Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Not only is water the most common of substances on the earth’s surface, but it
also uncommon in many of its properties.
Water makes life possible.
Its properties largely determine the characterisrics of the oceans, the
atmosphere, and the land.
Seawater is salt water and it is much more than just salt in water.
Seawater contains dissolved gases, nutrient molecules, and organic
substances as well as salt.
We need to understand the ocean through the physical and chemical
characteristics of seawater and to follow the processes that influence and
regulate it.
What are the properties that make water such a special, useful, and essential
substance ????
its the molecular structure.
The water molecule is deceptively simple, made up of only 3 atoms: 2
hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom (H2O).
Water is a tiny V-shaped molecule with the molecular formula H2O. In the
liquid state, in spite of 80% of the electrons being concerned with bonding, the
three atoms do not stay together as the hydrogen atoms are constantly
exchanging between water molecules due to protonation/deprotonation
processes. Both acids and bases catalyze this exchange and even when at
its slowest (at pH 7), the average residence time is only about a millisecond.
As this brief period is, however, much longer than the timescales encountered
during investigations into water's hydrogen bonding or hydration properties,
water is usually treated as a permanent structure.
Water molecules (H2O) are symmetric with two mirror planes of symmetry.
600
grams/100ml of water
500
400
Sucrose
300
200
100
NaCl
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Temperature C
600
grams/100ml of water
500
400
Sucrose
300
200
100
NaCl
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Temperature C
The solubility of sucrose (a sugar) and NaCl both increase with increasing
temperatures.
The increase of solubility of sucrose is great, for NaCl the increase is
slight.
Hypothesis: The solubility of solids increases with increasing temperature,
but all solids are not the same. Sucrose which does NOT dissolve into ions
(charged atoms) shows a great increase, NaCl which does dissolve into
charged ions (Na+, Cl-).
Solubility of Oxygen in Water
Equilibrium, 1 atm
(maximum at given temp)
16
14
Concentration mg/L
12
10
4
2
0
0 10 20 30 40
Temp C
There are >70 elements dissolved in seawater but only 6 make up >99% of all the
dissolved salts; all occur as ions - electrically charged atoms or groups of atoms:
Chloride (Cl): 55.04 wt% Sodium (Na): 30.61 wt%
Sulphate (SO4): 7.68 wt% Magnesium (Mg): 3.69 wt%
Calcium (Ca): 1.16 wt.% Potassium (K): 1.10 wt.%
Oceanographers use salinity -- the amount (in grams) of total dissolved salts present in
1 kilogram of water -- to express the salt content of seawater. Normal seawater has a
salinity of 35 grams/kilogram (or litre) of water -- also expressed as 35‰. Seawater from
Wormly in southern England is used as the international standard for seawater
composition.
As well as major elements, there are many trace elements in seawater - e.g.,
manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), gold (Au), iron (Fe), iodine (I). Most occur in parts per
million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) concentrations. They are important to some
biochemical reactions - both from positive and negative (toxicity) viewpoints.
Processes controlling seawater composition
Salts dissolved in seawater come from three main sources:
• volcanic eruptions
gases in the atmosphere ----- through precipitation.
underwater eruptions ------ direct
• chemical reactions
between seawater and hot, newly formed volcanic rocks of spreading
zones (mid-oceanic ridges)-----removal of magnesium and some sulphate
from the seawater.
ocean’s water circulates every 5-10 million years ------- near constant
ratios of major constituents.
Surface seawater --- normally saturated with atmospheric gases (O2, N2).
Solubility of gases determined by water’s temperature and salinity.
Once water sinks below the ocean surface, dissolved gases can no longer
exchange with the atmosphere except by movement of gas molecules through
the water -- diffusion (slow process), or by mass water mixing.
Nitrogen and rare inert gases (argon, helium, etc.) behave this way - their
concentrations are conservative and only affected by physical processes.
Some dissolved gases (O2, CO2). are non-conservative and actively participate
in chemical and biological processes that change their concentrations.
Salinity
Salinity map showing areas of high salinity (36 o/oo) in green, medium salinity in blue
(35 o/oo), and low salinity (34 o/oo) in purple. Salinity is rather stable but areas in the
North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Pacific, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and
Mediterranean Sea tend to be a little high (green). Areas near Antarctica, the Arctic
Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the West Coast of North and Central America tend to be a
little low (purple).
