Why the sea and the ocean salty - where the salt in the water is taken. What is the water in the oceans: salty or fresh? All oceans salty

Why is the sea salty, and where does the salt come from in it? This is a question that was interested in people for a long time. On this occasion, there is even a folk tale.

As Folklore explains

Whose legend is legend, and who came up with it, and not know. But the peoples of Norway and the Philippines it is very similar, and the essence of the question of why the sea is salty, the fairy tale passes as follows.

There were two brothers - one rich, and the other, as usual, poor. And no, to go and make money on bread for your family - the poor goes for alms to the miser brother-rich. Having received a half-eyed ham in the "gift", the poor in the course of some events falls into the hands of unclean strength and swallows this kind of ham on the Stone Milnov, modestly standing outside the door. And the reserves are not simple, but the magic, and may smash everything that only the soul is pleased. Naturally, living quietly, in prosperity, and not to tell about his wonderful find a poor could not. In the same version, he immediately rebuilt his palace on one day, to the other - rushed a feast to the whole world. Since everyone around knew that yesterday he lived poorly, the surrounding began to ask questions, from where why. To hide that he has a magical retention, the poor did not consider it necessary, and therefore many hunters have appeared to steal it. The last such wishes turned out to be a soldier trader. Having urged the hell, he did not ask him to nourish the money, gold, overseas, because having such a "device", it was possible and not to engage in Sali trading. He asked to nourge him salt so that she did not have to swim beyond the sea-oceans. The miracle fool was launched, yes Smallol him so much salt that Skilled the ship's merchant, and fell married to the bottom of the sea, continuing to grind salt. This is how people explained why the sea is salty.

Scientific explanations of fact

The main source of salts in the seas and oceans is rivers.

Yes, those rivers that are considered fresh (more correctly to say less salns, because fresh, that is, devoid of salts impurities, is only distillate), in which the value of salts does not exceed one ppm, make the sea salty. This explanation can be found in Edmund Halley - a person known in comet called him name. In addition to space, he studied questions more landed, and it was he who first put forward this theory. The rivers constantly bring a huge amount of waters along with small impurities of salts in the sea bumps. There is evaporation of water, but salts remain. Perhaps earlier, many hundred thousand years ago, the ocean waters were completely different. But another factor is added, which can explain why the seas and oceans are salted, - volcanic eruptions.

Chemicals from volcanoes that bring salt into the sea

In times, when the earth's crust was in the stage of constant formation, there were frequent magma emissions with an incredible number of different elements on the surface - both on land and under water. Gases, indispensable satellites of eruptions, mixing with moisture, turned into acid. And those in turn entered into a reaction with the alkali of the soil, forming the salt.

This process is happening now, because seismological activity at least much lower than millions of years ago, but still present.

In principle, the rest of the facts explaining why water in the sea is salted, have already been studied: salts fall into the sea from the soil by moving by precipitation, winds. Moreover, in each open reservoir, the chemical composition of the main earth fluid is individual. On the question of why the Sea Salt, Wikipedia is in the same way, only emphasizing the harm of sea water for the human body as drinking, and benefit when taking baths, carrying inhalations and the like. No wonder the marine salt, which is even faded into food instead of cooking.

Uniqueness of mineral composition

We have already mentioned that mineral composition Unique in every reservoir. What kind of sea salty and how such it solves the evaporation intensity, that is, the wind temperature on the reservoir, the number of rivers that fall into the reservoir, the wealth of flora and fauna. So, everyone knows that the sea is dead, and why is it so called.

Let's start with the fact that the sea is called this reservoir incorrectly. This is a lake, as it does not have a connection with the ocean. He was called the dead because of the huge shares of salts - 340 grams per liter of water. For this reason, no fish can survive in the reservoir. But as a hospital, the Dead Sea is very and quite popular.

What kind of sea is still the most salty?

But the right to be called the most salty belongs to the Red Sea.

