Ocean water has a lot more characteristics than "three" - whatever gave you that idea?

Here's 10 characterisitcs:
1. usually liquid
2. temperature ranges from 0 to 30C
3. sustains plant and animal life
4. the most common animal in the ocean water is plankton
5. affected by currents and waves
6. Density averages about 1.025 g/ml
7. Density increases slightly with depth
8. pH 7.5 to 8.5
9. Salinity 35 g/l
10. contains trace amounts of gold, uranium, silver, platinum, iron, lead, copper, and zinc.

Salinity: Six minerals and compounds make up 99 percent of the solids in sea water: magnesium,
chlorine, sodium, sulfur, calcium and potassium. Chlorine is by far the most abundant element comprising
55 percent of the salts in the ocean while potassium is the least prevalent at just under 1 percent. The
overall salinity of the ocean averages about 35 parts per thousand.
--Freezing Point: Seawater freezes at slightly lower temperatures than fresh water--the higher the salinity,
the lower the freezing point. Fresh water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius while seawater with a salinity of 35
parts per thousand freezes at about -2 degrees Celsius.
--Density: The salinity of the ocean also affects its density or "specific gravity." For seawater at average
temperature and salinity the specific gravity is 25.5, making it slightly denser than fresh water because of
the dissolved solids. Lower temperatures increase density, so the bottom water of the Antarctic, though
not as salty as the Atlantic, has some of the densest water in the world. Higher density also results in
lower buoyancy, so in areas where seawater and freshwater mix, such as a river delta, the seawater sinks
to the bottom.
--------------------------------------...
Ocean water has a lot more characteristics than "three" - whatever gave you that idea?
Here's 10 characterisitcs:
1. usually liquid
2. temperature ranges from 0 to 30C
3. sustains plant and animal life
4. the most common animal in the ocean water is plankton
5. affected by currents and waves
6. Density averages about 1.025 g/ml
7. Density increases slightly with depth

8. pH 7.5 to 8.5
9. Salinity 35 g/l
10. contains trace amounts of gold, uranium, silver, platinum, iron, lead, copper, and zinc.
Salinity: Six minerals and compounds make up 99 percent of the solids in sea water: magnesium,
chlorine, sodium, sulfur, calcium and potassium. Chlorine is by far the most abundant element comprising
55 percent of the salts in the ocean while potassium is the least prevalent at just under 1 percent. The
overall salinity of the ocean averages about 35 parts per thousand.
--Freezing Point: Seawater freezes at slightly lower temperatures than fresh water--the higher the salinity,
the lower the freezing point. Fresh water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius while seawater with a salinity of 35
parts per thousand freezes at about -2 degrees Celsius.
--Density: The salinity of the ocean also affects its density or "specific gravity." For seawater at average
temperature and salinity the specific gravity is 25.5, making it slightly denser than fresh water because of
the dissolved solids. Lower temperatures increase density, so the bottom water of the Antarctic, though
not as salty as the Atlantic, has some of the densest water in the world. Higher density also results in
lower buoyancy, so in areas where seawater and freshwater mix, such as a river delta, the seawater sinks
to the bottom.
--------------------------------------...

1. ECOLOCY
The ocean
Coral reefs (next page)
The blue planet - Characteristics of water - Ocean
currents - Zoogeographic regions - Vertical zones

Top - End - Next

The blue planet

How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is

quite clearly Ocean.
Arthur C. Clarke
We call earth "the blue planet". 71 percent of Earth's
surface is covered by oceans and freshwater features.
Water is the third most common molecule in the
Universe (after H2 and CO), the most abundant
substance on earth and the only naturally occurring
inorganic liquid. Only on earth and no other planet in

the solar system water can exist in a liquid state.

Every life form we know has evolved from water.
Invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals - all started their evolution in the ocean.
The first fishes in fossil record date back about 500
million years. The first coral reefs only appeared more
than 400 million years ago. These early corals are now
extinct, the modern forms evolved not until the past
25 million years.
It is not surprising, that the bodies of most plants and
animals are 60 or more percent water!

