ELEMENTS OF

OCEANOGRAPHY
SEAWATER

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Review the nature of water molecule and its unique
properties
Know the types of materials dissolved in seawater
Explain variations in salinity, temperature and density
within the sea

Water is

Molecular Make-up: H2O

H
Opposite
charges
Oxygen is (-)
Hydrogen is
(+)
Forms weak
hydrogen bonds

Why is it
important
that water
has weak
bonds?

HYDROGEN BONDS
This is what allows water to go from
state to state
Molecules are in constant motion
What will happen when they speed up?

FAST MOLECULES

The bonds break and

water enters the vapor
state

SLOW MOLECULES
What about when it cools?
Movement slows down,
becomes dense until is
slows down so much
that. . .

It freezes!

Heat and Water

Water has the highest latent
heats of melting and
evaporation
How does ice keep our drinks cold?
It takes a lot of heat to melt ice
Heat breaks hydrogen bonds in
ice instead of heating up your
drink --> drink stays cold

H2O has high heat capacity

Impact of waters high specific heat ranges

from the level of the whole environment of
Earth to that of individual organisms.
A large body of water can absorb
a large amount of heat from the
sun in daytime and during the
summer, while warming only a
few degrees.
At night and during the winter, the
warm water will warm cooler air.

 Therefore, ocean temperatures and coastal land

areas have more stable temperatures than
inland areas.
The water that dominates the composition of
biological organisms moderates changes in
temperature better than if composed of a liquid
with a lower specific heat.

The Universal Solvent

Why can water dissolve more
things than any other
substance?
Its both (-) and (+) charged!
Pulls apart salt
Sodium (Na+) Chloride (Cl-)

Seawater
and water.
What

is a mixture of various salts

makes up Seawater?

Ions (charged particles)

 The six most abundant ions of seawater are

chloride(Cl), sodium (Na+), sulfate (SO24),
magnesium(Mg2+),
calcium
(Ca2+),
and
potassium (K+)
By weight these ions make up about 99
percent of all sea salts. The amount of these
salts in a volume of seawater varies because of
the addition or removal of water locally.

 Principle of constant proportion states that

the absolute amount of salt in sea water varies,
but the relative proportions of the ions is
constant.
Because of this principle, it is necessary to
test for only one salt ion, usually chlorine, to
determine the total amount of salt present.
Chlorinity is the amount of halogens (Cl, Br, I and
Fl) in the sea water and is expressed as
grams/kilogram or .
Salinity is equal to 1.8065 times chlorinity.
Salinometers

determine

salinity

from

the

Salinity is
in steady
state

How Salty is the Ocean?

Seawater has a salinity of 35 parts per
thousand (ppt) or 35

SALINITY

It is the total amount of solid material

dissolved in water
Because the proportion of dissolved
substances in seawater is such a
small number, oceanographers
typically express salinity in parts per
thousands or abbreviated .

96.5
Wat
%
er

3.5%

Other Components

Most of the salt in seawater is

sodium chloride, common table

SALINITY VARIATIONS
Open-ocean salinity is 3338 o/oo
In coastal areas salinity varies more widely.
An influx of freshwater lowers salinity or
creates brackish conditions.
A greater rate of evaporation raises salinity or
creates hypersaline conditions.
Salinity may vary with seasons (dry/rain).

Horizontal Variations of Salinity

Polar regions: salinity is lower, lots of
rain/snow and runof
Mid-latitudes: salinity is high, high rate of
evaporation
Equator: salinity is lower, lots of rain
Thus, salinity at surface varies primarily
with latitude

Vertical Variations of Salinity

Surface ocean
salinity is variable
Deeper ocean
salinity is nearly the
same (polar source
regions for deeper
ocean water)
Halocline, rapid
change of salinity
with depth

TEMPERATURE
The oceans surface water temperature varies
with the amount of solar radiation received,
which is primarily a function of latitude.
High latitude= low sea
surface temperature
Low latitude= high sea
surface temperature

DENSITY
Density is defined as mass per unit volume
D=m/v
Density is an important property of ocean
water because it determines the waters
vertical position in the ocean
Density diferences cause ocean water to
sink or rise.

Factors that afect density

Seawater density is afected by 2 main factors:

Salinity
Temperature
Increase in salinity increase in seawater
density
Increase in temperature decrease in seawater
density

Addition of salt modifies the properties of water

Pure water freezes at 0oC. Adding salt
increasingly lowers the freezing point because
salt ions interfere with the formation of the
hexagonal structure of ice.
Density of water increases as salinity increases.

 Thus for salinities above 18 ppt, the

temperature of maximum density is
below the freezing temperature of pure
water. Due to its salt content, the
freezing temperature of sea water is
below the pure water.

CONCLUSION
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER

Naturally occurs in all three states

Powerful solvent
Has a very high heat capacity

CONCLUSION
Seawater is composed of ions(charged
particles)
Salt alters basic properties of water

Thank you!