Seawater salinity Oceans

IAPSO Natural Seawater Salinity Ocean Scientific... 

The committee agreed that it was essential to ensure that reference materials for salinity, ocean C02, and DOC be kept available. These materials are now used regularly and are contributing to improvements in the science that can be achieved. The next highest priority is the development of a seawater-based nutrient reference material. Work on this material is presently in progress at NRC-Canada, and should be encouraged. 

In the solar evaporation ponds, salinities in the cores reached almost four times oceanic values. In these cores the concentration profile of bimane sulfide with depth also tracked that of methylene blue sulfide and bimane total reduced sulfur tracked DTNB. However, the difference between the bimane method and the other two methods is unacceptably large and suggests that there was some inhibition of the bimane reaction. Pore water samples which were diluted to normal seawater salinity with 200 mM HEPES buffer pH 8 were not inhibited. Dilution will of course lead to a loss of sensitivity for trace thiols. Another factor which can effect the yield of the bimane reaction is the unusual... 

Standard seawater from Ocean Scientific International Ltd, Southampton. Salinity 34.998. Batch 35NI. No further information about longitude and latitude of locahties. 

The catalytically active, Wyoming-type montmorillonites are inferred to have developed their distinctive, high-Na smectite-rich compositions following deposition of granitic volcanic ash into a shallow, saline ocean during the Late Cretaceous. Oxygen isotopic data from Hadean zircons have been interpreted as indicating that oceans may have been present on the Earth by as early as 4,300-4,400 million years ago (62-63). While current evidence provides no information on the composition of the hypothesized Hadean seawater, the existence of oceans on the Hadean Earth is a necessary environment on the ancient Earth if catalytically active montmorillonites formed. 

Thus when /C = 1, S = 35 exactly (S is normally quoted in units of %o, i.e., parts per thousand). The value of S can be roughly equated with the mass of dissolved material in grams per kilogram of seawater. Salinity values in the open oceans at mid latitudes typically faU between 34 and 36. 

This removal may also include diffusion of soluble U(VI) from seawater into the sediment via pore water. Uranium-organic matter complexes are also prevalent in the marine environment. Organically bound uranium was found to make up to 20% of the dissolved U concentration in the open ocean." ° Uranium may also be enriched in estuarine colloids and in suspended organic matter within the surface ocean. " Scott" and Maeda and Windom" have suggested the possibility that humic acids can efficiently scavenge uranium in low salinity regions of some estuaries. Finally, sedimentary organic matter can also efficiently complex or adsorb uranium and other radionuclides. 

Variability of Seawater Vertical sections through seawater showing the distribution of temperature, salinity, and oxygen for the Pacific Ocean and Western Atlantic Ocean are shown in Figures 21.3 and 21.4. The global variability of natural seawater and its effects on corrosion have been reviewed in particular with respect to seasonal variation of temperature, salinity, oxygen and pH in the Pacific surface water. Data is also given on... 

Fig. 11-7 Distribution of dissolved carbon species in seawater as a function of pH. Average oceanic pH is about 8.2. The distribution is calculated for a temperature of 15°C and a salinity of 35%o. The equilibrium constants are from Mehrbach et al. (1973).

Evaporite deposition is a much more episodic process and thus difficult to quantify. Because seawater is significantly undersaturated with respect to common evaporitic minerals, like gypsum and halite, evaporites are only formed when restricted circulation develops in an ocean basin in which evaporation exceeds precipitation. A geologically recent example is the Mediterranean Sea of 5-6 Myr ago. At this time excess evaporation exceeded the supply of ocean water through shallow inlet(s) from the Atlantic Ocean. As salinity increased, first CaS04, then NaCl precipitated. Over time, salt deposits 2-3 km thick formed. This thickness represents about 40 desiccations of the entire... 

The saltiness of the ocean is defined in terms of salinity. In theory, this term is meant to represent the total number of grams of dissolved inorganic ions present in a kilogram of seawater. In practice, salinity is determined by measuring the conductivity of a sample and by calibration through empirical relationships to the International Association of Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO) Standard Sea Water. With this approach, salinity can be measured with a precision of at least 0.001 parts per thousand. This is fortunate, considering that 75% of all of the water in the ocean falls neatly between a salinity of 34 and 35. Obviously, these high-precision measurements are required to observe the small salinity variations in the ocean. 

We turn our attention now to the hydrothermal brines of the Red Sea. An oceanic survey in 1963 discovered pools of hot, saline, and metal-rich brines along the axial rift of the Red Sea (Degens and Ross, 1969 Hoffmann, 1991). The dense brines pond in the rift s depressions, or deeps. The Atlantis II deep contains the largest pool, which measures 5 x 14 km and holds about 5 km3 of supersaline brine. The deep holds two layers of brine. The lower brine contains about 25 wt.% dissolved salts and exists at temperatures up to 60 °C. Table 6.8 shows the brine s average composition. A somewhat cooler, less saline water overlies the lower brine, separating it from normal seawater. 

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