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Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximately 35 grams (1.2 oz) of dissolved salts (predominantly sodium ( Na +
Conceptually the salinity is the quantity of dissolved salt content of the water. Salts are compounds like sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and sodium bicarbonate which dissolve into ions. The concentration of dissolved chloride ions is sometimes referred to as chlorinity.
The epipelagic zone, otherwise known as the sunlit zone or the euphotic zone, goes to a depth of about 200 meters (656 feet). It is the depth of water to which sunlight is able to penetrate. Although it is only 2 to 3 percent of the entire ocean, the epipelagic zone is home to a massive number of organisms. [3]
Most water in Earth's atmosphere and crust comes from saline seawater, while fresh water accounts for nearly 1% of the total. The vast bulk of the water on Earth is saline or salt water, with an average salinity of 35‰ (or 3.5%, roughly equivalent to 34 grams of salts in 1 kg of seawater), though this varies slightly according to the amount of runoff received from surrounding land.
Sea water is 827 times denser than air. Due to the higher density of sea water (1,030 kg m −3) than air (1.2 kg m −3), the force exerted by the same velocity on an organism is 827 times stronger in the ocean.
Measurements of primary productivity in the ocean can be made using this ratio. The concentration of oxygen dissolved in seawater varies according to biological processes (photosynthesis and respiration) as well as physical processes (air-sea gas exchange, temperature and pressure changes, lateral mixing and vertical diffusion).
Thermohaline circulation is responsible for bringing up cold, nutrient-rich water from the depths of the ocean, a process known as upwelling. [69] Seawater consists of fresh water and salt, and the concentration of salt in seawater is called salinity.
Hypoxia can occur throughout the water column and also at high altitudes as well as near sediments on the bottom. It usually extends throughout 20–50% of the water column, but depends on the water depth and location of pycnoclines (rapid changes in water density with depth). It can occur in 10–80% of the water column.