Top - End - Next - Previous

Characteristics of water
Unusual properties
All life forms we know require water (H2O) for their
biological processes. And although water seems
chemically simple - just 2 hydrogen atoms bound to
an oxygen - it is in fact an enormouslyunusual
substance. It has often been stated that life depends
on just these anomalous properties of water.
Thermal parameter

Water has different thermal parameter than other

substances. Most compounds contract as they cool
and expand when they heat. Water does this, too,
until just before it starts to freeze. Then it does
something remarkable - it begins to expand, even
when it grows colder. By the time it does freeze it
becomes ice which is actually less dense than liquid
water. Ice floats on water instead of sinking. If it did
not, life on earth would be impossible. If lakes and
oceans froze from the bottom up instead the top down
no sea-floor or lake bottom ecologies would exist.
Once starting freezing, bodies of water would stay
frozen solid forever. The freezing from the top down is
insulating the water from further freezing and also
allowing rapid thawing.

Surface tension

Water has a very high surface tension. It can enter

into cracks in rocks and since it expands when
freezing these rocks break apart. If water had a lower
surface tension, the process by which soil is formed
would not occur.

Viscosity

Water is not very viscous, if it had higher viscosity,

circulatory systems could not have evolved.

Compressibility

The compressibility of water reduces the sea level by

about 40 m giving us 5% more land.

Solvent

Water can dissolve more substances than any other

solvent. Water is an excellent solvent for substances
such as salt. Actually 38 million tons of salt are solved
in one cubic kilometer, that's about 25 grams of salt
in one kilogram of water.
Water can retain and store large amounts of heat this large heat capacity of the oceans and seas allows
them to act as heat reservoirs such that sea
temperatures vary only a third as much as land
temperatures. This minimizes extremes in
temperature and stabilizes our climate. That is why
coasts experience a milder climate than areas that lie
more inland. The heat stored in water is also
transported to other places around the globe through
currents and will warm up colder water.
The salinity of water determines where marine
animals can live. Some tolerate only moderate
amounts of salt, others more. If the salinity fluctuates
much, special ways of regulating their body fluid
concentration develop. The starfish needs at least 1.5
percent salinity, some shrimps will tolerate large
fluctuations, other animals such as the snapper can
life only in open ocean.

Salinity in parts per thousand

Water also dissolves gases such as oxygen. Many

microscopic plants and animals depend on this.
However the oxygen content of water decreases with
rising temperatures so tropical oceans are poorer in
oxygen. But here in the tropics where a wide belt of
warm water is stretching around the planet we find a
complex habitat - the coral reef.

Top - End - Next - Previous

Ocean currents
Surface currents

Surface currents are driven by the winds. However

because of the so called Corolis effect (caused by the
rotation of the earth) all winds around the equator
blow slightly west. The currents form huge circular
movements in the ocean basins. As seen on the map

below the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean each

have two such circles, one in the north and one in the
south circulating anti-clockwise.

Map of the ocean currents

Red = warm currents / Black = cold currents / Orange = water of 20C or more
Cold and warm currents

Warm and cold water is being transported by the

ocean currents around the globe. This movement is
called the "Great Ocean Conveyer Belt". Cold water
originating from the poles travels mostly along the
western side of the continents toward the equator.
Heated up warm water flows towards the poles mostly
on the eastern side of the continents.

Important ocean currents

South and North Equatorial Currents, Equatorial

Countercurrent, Golf current (Atlantic), Canary Current
(Europe) Kuroshio (Japan, China), California Current
(U.S.A.), South Indian Current (Indian Ocean),
Benguela Current (Africa), Antarctic Circumpolar
Current.

Top - End - Next - Previous

Zoogeographic regions

There are several distinct zoogeographic regions,

each with specific species living there, but there are
also animals living in all warm waters (=
circumtropical), such as many oceanic sharks and
mackerel.

Map of the tropical zoogeographic reef regions

--- = 20 isotherm / Pink = Red Sea / Dark red = Indian Ocean / Red = Western
Pacific / Yellow = Great Barrier Reef / Orange = Central Pacific / Green = Eastern
Pacific / Light green = Caribbean / Yellow-green = Bermudas / Violet = Brazil / Dark
green = Eastern Atlantic

The distribution in the 80 countries and geographical regions where coral reefs are found.
The largest concentration of reefs is around Indonesia and Australia. From the World Atlas
of Coral Reefs (UNEP)

Top - End - Next - Previous

Vertical zones

Pelagic: inhabiting the open

water, especially the upper layers

The ocean actually is quite barren with only a small

fringe of coastal zones teeming with life. Food is
sparse in the open ocean and animals are very
dependent on ocean currents which bring food (colder
currents) and provide passage.