The salinity of seawater is usually 35 parts per thousand (also written as
o/oo) in most marine areas. This salinity measurement is a total of all the salts
that are dissolved in the water. Although 35 parts per thousand is not very
concentrated (the same as 3.5 parts per hundred, o/o, or percent) the water in
the oceans tastes very salty. The interesting thing about this dissolved salt is that
it is always made up of the same types of salts and they are always in the same
proportion to each other (even if the salinity is different than average). The
majority of the salt is the same as table salt (sodium chloride) but there are other
salts as well. The table below shows these proportions:
very large river emptying into the ocean. The runoff from most small
streams and rivers is quickly mixed with ocean water by the currents
and has little effect on salinity. But large rivers (like the Amazon River in
South America) may make the ocean have little or no salt content for
over a mile or more out to sea.
Surface zone
Halocline
Deep zone
Many marine organisms are highly affected by changes in salinity. This is because
of a process called osmosis which is the ability of water to move in and out of living
cells, in response to a concentration of a dissolved material, until an equilibrium is
reached. In general the dissolved material does not easily cross the cell membrane so
the water flows by osmosis to form an equilibrium. Marine organisms respond to this as
either being osmotic conformers (also called poikilosmotic) or osmotic regulators (or
homeosmotic).
Marine algae (left) and marine feather duster worms (right) are osmotic conformers.
Osmotic conformers have no mechanism to control osmosis and their cells are the
same salt content as the liquid environment in which they are found (in the ocean this
would be 35 o/oo salt). If a marine osmotic conformer were put in fresh water (no salt),
osmosis would cause water to enter its cells (to form an equilibrium), eventually causing
the cells to pop (lysis). If a marine osmotic conformer were put in super salty water
(greater than 35 o/oo salt) then osmosis would cause the water inside the cells to move
out, eventually causing the cells to dehydrate (plasmolyze). These marine osmotic
conformers include the marine plants and invertebrate animals which do not do well in
areas without a normal salinity of 35 o/oo.
Arctic charr fish (left) and humpback whales (right) are osmotic regulators.
Osmotic regulators have a variety of mechanisms to control osmosis and the salt content of
their cells varies. It does not matter what the salt content is of the water surrounding a marine
osmotic regulator, their mechanisms will prevent any drastic changes to the living cells. Marine
osmotic regulators include most of the fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. These are the
organisms that are most likely to migrate long distances where they may encounter changes in
salinity. An excellent example of this is the salmon fish. The fish is about 18 o/oo salt so in
seawater it tends to dehydrate and constantly drinks the seawater. Special cells on the gills
(called chloride cells) excrete the salt so the fish can replace its lost water. When a salmon
migrates to fresh water its cells start to take on water so the salmon stops drinking and its
kidneys start working to produce large amounts of urine to expell the water.
Temperature
Temperature
Seawater temperature map showing areas of warmer water in red and areas of cooler water is
blue. White areas represent ice. Notice the upward finger of cold water in the South Pacific off
of South America and the downward finger of cold water in the North Pacific off of the West
Coast of the USA. The reasons for these become apparent when you learn about the major
ocean currents
Earth's surface ocean currents are
caused by the winds, continental
land mass obstruction and the
Coriolis effect.
Earth's surface winds are the result of the wind cells and
Coriolis effect.
Temperature
The temperature of seawater varies with
the amount of sun that hits that area
the length of time
the angle of the sun's rays.
The longer the time and the more direct the rays of the sun fall on the ocean, the
greater the temperature of seawater.
Tropical areas get more year-round sun and more direct sun (almost 90 degrees,
straight down for most of the year at noon) have warmer surface waters than polar
areas.
surface ocean temperatures are warm in the tropics (up to 30 or more degrees C)
and cooler at the poles (down to -2 degrees C).
But, when we look below the surface we find that the oceans are also vertically
stratified and marine scientists recognize a basic three layered ocean - the upper
mixed layer, the main thermocline, and deep (bottom) water.
The three layered ocean with
the upper mixed layer
(yellow), main thermocline
(green), and deep (bottom)
water (blue).
The upper mixed layer is all one temperature but that temperature can vary from -2 degrees C, at
the poles, to +30 degrees C, in the tropics. It all depends on the latitude and effects of the sun's heat
and may be highly seasonal. The depth of this layer can be anything between the surface and 200
meters deep - usually the 200 meter depth is near the equator. The volume of this upper mixed layer
is only about two percent of the volume of the ocean water.
The main thermocline is an area of rapidly decreasing temperature with depth. This changes with
latitude and may begin at 200 meters (the bottom of the mixed layer) in the tropics where it may end at
close to 1,000 meters (or anywhere above that depending on the strength of the sun). It may also
begin right at the surface of the ocean in high temperate areas and extend to a variety of depths. This
layer shifts up and down with the seasons in the temperate areas. The main thermocline comprises
only 18 percent of the volume of the ocean water.
