Ah, the sun and the sea…perfect before thinking about going back to school. But sometimes, when we’d just like to enjoy the present moment, the questions overwhelm us (especially when we’ve just had a drink): Why is the sea salty? ? Come on, a little science doesn’t hurt.
Salt in the sea and oceans: how is it done?
The soil contains mineral salts. We talk about rocks present 4 billion years agowhen the earth had many volcanoes. It didn’t rain then, as we know it now, but condensation.
it was necessary to wait 100 million years what for water vapor turns into acid rain that began to drip on the rocks rich in mineral salts and, we give it to you for a thousand: in sodium mainly.
For millions of years, the rain eroded the soil and therefore removed the mineral salts (sodium plus chlorine that was in large quantities in the soil). The latter ended up in sea or ocean water.
But this is where your analytical mind gets carried away (we know Mirror Mag readers): since it is the rivers and streams that carry this salty water to the sea, they must also be saltedno, but they are not or they are very few. The water, in fact, is continually renewed by the rains; that is not the case of the seas or the oceans which must be considered as the end of this long journey and the receptacle of all mineral salts.
Analyzing the water of the rivers and rivers, we could find infinitesimal traces of salt, but not enough to feel it when drinking it (by the way, do not have fun drinking this water, because you will get sick).
It is even common to realize that if the water level may have dropped (water actually evaporates to form clouds), the salt does not have this ability simply because it is too heavy to evaporate.. Therefore, it increases in quantity, unlike water..
Come out so I float!
Eureka, after explaining the presence of salt in the planet’s oceans and seas, we move on to the next mystery: unlike pool waterwe float better in the sea. It’s thanks to the salt. Salt water becomes very dense. and it is capable of floating more or less heavy bodies.
Little science experiment: Let’s put a liter of seawater in a bucket and extract the salt. Normally we would find 35 grams.
There is a sea, well known, the Dead Sea which contains 275 g per liter of water. Due to high heat and evaporation, there is; as said in the previous paragraph; more and more salt, and less and less water, especially since rains are not frequent in this region of the world. A person absolutely cannot drown in it – it floats effortlessly.
It is normal to wonder about the effect that global warming in our seas and oceans. If the periods of heat wave and drought increase, the water level will drop (without being renewed by the rains) and therefore the salt will be more and more present. Even the North Sea may one day resemble the Dead Sea. Although the phenomenon is fascinating, it is above all worrying and should raise awareness of the climate emergency!
Writing is second nature to Caroline: children’s stories, collection of stories, she writes both for pleasure and in her professional life. “Helping Internet users find answers through my writing is a great reward.”