Benthic: living on or in the sea

floor
Demersal: living near the sea
floor

Some of the most fearsome hunters such as the tiger

shark or the mako live in the open water. Many fish try
to avoid these predators by waiting during the day in
the twilight zone and migrating during the night to the
richer waters of the surface (photic zone). The top
30m of the ocean will teem with plankton during the
night but at dawn these animals will travel down 200
to 2000m back to the twilight zone. The extent of
vertical migration varies between species.

An example is the nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), a

cephalopod with a chambered shell. They live in deep
water but make a daily vertical migration of several
hundred meter. Their shell not only protects the
nautilus but also serves to regulate its flotation.

The deep sea is by far the largest habitat for life on

earth but it is quite unknown. At 1000m below the
surface of the ocean the pressure increases to 100
times that of the surface. Only creatures that can
cope with pressure can live here. Most have excellent
vision to find their prey in the gloomy depths. Most
are darkly colored, colors can't be seen here so they
are not important. Some produce their own light by
symbiotic bacteria that produce a bioluminescent
glow, for example the frogfish (or anglerfish).

Physical and Chemical Characteristics of

Seawater
Seawater is a mixture of various salts and water. Most of the water in the ocean basins
is believed to originate from the condensation of water found in the early atmosphere
as the Earth cooled after its formation. This water was released from
the lithosphere as the Earth's crust solidified. Additional water has also been added to
the oceans over geologic time from periodic volcanic action. Some scientists have
recently speculated that comets entering the Earth's atmosphere may be another
important source of water for the oceans.
Most of the dissolved chemical constituents or salts found in seawater have a
continental origin. It seems that these chemicals were released from continental rocks
through weathering and then carried to the oceans by stream runoff. Over time, the

concentration of these chemicals increased until an equilibrium was met. This

equilibrium occurred when the ocean's water could not dissolve any more material in
solution. Similarities between fossilized sea life and organisms living today indicate
that the composition of seawater stopped changing drastically about 600 million years
ago.
Only six elements and compounds comprise about 99% of sea salts: chlorine (Cl -),
sodium (Na+), sulfur (SO4-2), magnesium (Mg+2), calcium (Ca+2), and potassium (K+)
(Figure 8p-1). The relative abundance of the major salts in seawater are constant
regardless of the ocean. Only the amount of water in the mixture varies because of
differences between ocean basins because of regional differences in freshwater loss
(evaporation) and gain (runoff and precipitation).
The chlorine ion makes up 55% of the salt in seawater. Calculations of seawater
salinity are made of the parts per 1000 of the chlorine ion present in one kilogram of
seawater. Typically, seawater has a salinity of 35 parts per thousand.

Figure 8p-1: Relative proportions of dissolved salts in seawater.

Water is one of the few substances existing on the Earth's surface in all three forms of
matter. At zero degrees Celsius liquid water turns into ice and has a density of
approximately 917 kilograms per cubic meter. Liquid water at the same temperature
has a density of nearly 1,000 kilograms per cubic meter. The density of seawater
generally increases with decreasing temperature, increasing salinity, and increasing
depth in the ocean. The density of seawater at the surface of the ocean varies from

1,020 to 1,029 kilograms per cubic meter. Highest densities are achieved with depth
because of the overlying weight of water. In the deepest parts of the oceans, seawater
densities can be as high as 1,050 kilograms per cubic meter.
Seawater freezes at a temperature that is slightly colder than fresh water (0.0
Celsius). The freezing temperature of seawater also varies with the concentration of
salts. More salt the lower the initial freezing temperature. At a salinity of 35 parts per
thousand, seawater freezes at a temperature of -1.9 Celsius.
Sea ice normally contains considerably less salt than seawater. Most of the salts found
in liquid seawater are forced out it when freezing occurs. The reason for the exclusion
is because the molecules of the various salts do not fit well in the highly orderly
molecular structure of frozen water. Because of the density difference between ice and
seawater, ice floats on the surface of the ocean.
Seawater also contains small amounts of dissolved gases. Many of these gases are
added to seawater from the atmosphere through the constant stirring of the sea surface
by wind and waves. The concentration of gases that can be dissolved into seawater
from the atmosphere is determined by temperature and salinity of the water.
Increasing the temperature or salinity reduces the amount of gas that ocean water can
dissolve. Some of the important atmospheric gases found in seawater include:
nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide (in the form of bicarbonate HCO 3), argon, helium,
and neon. Compared to the other atmospheric gases, the amount of carbon
dioxide dissolved in saturated seawater is unusually large.
Some gases found within seawater are also involved in
oceanic organic and inorganic processes that are indirectly related to the atmosphere.
For example, oxygen and carbon dioxide may be temporally generated or depleted by
such processes to varying concentrations at specific locations within the ocean.

