The Salinity of Ocean Waters

If the salinity of ocean waters is analyzed, it is found to vary only

slightly from place to place. Nevertheless,         some of these small changes are

important. There are three basic processes that

cause a change in oceanic salinity.

One of these is the subtraction of water from the ocean by means of

evaporation - conversion of liquid water to        water vapor. In this manner the

salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind. If this is carried to

the     extreme, of course, white crystals of salt would be left behind.

The  opposite  of evaporation is  precipitation, such  as rain, by which

water is  added to  the ocean. Here the ocean is being diluted so that the

salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas of high  rainfall  or  in 

coastal  regions    where  rivers  flow  into  the  ocean.  Thus  salinity 

may  be increased by the subtraction of water by evaporation, or         decreased

by the addition of fresh water by precipitation or runoff.

Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean

salinity is somewhat higher than it is in    other parts of the world where

there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, in coastal regions where

rivers dilute         the  sea, salinity is somewhat lower than in  other oceanic

areas.

A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the

formation and melting of sea ice. When sea       water is frozen, the dissolved

materials are left behind. In this manner, sea water directly beneath

freshly formed sea ice  has  a  higher salinity than it did before the  ice

appeared. Of course, when this ice melts, it will tend to       decrease the

salinity of the surrounding water.    In the Weddell Sea Antarctica, the

densest water in the oceans is formed as a result of this freezing process,      

which increases the salinity of cold water. This heavy water sinks and is

found in the deeper portions of the  oceans of the world.

海水鹽度

如果我們分析海水的鹽度，會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)地區(qū)間只有輕微的變化，然而有些小的變化是重要的。

導(dǎo)致海洋的鹽度變化的基本過程有三個(gè)，其中之一是通過蒸發(fā)的方式即把液態(tài)水轉(zhuǎn)化為水蒸 氣來減少海洋中的水分。  這樣由于鹽留了下來，所以鹽度增大。

當(dāng)然，如果這種方式走向 極端，將會(huì)余下白色的鹽晶體。  與蒸發(fā)相反的是降水，如降雨，由此水被加入海中，海水 被稀釋，從而鹽度降低。

這種情形會(huì)發(fā)生在大量降雨的地區(qū)，或江河入海岸處。  因此，鹽 度通過蒸發(fā)減少水分而上升或通過降水或徑流增加淡水成分而下降。  一般來說，在陽光很

強(qiáng)烈的熱帶地區(qū)，海水的鹽度略高于世界上其它沒有熱帶那樣多的蒸發(fā)的地區(qū)。  同理，在 江河稀釋海水的海岸地帶，海水鹽度略低于其它海區(qū)。

第三個(gè)可以變更鹽度的過程與海洋 中冰的形成和融化有關(guān)。  海水凍結(jié)時(shí)，溶于其中的物質(zhì)被留了下來。  這樣，在新形成的海

水冰面的正下方的海水比在冰形成之前有更高的鹽度。  當(dāng)然，當(dāng)冰融化的時(shí)候，會(huì)降低周 圍水中的鹽度。

在南極洲邊緣的威德爾海中，結(jié)冰過程增加低溫海水的鹽度，從而形成了 濃度最大的海水。  這些大密度的海水下沉，可以在世界海洋的深水域發(fā)現(xiàn)。

譯路通武漢漢口翻譯公司

2012.8.8