In the liter of water here 41 grams of salts. Why is the Red Sea salty for so much? Firstly, its water is replenished only by precipitation and the adenal bay. The second is also salty. Secondly, the evaporation of water here is twenty times more than its replenishment, which contributes to the placement in the tropical belt. It would be a little south, closer to the equator, and the amount of precipitation characteristic of this zone would have changed abruptly. Due to the location (and there is the Red Sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula) it is also the warmest sea among all the land on the planet. Its average temperature is 34 degrees Celsius. The whole system of possible climatic and geographical factors made the sea as it is now. And this applies to any salty water reservoir.

Black Sea - one of the unique compositions

For the same reasons, the Black Sea can be distinguished, whose composition is also peculiar.

Its content of salts - 17 ppm, and these are not quite suitable indicators for maritime residents. If the Fauna of the Red Sea is striking any arrival with its variety of paints and forms of life, then this is not waiting for this. Most of the "settlers" of the seas do not tolerate water with less than 20 ppm salts, because a variety of life is somewhat reduced. But there are many useful substances that contribute to the active development of single and multicellular algae. Why is the Black Sea Salted half less than the ocean? This is primarily due to the fact that the size of the territory with which river water flows into it exceeds the area itself five times. At the same time, the Black Sea is very closed - it connects it with Mediterranean only a thin strait, and in the rest it is surrounded by land. The concentration of salts cannot become very high due to intense desalination with river waters - the first and most important factor.

Conclusion: we see a complex system

So why is water in the sea salty? It depends on the set of factors - river water and saturation of their substances, wind, volcanoes, the amount of precipitation, the intensity of evaporation, and this, in turn, affects the level and variety of living organisms in it as representatives of flora and fauna. This is a huge system with a large number of parameters that ultimately make up an individual picture.

Water is one of the strongest solvents. It is capable of dissolving and destroy any rock on the ground surface. Water streams, streams and drops gradually destroy granite and stones, while leaching from them easily soluble components. No durable breed can be withstanding the destructive effects of water. This is a process of long, but inevitable. Salts that are washed out of rocks give sea water bitter and salty taste.

But why is the water in the sea salty, and in the rivers fresh?

There are two hypotheses on this subject.

Hypothesis First

All impurities dissolved by water are demolished by streams and rivers in the sea and oceans. River water is also salty, only salts in it are 70 times less than in sea water. Water from the oceans evaporates and returns to Earth in the form of precipitation, and dissolved salts remain in the seas and oceans. The process of "supplying" salts in the sea rivers have been continuing more than 2 billion years - time, sufficient to "sleep" the whole world ocean.

River Delta in New Zealand.
Here, clubs are divided into two parts: Mataau and Coau,
Each of which flows into the Pacific Ocean.

Sea water contains almost all elements existing in nature. It has magnesium, calcium, sulfur, bromine, iodine, fluorine, in small quantities contain copper, nickel, tin, uranium, cobalt, silver and gold. Chemists have found about 60 elements in seawater. But most of all in seawater contains sodium chloride, or crash saltThat's why she is salty.

In favor of this hypothesis, the fact that lakes that do not have flow are also salty.

Thus, it turns out that initially water in the oceans was less salted than now.

But this hypothesis does not explain the differences in chemical composition Sea and river water: chlorides predominate in the sea (hydrochloric acid salts), and in rivers - carbonates (carbonic acid salts).

Hypothesis Two

According to this hypothesis, the water in the ocean was salty initially, and not the river, but volcanoes. Supporters of the second hypothesis believe that during education earth crustWhen it was very high volcanic activity, volcanic gases containing chlorine pairs, bromine and fluorine, spilled with acid rains. Thus, the first seas on the ground were ... acid. Entering B. chemical reaction With solid rocks (basalt, granite), the acidic water of the oceans removed alkaline elements from rocks - magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium. Salts were formed, which neutralized sea water - it became less acidic.

As the volcanic activity decreases the atmosphere was purified from volcanic gases. The composition of the ocean water stabilized approximately 500 million years ago - she became salty.

But where do river water carbonates fall into the world ocean? They use living organisms - to build shells, skeletons, etc. But chlorides that prevail in seawater, they avoid.

Currently, scientists have agreed that both of these hypotheses have the right to exist, and do not refute, but mutually complement each other.

