Why is there salt in the ocean

Many of the dissolved ions are used by organisms in the ocean and are removed from the water. Others are not used up and are left for long periods of time where their concentrations increase over time. The two ions that are present most often in seawater are chloride and sodium. By the way, the concentration of salt in seawater salinity is about 35 parts per thousand. In other words, about 35 of 1, 3.

And, just so you don't think seawater is worthless, a cubic mile of it also can contain up to 25 pounds of gold at a concentration of 0. Before you go out and try alchemy on seawater, though, just think about how big a cubic mile is 1 cubic mile contains 1,,,, gallons!

In , scientists exploring the NW Eifuku volcano near the Mariana Islands reported seeing small white chimneys emitting a cloudy white fluid near the volcano's summit, as well as masses of bubbles rising from the sediment around the chimneys. In this picture you can see masses of minerals and carbon dioxide escaping from the earth's crust into the ocean.

These vents contribute dissolved minerals to the oceans, which is one reason the oceans are salty. Credit: NOAA. Rivers and surface runoff are not the only source of dissolved salts.

Hydrothermal vents are recently-discovered features on the crest of oceanic ridges that contribute dissolved minerals to the oceans. These vents are the exit point on the ocean floor from which sea water that has seeped into the rocks of the oceanic crust has become hotter, has dissolved some of the minerals from the crust, and then flows back into the ocean.

With the hot water comes large amounts of dissolved minerals. Estimates of the amount of hydrothermal fluids now flowing from these vents indicate that the entire volume of the oceans could seep through the oceanic crust in about 10 million years. Thus, this process has a very important effect on salinity.

The reactions between seawater and oceanic basalt, the rock of ocean crust, are not one-way, however; some of the dissolved salts react with the rock and are removed from seawater. Where can I get current sea-surface temperature data? What is the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave?

Although both are sea waves, a tsunami and a tidal wave are two different and unrelated phenomena. A tidal wave is a shallow water wave caused by the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth "tidal wave" was used in earlier times to describe what we now call a tsunami. A tsunami is an ocean wave triggered by large earthquakes How is the salinity of Great Salt Lake measured? The salinity of Great Salt Lake is measured by taking specific gravity and temperature measurements and comparing them to standardized values reported in a table.

Specific gravity is measured in the field by testing a water sample with a device very similar to a battery or antifreeze tester.

Learn more: Great Salt Lake, Utah. Filter Total Items: 2. Year Published: Is a salinity monitoring network "Worth its salt"? Prinos, Scott T. Virgin Islands. View Citation. Is a salinity monitoring network "Worth its salt"? Year Published: Why is the ocean salty?

Swenson, Herbert. Date published: June 4, Date published: May 22, Filter Total Items: 9. List Grid. A brine seep located at the base of East Flower Garden Bank at a depth of about feet.

It is formed from super-saline water flowing from under 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.

There are many factors that make the ocean salty. Sea salt is mostly made up of a compound called sodium chloride regular table salt but it also has other minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium that have dissolved in seawater.

Salt has accumulated in the ocean over a very long period of time from rivers, the seabed, and vents from deep in the earth that contain these same dissolved minerals. The processes that are adding salt to the ocean are very slow. They happen over millions of years and that keeps the salt content of the ocean relatively constant.