Why is the Ocean Salty?
Herbert Swenson,
General Interest Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey,
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
U.S. Department of the Interior
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Estimation of salinity profiles in the upper ocean
Donald V. Hansen & W. Carlisle Thacker,
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 104, No. C4
(Adobe PDF file)
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Measuring Ocean Salinity with ESA’s SMOS Mission - Advancing the Science
M. Berger, A. Camps, J. Font, Y. Kerr, J. Miller,
J. Johannessen, J. Boutin, M. R. Drinkwater,
N. Skou,
N. Floury, M. Rast, H. Rebhan &
E. Attema,
ESA Bulletin 111, August 2002,
European Space Agency (ESA)
(Adobe PDF file)
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Ocean Salinity Databases
Virtual Centre for Ocean Satellite Salinity (VCOSS),
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
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On sensitivity of ocean circulation to
sea surface salinity
Dan Seidov & Bernd J. Haupt,
Environment Institute, Earth System Science Center,
The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)
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The Real Time Ocean Environment
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL-SSC),
Stennis Space Center (NASA)
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The Salinity, Temperature, and
δ18O
of the Glacial Deep Ocean
Jess F. Adkins, Katherine McIntyre & Daniel P. Schrag,
Science, Vol. 298
(Adobe PDF file)
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Some say man’s final frontier lies not in space, but within
our oceans. For all our attempts at understanding and dominance, the
oceans, which make up over 70 percent of the Earth’s entire surface
area, remain largely unexplored. The reason for our inability to
pierce the ocean depths in more than a cursory manner can be explained by
one word — pressure. While we have been able to
overcome the vacuum of space, the crushing pressure exerted within the
depths of the oceans restricts our sojourn to the topmost layers of their
watery expanse. Only very high-tech deep submergence vehicles (DSVs) and
diving suits permit us an all-too-brief encounter with what lies within
the darkest recesses of the abyss. The irony is that, as
Earth’s most highly evolved organism, we find ourselves largely
denied the opportunity to return to the place from which modern science
believes all life on Earth derives.
Oceanography is the study of our ocean environment, just as meteorology
is the study of our atmosphere. The linkage between the two is
inescapable;
air-sea
interaction is an important area of research within both sciences.
Oceanography encompasses topics ranging from the effect of sea-surface
winds on ocean chemistry to the study of marine geology and deep-water
sediments. Between and inclusive of the upper and lower ocean regions is
a tremendously diverse biosphere and a land-sea boundary essential for its
maintenance and reproduction — these too fall within the purview of
the discipline of oceanography.
Our oceans are a key component of the planetary ecosystem; environmental
protection of these crucial assets requires that we understand them,
their interactions with the land environment on which we live, and our
effects as a species on their well-being. Damage to our oceans, which
is proceeding at an alarming rate, may very well have widespread and
irreversible consequences for all life on Earth. Can we afford to let
this happen? Central to our protection of the marine environment is our
understanding of that environment. Oceanography has become a critical
area of scientific study in the world today and will increase in its
importance as continental resources dwindle and Man focuses upon the
sea as a new source for raw material and living space.
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 26 April 2003.
Follow links to the right to learn more about ocean salinity and its role in driving shallow and
deep water ocean currents, an action known as thermohaline
circulation.
At the left margin, Related Links address topics of interest
pertaining to oceanography that may help us all better understand and
appreciate our oceans and the role oceanographers play in unlocking the
secrets of what has long remained one of the most mysterious and
foreboding habitats of planet Earth. View the
Oceanography SiteMap
for a complete list of oceanography and ocean-related topics.
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