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Meanwhile, sea ice starts reforming, so the surface waters also get saltier, hence very dense. In fact, the formation of sea ice contributes to an increase in surface seawater salinity; saltier brine is left behind as the sea ice forms around it (pure water preferentially being frozen). Increasing salinity lowers the freezing point of seawater ...
Warm water from the south is more saline ('halocline') because of the higher evaporation rate in the tropical zone. The warm saline water forms the upper layer of the ocean ('thermocline'), but when this layer cools down, the density of the salty water increases, making it sink into the deep. This is an important part of the motor of the AMOC ...
Broken pieces of Arctic sea ice with a snow cover. Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans.
Near the poles where sea ice forms, the temperature in equilibrium is about −2 °C (28 °F). In all parts of the ocean, deep ocean temperatures range between −2 °C (28 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F). [14] Constant circulation of water in the ocean creates ocean currents.
When water freezes, most impurities are excluded from the water crystals; even ice from seawater is relatively fresh compared to the seawater from which it is formed. As a result of forcing the impurities out (such as salt and other ions) sea ice is very porous and spongelike, quite different from the solid ice produced when fresh water freezes.
Earth's surface is dominated by the ocean, which forms 75% of Earth's surface.. An ocean world, ocean planet or water world is a type of planet or natural satellite that contains a substantial amount of water in the form of oceans, as part of its hydrosphere, either beneath the surface, as subsurface oceans, or on the surface, potentially submerging all dry land.
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The environmental impact of deep sea mining is controversial. [39] [40] Environmental advocacy groups such as Greenpeace and the Deep Sea Mining Campaign [41] claimed that seabed mining has the potential to damage deep sea ecosystems and spread pollution from heavy metal-laden plumes. [42] Critics have called for moratoria [43] [44] or ...