salinity: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

Desalination plant with multiple tall smokestacks and large cylindrical tanks near the shoreline at Arecife on Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.

sea ice and albedo

White salt deposits cover rocks along the shore of the Dead Sea near Masada, Israel, with green water and dramatic cloudy sky in the background.

Diagram showing three stages of saltwater intrusion into a coastal aquifer: the first panel shows normal conditions with a stable interface between ocean saltwater and fresh groundwater; the second shows increased saltwater intrusion and a cone of depression when groundwater is pumped; the third shows how an injection well restores pressure and blocks saltwater intrusion. Labels identify ocean, aquifer, potentiometric surface, and water flow directions.

map of ocean salinity, 2011

A line graph shows how precipitation and evaporation vary by latitude, with peaks in precipitation near the equator and poles, and peaks in evaporation around 30 degrees north and south. Wind belts such as polar easterlies, westerlies, and trade winds are labeled across the top, illustrating their relationship to these patterns.

Why is seawater so salty?

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Topics

practical salinity Why Is the Ocean Salty?Conductivity-Temperature-Depth system Salinity-Temperature-Depth system temperature-salinity diagram salinometer seawater water sea ice ice Why do humans need water?saltwater intrusion steam hydrate Why Does Water Freeze from the Top Down?Water Explained in 5 Questions Can the Cold Really Cause Trees to Explode?Do fish drink water?

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