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When rain falls from
the sky, it falls as
fresh water.
The drops may have a
few dust motes in
them. and sometimes
a little carbonic
acid if carbon
dioxide from the air
has dissolved in the
water, but it is
pretty pure, and is
used by animals and
plants on
land. However,
despite the steady
fall of rain on our
planet for billions
of years, most of
the water
on earth is
salty, and in the
sea.
What happened?
Over billions of
years, rain fell on
the land as well as
the oceans. As
the raindrops came
in contact with the
rocks and soil on
land, substances,
such as sodium,
potassium and
calcium, dissolved in the
water. When
the water returned
to the sea as
runoff, it carried
the dissolved
substances with
it.
When the water
evaporated to go
through the water
cycle again, it left
the heavier
molecules of the
dissolved substances
behind.
Gradually these
heavier molecules accumulated
in the oceans and
changed the salinity
of the water.
The proportion of
salt to sea water is
3.5% by weight right
now. That's
about a pound of
salt to every 3 and
a quarter gallons of
water.
When
you think about
all that water in
the ocean -- there
must be many, many
tons of salt
dissolved in it!
There are different
kinds of salts in
the water, but the
most common salt is
sodium chloride,
which we call table
salt.
10.
Major
elements present in
constant ratios
>
"Law"
of constant
proportions
>
Sodium/magnesium
always 8.3 for any
salinity
>
Sodium/calcium
always 25.9
>
Chloride/sulfate
always 7.1
>
Happens
because water in
oceans mixes
quickly: in one to
two thousand years
great
SALT LAKE
4.
"It's dead,
Jim."
False again.
It's teaming with
life!
Plankton, algae,
brine shrimp, and
brine flies form the
base of a food
pyramid that
supports one of the
largest biomasses on
the North American
continent.
Vast numbers of
birds flock here.
Take a drive out to
the Bear River
Migratory Bird
Refuge and see for
yourself. The
whole system is
delicate, however,
and needs our
protection, as
evidenced by
occasional die-backs
or epidemics.
1.
"It
stinks!"
The
Great Salt Lake
itself doesn't
really stink.
This is a shore
phenomenon that is
experienced when one
is downwind wading
out along the mud
flats or in the
cities on windy
days. Under-muds
get churned up by
breaking waves.
These muds are rich
in organics from
brine flies, fly
eggs, brine shrimp,
algae , etc. which
are being decomposed
by bacteria in an
oxygen-poor
environment (a
reduction-zone)
which gives up a gas
that smells a lot
like rotten eggs --
Hydrogen Sulfide
(H2S). This odor is
released and carried
by the winds.
So, what does it
actually smell like
sailing out on
"The Great
Salt?"
Sailors can tell
you. It is a
salty-sea smell, a
lot like the ocean!
3.
"It's too
salty."
At 12-25% salinity,
the Great Salt Lake
is one of the
saltiest seas in the
world.
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Shores/9144/
7% - 12 %
NATURALLY OCCURING
brine shrimp eat
a green alga that
grows there.
Can survive hot and
freezing
temperatures.
diapause in winter
for eggs
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Dead Sea
While the
salinity of the
oceans is 35 grams
per liter, in the
Dead Sea it reaches
350 to 370 grams per
liter, making
swimmers extremely
buoyant.
Although aquatic
life is not possible
in these conditions,
or maybe 340 g
per liter?
- The
lysocline
is the line
below which the
water is
undersaturated
with respect to
carbonate. It is
also called the
"CCD"
(carbonate
compensation
depth),
and it is a
challenge for
organisms with
calcitic shells.
It generally
lies 3-4 Km
below the
surface but may
be shallower in
shallower
waters.
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