Properties of Ocean Water

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Properties of Ocean Water the Ocean Floor
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Water density

• Maximum density at 4oC
• Ice less dense than liquid water
• Atomic structure of ice
• Ice floats
• Increased salinity decreases temperature of
  maximum density

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Seawater

• Salinitytotal amount of solid material dissolved
  in water (g/1000g)
• Typical salinity is 3.5 or 35 o/oo or ppt
• Brackish (hyposaline) lt 33 ppt
• Hypersaline gt 38 ppt

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Dissolved Gases in the Ocean

• O2 high in surface ocean due to photosynthesis
• O2 low below photic zone because of decomposition
• O2 high in deep ocean because source is polar
  (very cold) ocean

• CO2 low in surface ocean due to photosynthesis
• CO2 higher below photic zone because of
  decomposition
• Deeper seawater high CO2 due to source region and
  decomposition

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Surface variations of salinity

• Polar regions salinity is lower, lots of
  rain/snow and runoff
• Mid-latitudes salinity is high, high rate of
  evaporation
• Equator salinity is lower, lots of rain
• Thus, salinity at surface varies primarily with
  latitude

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Vertical variations of salinity

• Surface ocean salinity is variable
• Deeper ocean salinity is nearly the same (polar
  source regions for deeper ocean water)
• Halocline, rapid change of salinity with depth

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Imagine you were walking along the ocean floor.

• What would you see?
• What would you feel?
• What would you encounter?

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Ocean Floor

• Contains the worlds largest mountain range
  (40,000 miles long) canyons deeper than the
  Grand Canyon
• 2 Major Regions
• Continental Margin made of continental crust
• Deep-Ocean Basin made of oceanic crust

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Ocean Floor

• Continental Margin
• Continental Shelf
• Continental Slope
• Continental Rise

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Ocean Floor

• Deep-Ocean Basin
• Abyssal Plain
• Mid-Ocean Ridges
• Rift Valley
• Ocean Trenches
• Seamounts

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Ocean Floor Features