true that many rivers flow into the oceans, but they bring not only fresh water. These rivers originate in the mountains and, flowing down, wash out the s alt from the mountain peaks, and when the river water reaches the ocean, it is already saturated with s alt. And considering that in the oceans water constantly evaporates, and s alt remains, we can conclude that it will not become fresh from the rivers flowing into the ocean. Now let's dive into the very beginning.the appearance of the World Ocean on Earth, when nature itself began to decide whether the water in the oceans would be s alty or fresh. Volcanic gases that were in the atmosphere reacted with water. As a result of such reactions, acids were formed. These, in turn, reacted with metal silicates in the rocks of the ocean floor, which led to the formation of s alts. So the oceans became s alty.
It is also argued that there is still fresh water in the oceans, at the very bottom. But the question arises: “How did it end up at the bottom if fresh water is lighter than s alt water?”. That is, it must remain on the surface. During an expedition to the Southern Ocean in 2014, scientists discovered fresh water at the bottom and explained this by saying that due to the rotation of the Earth, it simply cannot rise up through denser s alt water.
S alt or fresh water: Atlantic Ocean
As we have already found out, the water in the oceans is s alty. Moreover, the question "s alt or fresh water in the ocean?" for the Atlantic, in general, is inappropriate. The Atlantic Ocean is considered the most s alty, although some scientists are still sure that the Indian Ocean is the most s alty. But it is worth noting that the salinity of water in the oceans fluctuates in different areas. However, in the Atlantic Ocean, the salinity of the water is almost the same everywhere, so in general the salinity does not fluctuate so much.
An interesting fact is that the water in the Atlantic Ocean, as many information networks say, is "disappearing". There was an assumptionthat as a result of hurricanes in America, the water was simply blown away by the wind, but the phenomenon of extinction moved to the coasts of Brazil and Uruguay, where there were no hurricanes at all. The investigation concluded that the water simply evaporates rapidly, but the reasons are still not clear. Scientists are puzzled and seriously alarmed, this phenomenon is being investigated to this day.
S alt or fresh water: Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean can be called without exaggeration the greatest on our planet. And he became the greatest precisely because of his size. The Pacific Ocean occupies almost 50% of the world's oceans. It is ranked third in salinity among the oceans. It should be noted that the maximum percentage of salinity in the Pacific Ocean falls on the tropics. This is justified by the intensity of water evaporation and supported by a small amount of precipitation. Following to the east, a decrease in salinity due to cold currents is noticed. And if in tropical zones with a small amount of precipitation the water is the most saline, then at the equator and in the zones of western circulation of temperate and subpolar latitudes, the opposite is true. Relatively low salinity due to high rainfall. However, there may well be some fresh water at the bottom of the ocean, just like any other ocean, so the question "Is the ocean s alty or fresh water?" in this case it is set incorrectly.
By the way
Ocean waters have not been explored as well as we would like, but scientists are trying their best to fix it. Every day we learn something about the oceanssomething new, shocking and bewitching. The ocean has been explored by about 8%, but has already managed to surprise us. For example, until 2001, giant squids were considered a legend, an invention of fishermen. But now the Internet is just teeming with photos of huge marine life, and this, of course, makes you wince.
But most of all I want to know after the statement that 99% of all shark species have been destroyed. The marine inhabitants look incredible to us, and we can only imagine how handsome they will never return to our world due to the fault of mankind.