Why in the ocean water salty, and in the rivers of the Fresh? The answer to this question is ambiguous. There are different points of view that reveal the essence of the problem. According to scientists, everything comes down to water ability to destroy the rock and leach from it easily soluble components, which fall into the ocean. This process occurs continuously. Salts are saturated with sea water, giving it bitterly - salty taste.

Everything seems to be clear, but at the same time, on this issue there are two diametrically opposite opinions. The first comes down to the fact that all salts dissolved in water are demolished by rivers in the ocean, saturating sea water. In the river water salts, 70 times less, therefore, it is impossible to determine their presence in it without special analyzes. It seems to us that the river water is fresh. In fact, it is not quite so. Saturation sea water The salts take place constantly. This contributes to the process of evaporation, as a result of which the number of salts is constantly increasing. This process is infinite, and lasts about two billion years. The time is quite sufficient to make water salty.

The composition of sea water is quite complicated. It has almost the entire Table of Mendeleev. But most of all, it contains sodium chloride, which makes it salty. By the way, in closed lakes, water is also salty, which confirms the correctness of this hypothesis.

Everything seems to be correct, but there is one but! In seawater contains salts of hydrochloric acid, and in the river-coal. That is why scientists put forward alternative hypothesis. They believe that marine water was salty initially, and the rivers are not completely different here. All wines volcanic activity, which came at the time of the formation of the earth's crust. Volcanoes ejected a huge amount of steam saturated with acids into the atmosphere, which condensed and fell to the ground in the form of acid rain. The precipitate was saturated with seaside water with acid, which reacted with solid basalt rocks. As a result, a huge number of alkalis was highlighted, including sodium, potassium and calcium. Thus, the resulting salt neutralized acid in sea water.

Over time, volcanic activity decreased, the atmosphere was purified by the OP vapor, and the acid rain was less and less. Approximately 500 million years ago, the composition of sea water stabilized, and became such as we know it today. But carbonates that fall into the ocean with river water serve as an ideal building material for marine organisms. They build coral islands, sinks, their skeletons from it.

What hypothesis give preference, the case is purely personal. In our opinion, they both have the right to exist.

Perhaps not everyone met personally with the ocean, but everyone saw him at least on school atlas. Everyone would like to get there, right? Oceans are incredibly beautiful, their inhabitants will feed from surprise. But ... many could also have a question: "Salted or fresh water in the ocean?". Still, fresh rivers flow into the oceans. Can this be caused by the desalination of ocean water? And if the water is still salty, then how did the ocean managed after the amount of time to save it? So what water in the oceans is fresh or salty? Now we'll figure it out in everything.

Why is salt water in the oceans?

A lot of rivers really fall into the oceans, but they bring not only fresh water. These rivers take their beginning in the mountains and, stain down, wash out of the mountain peaks of salt, and when the river water gets to the ocean, it is already saturated with salt. And considering that in the oceans the water is constantly evaporated, and the salt remains, it can be concluded: it will not become fresh from the ocean rivers. And now they will deepen at the very beginning of the appearance on the World of World Ocean, when nature itself began to solve the question, will be salt or fresh water in the oceans. Volcanic gases that were in the atmosphere reacted with water. As a result of such reactions, acids were formed. In turn, they responded with metals silicates in the rocks of the ocean bottom, which led to the formation of salts. So oceans and steel salted.

Also argue that fresh water in the oceans still have, at the very bottom. But the question arises: "How was it on the bottom, if fresh water is lighter than salt?". That is, it must remain on the surface. During the expedition to the Southern Ocean in 2014, scientists have discovered on the bottom of fresh water and explained that, because of the rotation of the Earth, it simply cannot climb upstairs through more dense salty water.

Salt or Fresh Water: Atlantic Ocean

As we have already found out, in the oceans water is salted. Moreover, the question is "salty or fresh water in the ocean?" For the Atlantic, in general, it is inappropriate. The Atlantic Ocean is considered the most saline, although some of the scientists are still sure that the most salty ocean is Indian. But it is worth noting that the salinity of water in the oceans fluctuates in different sections. However, the water is almost the same everywhere, therefore, in general, salinity is not so jumping.

