seawater: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	saltwater • salt water

Photos and Videos

Side-by-side diagram showing ocean acidification from the late 1800s to a projection for 2100. The left panel illustrates lower atmospheric carbon dioxide, higher seawater pH, and abundant healthy corals and shells due to more carbonate ions. The right panel shows higher carbon dioxide, lower pH, fewer carbonate ions, and fewer, smaller marine calcifiers, highlighting the negative impact on ocean life.

absorption coefficient for liquid water

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.

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Topics

sea salt shadow zone downwelling upwelling ocean circulation sea ice saltwater intrusion salinity Why Is the Ocean Salty?water mass lake ocean current wave ocean acidification Water cycle tide

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Key People

V. Walfrid Ekman, 1928

V. Walfrid Ekman

Swedish scientist

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Richard H. Fleming

American oceanographer

water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)

Water and its Varying Forms

Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)

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