NATS 1750 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: South Atlantic Gyre, Oceanic Crust, New Moon
29 Aug 2018
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As the water on earth moves, it eventually makes its way to the lowest point = the oceans. It is salty and it does make up majority of water on earth. Salty b/c of minerals that dissolved in these basin over time. Fresh water = where bodies of water have a new supply and there is no salt. Seawater consists of about 3. 5% (by weight) dissolved minerals. Total amount of solid material dissolved in water. Typically expressed in parts-per-thousand ( ) } the unit you would use. Average salinity is 35 , but this varies with latitude and depth. Major constituent is sodium chloride (halite or table salt) Other dissolved components in seawater = magnesium. Chemical weathering of rocks = this is where the salt comes from (remember weathering) ^ aka outgassing = gases from volcanic eruptions. Variations in salinity are a consequence of changes in the water content of the solution.