Interesting is the fact that water in the Atlantic Ocean, as many information networks say, "disappears." It was the assumption that as a result of hurricanes in America, the water was simply carried by the stream of the wind, but the phenomenon of the disappearance moved to the coasts of Brazil and Uruguay, where the hurricanes were not in messenger. In the investigation, it was concluded that water simply evaporates rapidly, but the reasons are still not clear. Scientists are puzzled and not a joke, this phenomenon is being investigated to this day.

Salt or fresh water: Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean can be called the greatest on our planet without exaggeration. And he became the greatest because of his sizes. The Pacific Ocean takes almost 50% of the world's ocean. It is located in third place in salinity among the oceans. It should be noted that the maximum percentage of salinity Pacific Ocean Greetings on the zones of the tropics. This is substantiated by the intensity of water evaporation and is supported by a small amount of precipitation. Following the east, a decrease in salinity is observed due to cold trends. And if in tropical zones with a small amount of precipitation, the water is the most saline, then on the equator and in the zones of Western circulation of moderate and subepolar latitudes, the other way around. The relatively low salinity of water due to a large amount of precipitation. However, at the bottom of the ocean, there may be some amount of fresh water, as in any other ocean, so the question "salted or fresh water in the ocean?" In this case, it is incorrect.

By the way, speaking

Ocean waters are examined not as good as I would like, but scientists are trying to fix it with all their might. Every day we learn about the oceans something new, shocking and fascinating. The ocean was investigated by about 8%, but already managed to surprise us. For example, until 2001, giant squids were considered a legend, fisherman invention. But now the Internet is simply eating photos of the huge marine inhabitants and it undoubtedly makes flop.

But most of all I want to know after the statement that 99% of all kinds of sharks were destroyed. Sea residents look just incredible for us, and we can only imagine what handsome hands will never return to our world by the fault of mankind.

I remember it was in the third grade, in the lesson of nature. The teacher told us that there were rivers on Earth, whose water is fresh, as well as sea and oceans with salty water. " Why water in the ocean salty?"I asked and, oddly enough, Nadezhda Konstantinovna came to confusion. She just did not know the answer to this seemingly simple children's question. And I first realized that the teachers know not everything in the world.

Ocean becoming older, I tried to independently find an answer to textbooks, encyclopedia and magazine "Around the World" (no one has thought about the Internet at that time). And realized that in order to vinyl teacher in incompetence: it turns out that science still has no accurate answer about the causes of the saline of ocean water.

Why water in the ocean salty: hypothesis

Actually, the answer to the question, why water in the ocean taste salty Obviously: Because there is a lot of salt. But with where it came from there in such quantities, I will try to figure it out. Here the main versions of the origin of salt in the ocean water:

• volcanic;
• river;
• stone.

I will tell you more about each of them.

Water in the ocean salty due to volcanoes

Millions of years ago, when the earth's surface did not accept the current outlines, n.and our planet had a lot of active volcanoesFrom which acidic substances were thrown into oceanic water. Entering various reactions, these acids turned into saltswhich dissolved in the waters of the world's ocean.

Volcano in the ocean here is the first answer to the question, ochra in the seas and oceans Sold water.

Ocean water salty due to rivers that fall into it

"How so? - Ask you - the water in the rivers is fresh, it means that it should dilute the oceanic water, making it less saline! " Actually, river water can not be considered absolutely fresh: Salts are contained in it, but in small quantities. Rivers take their water from streams that leak from underground fresh reservoirs. Fresh rainwater is added to them. But on the road to the sea, the river collects a small amount of salt from sand and stoneswhich covered her channel. Pouring into the ocean, the river gives him this salt.

River flows into the ocean Evaporation processes in the ocean are much more activethan in rivers because of their huge surface. Turns out that fresh water evaporates, and salt remains.

Water in the ocean salty due to blurring of stones

In fact, this version explains rather the origin of the oceanic salt rather, but the stability of its concentration. Seas and oceans have enough large line of shores that are constantly washed by waves. Waves leave on coastal stones water particlesthat evaporated, turn into salt crystals. Gradually, the holes are formed in the stones wells that are arranged more and more. With the course of years stones are destroyed, and salt returns to the ocean again.

Stones on the coast

For me personally, all these options for answering the question, ochia Ocean waters are salty, look controversial, but there are no others from science yet.