Atlantic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean’s

about 35 parts per thousand

Changes in salinity could also affect water currents because saltwater is denser than fresh water and sinks. Warmer air can absorb more water than cooler air, so as the climate warms, more water can evaporate into the air.

Salinity varies with the latitudes and with depth. The layer in the ocean in which the salinity varies rapidly is called halocline. It extends at a depth between 300 meters to 1000 meters.

Answer and Explanation: As you descend below the halocline, the salinity of the ocean water b) remains fairly constant, while the temperature slowly decreases with depth.

Answer: Mass of the dissolved matter in the water bodies.

Antarctica

the Red Sea

The ocean has three primary layers. 2. The layers are the surface layer (sometimes referred to as the mixed layer), the thermocline and the deep ocean. 3.

The most productive river in both salts and water is the Willamette in Oregon, which flows through a region of very high precipitation.

When salt is ejected into the ocean as sea ice forms, the water’s salinity increases. Because salt water is heavier, the density of the water increases and the water sinks. The exchange of salt between sea ice and the ocean influences ocean circulation across hundreds of kilometers.

In the Polar region, the surface salinity is influenced by the processes of freezing and melting of ice. The wind also influences the salinity of an area by moving water to other areas. The ocean currents contribute to the salinity variations.

Salinity changes with depth, but the way it changes depends upon the location of the sea. Salinity at the surface increases by the loss of water to ice or evaporation, or decreased by the input of fresh waters, such as from the rivers. The lower salinity water rests above the higher salinity dense water.

Cold, salty water sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Cold, salty water is dense and sinks to the bottom of the ocean while warm water is less dense and remains on the surface.

As temperature increases, the space between water molecules increases—also known as density, which therefore decreases. Salinity and density share a positive relationship. As density increases, the amount of salts in the water—also known as salinity, increases.

Three major factors influence salinity (salt concentration) in Pacific Ocean waters: precipitation, evaporation and winds. Precipitation brings freshwater into the ocean, diluting its salt concentration.

Salinity levels are important for two reasons. First, along with temperature, they directly affect seawater density (salty water is denser than freshwater) and therefore the circulation of ocean currents from the tropics to the poles. Measuring salinity is one way to probe the water cycle in greater detail.

The temperature of ocean water is controlled by many factors. The factors affecting the temperature of ocean water are as follows:

• Latitude.
• Inequality in the distribution of water and land.
• Duration of day.
• Clear atmosphere.
• Distance of the earth from the sun.
• Number of sunspots.
• Oceanic Currents.