Understanding why is the ocean salty requires examining multiple perspectives and considerations. Why is the ocean salty? - NOAA's National Ocean Service. Credit: Sea Research Foundation and the Ocean Exploration Trust Salt in the ocean comes from two sources: runoff from the land and openings in the seafloor.
Rocks on land are the major source of salts dissolved in seawater. Rainwater that falls on land is slightly acidic, so it erodes rocks. Why Is the Ocean Salty but Lakes and Rivers Are Not?. Building on this, the short answer to the question “Why is the ocean salty?” is that water containing salts enters the ocean and has nowhere else to go. The water evaporates, leaving sodium chloride (table salt) and a variety of other dissolved minerals behind.
But have you ever wondered where all that salt comes from—and why seawater is salty while rivers and lakes remain fresh? The answer lies in a long and complex story involving Earth’s geology, chemistry, and hydrology —playing out over hundreds of millions of years. | Explained in Simple Words. Discover the science behind ocean saltiness, how it happens, and why seawater tastes salty — explained in simple, easy English. - The Institute for Environmental Research and ....
The ocean is salty primarily due to the gradual accumulation of dissolved minerals from the land over millions of years. Rainwater, slightly acidic, erodes rocks and carries these minerals, primarily sodium chloride (common salt), to the sea, where they concentrate over time. Our oceans are salty due to vulcanism and erosion, but are rivers and lakes aren't due to being refreshed by the rain and draining into the ocean.
How Did the Oceans Get Salty? It is important also to note that salinity is not the same in all seas and oceans. This disparity is due to a variation of reasons which include amount of rainfall in the region, terrain, and slope, amount of runoff, intensity evaporation and also ice formation.
- Natural History Museum. Salt in the sea, or ocean salinity, is mainly caused by rain washing mineral ions from the land into water. Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves into rainwater, making it slightly acidic. - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
If you go swimming in a lake, the water is fresh; when you dive into the ocean, it tastes salty. The water flowing into the ocean comes from freshwater streams and rivers. These bodies of water do contain salt. It dissolves from rocks on land. Equally important, that's because rain is slightly acidic.
Salt journeys around the planet, leaving its mark at every step — before it's ultimately deposited into the ocean. Here's how the process works, and why the ocean's salt content may be more important than you think.
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