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Ocean Salinity, Major Elements, and Thermohaline Circulation

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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Salinity is the total amount of dissolved salts in seawater, generally reported in grams/kg (parts per thousand). Salinity is in turn dominated by only a few major elements in ionic form: Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, Sr2+, Cl−, SO4 2−, Br−, F−, and HCO3 −. Temperature together with salinity determines the density of seawater, which governs the vertical circulation of the oceans, known as the thermohaline circulation.

Introduction

Ocean geochemistry is the discipline focusing mostly on the inorganic constituents of seawater in the world oceans. Interactions with biology and organic chemistry, and external sources and sinks, such as rivers, atmosphere, hydrothermal vents, and sediments, do play a role. Marine geochemistry comprises a far wider range including other aspects of inorganic geochemistry and organic geochemistry, and secondly not only the seawater but also investigations focusing on the underlying marine sediments and their inorganic and organic contents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Ocean Systems (OCS), and Utrecht University, Texel, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, The Netherlands

    Hein J. W. de Baar, Steven M. A. C. van Heuven & Rob Middag

Authors
  1. Hein J. W. de Baar
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  2. Steven M. A. C. van Heuven
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  3. Rob Middag
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hein J. W. de Baar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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de Baar, H.J.W., van Heuven, S.M.A.C., Middag, R. (2017). Ocean Salinity, Major Elements, and Thermohaline Circulation. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_120-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_120-1

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