Physical Properties of Ocean Water

Abiotic Factors of Ocean H20

• Dissolved gases– ‘Carbon Sink’ = lots of CO2

– Enter through streams, volcanoes, organisms, and atmosphere• Dissolved solids

– 3.5% of the mass of ocean water– Sea salts– Cl, Na, Mg, S, Ca, and K (if you don’t know what they are look

in the back of your text book)– Enters through volcanic eruptions, chemical weathering of rock

on land, and chemical reactions between sea water and newly formed sea-floor rocks

Abiotic Factors of Ocean H20 Continues

• Salinity– Amount of dissolved salts in a liquid– Tropical water have a higher salinity at the surface

than polar water do to evaporation rates.• Why do you think that is?

– Decreases with depth

Abiotic Factors of Ocean H20 Continues

• Temperature– Varies with depth and

location– Affected by solar energy

and water movement (currents)

– Thermocline: marks the separation between the warm surface water and the cold deep water

marinebio.org

Abiotic Factors of Ocean H20 Continues

• Density– Mass/volume– Affected by salinity and temperature• Dissolved solids add mass to ocean water = more dense• Cold=dense• Wam=less dense

– Where is the densest ocean water found? Why?

Abiotic Factors of Ocean H20 Continues

• Color– Different colors helps to determine the health of

the ocean• Ocean reflects back the blue wavelengths causing the

ocean to appear blue• Phytoplankton are good indicators of a health ocean• Phytoplankton absorb red and blue light, but reflect

green light.– What color would the ocean appear to be?

Currents

Waves

Tides