
Why is the seawater salty?
Answer
556.2k+ views
Hint: Although seawater contains about 35 grammes of salt per litre on average, the oceans and seas are not uniformly salty; typically, the closer you get to the poles, the less saline the water becomes, as the concentration of salt is diluted by freshwater released from the ice of the frozen poles.
Complete solution:
The salt in seawater comes from rock, laden with elementary salts, including sodium, chlorine and potassium, which huge volcanoes from the depths of the earth have spewed out as magmatic material.
Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) can form carbonic acid ($H_{2}CO_3$), a weak but corrosive acid when combined with water ($H_{2}O$). This carbonic acid rained down slowly breaking through and releasing the trapped salt into rainwater on salt-rich soil. Slowly, the runoff brought the salt to surrounding lakes and rivers, which carried it to the seas in turn. Although the volume deposited by any one outlet was tiny, the contribution of millions of outlets progressively increased the salinity of the oceans over millions of years. The process continues further.
A fair proportion of the salt released from the rock is used by living things along the way from rock to sea. Salt, controlling the amount of fluid in cells and neuron activity, is vital to both plant and animal life. The salt is released to begin its seaward journey when an organism dies and decomposes.
Note:
Acid rain isn't the only way that salt feeds the oceans. A significant role is still to be played by continuing volcanism. Hydrothermal vents allow seawater to return to the surface, which has seeped through the rock of the oceanic crust. The water is superheated from the magma below and dissolved minerals trapped in the crust as it travels up, erupting like mineral-rich steam.
Complete solution:
The salt in seawater comes from rock, laden with elementary salts, including sodium, chlorine and potassium, which huge volcanoes from the depths of the earth have spewed out as magmatic material.
Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) can form carbonic acid ($H_{2}CO_3$), a weak but corrosive acid when combined with water ($H_{2}O$). This carbonic acid rained down slowly breaking through and releasing the trapped salt into rainwater on salt-rich soil. Slowly, the runoff brought the salt to surrounding lakes and rivers, which carried it to the seas in turn. Although the volume deposited by any one outlet was tiny, the contribution of millions of outlets progressively increased the salinity of the oceans over millions of years. The process continues further.
A fair proportion of the salt released from the rock is used by living things along the way from rock to sea. Salt, controlling the amount of fluid in cells and neuron activity, is vital to both plant and animal life. The salt is released to begin its seaward journey when an organism dies and decomposes.
Note:
Acid rain isn't the only way that salt feeds the oceans. A significant role is still to be played by continuing volcanism. Hydrothermal vents allow seawater to return to the surface, which has seeped through the rock of the oceanic crust. The water is superheated from the magma below and dissolved minerals trapped in the crust as it travels up, erupting like mineral-rich steam.
Recently Updated Pages
Why are manures considered better than fertilizers class 11 biology CBSE

Find the coordinates of the midpoint of the line segment class 11 maths CBSE

Distinguish between static friction limiting friction class 11 physics CBSE

The Chairman of the constituent Assembly was A Jawaharlal class 11 social science CBSE

The first National Commission on Labour NCL submitted class 11 social science CBSE

Number of all subshell of n + l 7 is A 4 B 5 C 6 D class 11 chemistry CBSE

Trending doubts
1 Quintal is equal to a 110 kg b 10 kg c 100kg d 1000 class 11 physics CBSE

What is Environment class 11 chemistry CBSE

Bond order ofO2 O2+ O2 and O22 is in order A O2 langle class 11 chemistry CBSE

How many squares are there in a chess board A 1296 class 11 maths CBSE

Distinguish between verbal and nonverbal communica class 11 english CBSE

The equivalent weight of Mohrs salt FeSO4 NH42SO4 6H2O class 11 chemistry CBSE

