Indicators of salinity

The salinity of seas, oceans, hypersadine lakes and the Dead Sea is represented mostly by chlorides inland waters contain mostly carbonates and hydrocarbonates. Salts present in industrial wastewaters can influence the quality of underground and surface water. A variety of microorganisms indicate the presence of salts in water. For example, the diatom Thalassiosire fluviatilis is an indicator of potassium salts in wastewaters. 

The occurrence of microbial groups in waters of various salinities is presented in Table 4.4. 

As salinity of waters is mostly caused by chlorides (NaCl), the organisms which are able to live in hypersaline environments are named halophilic 

Sea water contains about 3.5% of salts (mostly NaCl). Hypersaline waters which have an ion concentration similar to sea water are called thalas-sohaline. Such waters are typically chloride types. In general, the diversity 

Group Fresh water Brackish water Sea water Hypersaline water 

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During the late (New Aralian) stage (1.5-1.0 ka BP) the sea level rose to 53.0-53.5 m a.s.l. Mollusk fauna was dominated by brackish-water species indicative of salinity between 8 and 12%o (T. pallasi, T. zhykovi, Pyrgulla conica,... 

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