Temperature versus Depth
The sunlit and wind-driven upper layer of
Earth's oceans rests on relatively colder
and denser waters. At times, there is a
distinct temperature difference between
the wind-stirred Surface Zone and the
quieter Deep Zone below. Such a drop
in temperature with depth is shown in red
at left (<<<). Although temperature
generally decreases with depth, there is
a layer where temperatures drop abruptly
called the Thermocline.
Cold blooded (poikilothermic) marine organisms lack any temperature controls. These
include marine plants, invertebrates, most fish and marine reptiles. These species each have
their specific temperature tolerance range within which they must live (some are adapted to
polar temperatures, some to tropical temperatures). Some have a narrow range (and are thus
very restricted) and some have a wide range (and are thus less restricted).
The walrus (left) and dolphins (right) are warm blooded.
As pressure increases water becomes more dense. A cold, highly saline, deep
mass of water is very dense whereas a warm, less saline, surface water mass
is less dense.
When large water masses with different densities meet the denser water mass
slips under the less dense mass.
These responses to density are the reason for some of the deep ocean
circulation models.
Dissolved Gases
The concentration of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide are very important for
marine life forms. Although both oxygen and carbon dioxide are a gas when outside the
water, they dissolve to a certain extent in liquid seawater. Dissolved oxygen is what animals
with gills use for respiration (their gills extract the dissolved oxygen from the water flowing
over the gill filaments). Dissolved carbon dioxide is what marine plants use for
photosynthesis.
The amount of dissolved gases varies according to the types of life forms in the water.
Most living species need oxygen to keep their cells alive (both plants and animals) and are
constantly using it up. Replenishment of dissolved oxygen comes from the photosynthetic
activity of plants (during daylight hours only) and from surface diffusion (to a lesser extent). If
there are a large number of plants in a marine water mass then the oxygen levels can be
quite high during the day. If there are few plants but a large number of animals in a marine
water mass then the oxygen levels can be quite low. Oxygen is measured in parts per million
(also called ppm) and levels can range from zero to over 20 ppm in temperate waters. It only
reaches 20 when there are a lot of plants in the water, it is very sunny with lots of nutrients,
and the wind is whipping up the surface into a froth. In any water mass there is a maximum
amount of dissolved gas that can be found (after which the gas no longer dissolves but
bubbles to the surface). This maximum amount increases with a decrease in temperature
(thus cold water masses can hold more dissolved gases ... but they can also have none if it
has been used up). So, just because a water mass is cold it does not mean it has a lot of
dissolved gases. This concept is a little tricky but just remember that the amount of dissolved
gases in seawater depends more on the types of life forms (plants and animals) that are
present and their relative proportions.
Dissolved Nutrients
Fertilizers, like nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K), are
important for plant growth and are called 'nutrients.' The level of dissolved
nutrients increases from animal feces and decomposition (bacteria, fungi). Surface
water often may be lacking in nutrients because feces and dead matter tend to
settle to the bottom of the ocean. Most decomposition is thus at the bottom of the
ocean. In the oceans most surface water is separated from bottom water by a
thermocline (seasonal in temperature and marginal polar regions, constant in
tropics) which means that once surface nutrients get used up (by the plants there)
they become a limiting factor for the growth of new plants. Plants must be at the
surface for the light. Nutrients are returned to surface waters by a special type of
current called 'upwelling' and it is in these areas of upwelling that we find the
highest productivity of marine life.
Silica and iron may also be considered important marine nutrients as their
lack can limit the amount of productivity in an area. Silica is needed by diatoms
(one of the main phytoplanktonic organisms that forms the base of many marine
food chains. Iron is just recently being discovered to be a limiting factor for
phytoplankton.
pH
pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance and is one of the
stable measurements in seawater. Ocean water has an excellent buffering system
with the interaction of carbon dioxide and water so that it is generally always at a
pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Neutral water is a pH of 7 while acidic substances are less than 7
(down to 1, which is highly acidic) and alkaline substances are more than 7 (up to
14, which is highly alkaline). Anything either highly acid or alkaline would kill
marine life but the oceans are very stable with regard to pH. If seawater was out of
normal range (7.5-8.5) then something would be horribly wrong.
In summary, the salinity and pH of seawater are relatively stable
measurements whereas temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients may
vary. The next lesson will introduce you to how all the water masses of the
oceans move around and mix, or do not mix in general patterns. It is always
important to remember that every local situation can be quite different than
the 'average' so it is always important to take actual measurements.