what salinity general distribution
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
A discussion of salinity, the salt content of the oceans, requires an understanding of two important concepts:
(1) the present-day oceans are considered to be in a steady state, receiving as much salt as they lose, and
(2) the oceans have been mixed over such a long time period that the composition of sea salt is the same everywhere in the open ocean. This uniformity of salt content results in oceans in which the salinity varies little over space or time.
The range of salinity observed in the open ocean is from 33 to 37 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater or psu. For the most part, the observed departure from a mean value of approximately 35 psu is caused by processes at Earth’s surface that locally add or remove fresh water. Regions of high evaporation have elevated surface salinities, while regions of high precipitation have depressed surface salinities. In nearshore regions close to large freshwater sources, the salinity may be lowered by dilution. This is especially true in areas where the region of the ocean receiving the fresh water is isolated from the open ocean by the geography of the land.