Ocean water freezes at a lower temperature than freshwater. Fresh water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit but seawater freezes at about 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit , because of the salt in it.

Salt water or seawater has characteristics similar to fresh water with some noticeable differences because of the salts that are dissolved in water. Seawater’s freezing point is lower than that of pure water and its boiling point is higher. It is easier to float objects in seawater than in fresh water.

When it rains the freshwater reduces the saltiness of the saltwater on the surface. Saltwater is made when freshwater moves over land. The minerals in rocks are eroded by flowing water and combine with the water which eventually enters earthʼs oceans. Students think that seawater contains table salt (sodium chloride).

While you might think pollution turns clear water murky, there’s usually a different explanation. Some beaches have crystal clear water while others are murky and gray. That’s when the warmer surface temperatures of the ocean move further out to sea and are replaced with deeper, colder and more sediment-rich waters.

Rain replenishes freshwater in rivers and streams, so they don’t taste salty. However, the water in the ocean collects all of the salt and minerals from all of the rivers that flow into it. In other words, the ocean today probably has a balanced salt input and output (and so the ocean is no longer getting saltier).

The water at Blackpool is a horrible brown because of the type of sand that is common to the area. That said I wouldn’t go in the water as it is full of sewage. Isn’t all the water around the UK full of sewage, rubbish, chemicals, dead bodies and trollies from Tesco? Oh, and the occasional pianist.

Top 10 Unexpectedly Clear Waters in the UK

• East Sussex, England.
• Luskentyre, Isle of Harris, Scotland.
• East Portlemouth Beaches, Devon, England.
• Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
• Rhossili Bay, Swansea, South Wales.
• Blackpool Sands, Devon, England.
• Marloes Sands, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
• Porthcurno, Cornwall, England.

For more than a century, tourists have flocked to Blackpool’s shores to soak up intermittent rays of sunshine inbetween dips in the icy waters. But that modest pleasure is now risk, as the town has been warned by the Marine Conservation Society that it must clean up its beach or face a swimming ban.

There is more radioactive plutonium in the sediments off the Sellafield plant in the Irish Sea than at the underwater Russian Novaya Zemlya nuclear weapons test site, according to Greenpeace. It has been measuring radioactive contamination in sediments and seaweed along British and Irish coasts for several weeks.

But as a country, where do we stand in the world’s clean air table today? Well, the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 air quality report showed that Ireland did not exceed any legal EU limit values last year and that air quality was “currently good, relative to other EU member states”.

All Irish waters are cold enough to cause cold water shock just about every day of the year. Those who swim regularly in these waters can acclimatise and reduce the reactions, but if that isn’t you, you can avoid cold water shock by entering the water slowly.

This year, 86 of Ireland’s beaches achieved Blue Flag status, which is based on compliance with 33 strict criteria, including environmental management, safety and security, and water quality. Sea water samples are tested in the lab and, during Blue Flag season, there must be no more than 30 days between samples.

Sellafield discharges two million gallons of radioactive water into the Irish Sea every day at high tide. As a result of these discharges, which include around half a tonne of plutonium, the Irish Sea has become the most radioactively contaminated sea in the world. …

Swimming ban has been lifted from three popular Dublin beaches following water quality checks. Last week Sandymount, Dollymount, and Portmarnock beaches were closed to swimmers due to heavy rain which resulted in a leak of sewage from the Ringsend Wastewater treatment plant.

200 metres deep

Thirty-five species of sharks have been recorded in Irish waters, including the blue shark, porbeagle shark, lesser spotted dogfish and the second-largest shark in the world, the basking shark.

There are 2 ferry routes operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland offering you combined total of 77 sailings per week. P&O Irish Sea operates 1 route, Cairnryan to Larne which runs 6 times daily. Stena Line operates 1 route, Cairnryan to Belfast which runs 5 times daily.

North Atlantic Ocean

The shortest route – 16 km (10 mi) coast to coast – is that between Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula (about 220 km (140 mi) from Glasgow via minor roads) and Ballycastle, County Antrim (about 90 km (56 mi) from Belfast).

North Antrim Coast

Located on the Kintyre Peninsula, at the Mull of Kintyre you can see views out to the Antrim coast on Northern Ireland. Also, made famous because of Paul McCartney’s song ‘Mull Of Kintyre,’ the area in Argyll and Bute is a very popular place for tourists to stop off.