viewed in a window as wide as a page. Open links in a new tab.)

In order to understand the sea, some of its chemical properties are important.
This page details the chemical composition of sea water, salinity, density, its
dissolved gases, carbon dioxide and pH as limiting factor. Chemical elements in
sea water do not exist on their own but are attracted to preferential ions of

opposite charge: sulphur will occur mainly as sulphate, sodium as sodium

chloride, and so on.

Detailed composition: abundance of the elements in seawater

Salinity: the main salt ions making the sea salty
Density: the density of sea water depends on temperature and salinity
Dissolved gases: the two important gases to life, oxygen and carbondioxide.
Limiting hydrogen ions and ocean pH.
Bicarbonate: the life of dissolved carbon dioxide in the sea.
Related chapters:
global climate: learn about global climate step by step, from a very wide
perspective. Is global warming real or fraudulent? (140p) Must-read!
acid oceans: are oceans becoming more acidic? How does it work? Threat or
fraud? (60p) Must-read!
abundance of the elements of life in the universe, earth, sea and organisms.
table of units & measures: units, measures, conversion constants, world
dimensions, and much more.
periodic table: the periodic table of elements, complete with elementary chemistry
and interesting facts.
soil/ecology: the main biomes of the land and their carbon sinks. How does soil
work? Sustainability? What to do against erosion? (large)
the Dark Decay Assay: new discoveries of the plankton ecosystem. pH as most
important limiting factor.
.
-- Seafriends home -- oceanography -- sitemap -- Rev
20000714,20060825,20070515,20070718,20100608,

Detailed composition of seawater

Element
Hydrogen H2O
Oxygen H2O
Sodium NaCl
Chlorine NaCl
Magnesium Mg
Sulfur S
Potassium K
Calcium Ca
Bromine Br
Helium He
Lithium Li

At.weight
1.00797
15.9994
22.9898
35.453
24.312
32.064
39.102
40.08
79.909
4.0026
6.939

at 3.5% salinity
ppm
Element
110,000
Molybdenum Mo
883,000
Ruthenium Ru
10,800
Rhodium Rh
19,400
Palladium Pd
1,290
Argentum (silver) Ag
904
Cadmium Cd
392
Indium In
411
Stannum (tin) Sn
67.3
Antimony Sb
0.0000072
Tellurium Te
0.170
Iodine I

At.weight
0.09594
101.07
102.905
106.4
107.870
112.4
114.82
118.69
121.75
127.6
166.904

ppm
0.01
0.0000007
.
.
0.00028
0.00011
.
0.00081
0.00033
.
0.064

Beryllium Be
Boron B
Carbon C
Nitrogen ion
Fluorine F
Neon Ne
Aluminium Al
Silicon Si
Phosphorus P
Argon Ar
Scandium Sc
Titanium Ti
Vanadium V
Chromium Cr
Manganese Mn
Ferrum (Iron) Fe
Cobalt Co
Nickel Ni
Copper Cu
Zinc Zn
Gallium Ga
Germanium Ge
Arsenic As
Selenium Se
Krypton Kr
Rubidium Rb
Strontium Sr
Yttrium Y
Zirconium Zr
Niobium Nb

9.0133
10.811
12.011
14.007
18.998
20.183
26.982
28.086
30.974
39.948
44.956
47.90
50.942
51.996
54.938
55.847
58.933
58.71
63.54
65.37
69.72
72.59
74.922
78.96
83.80
85.47
87.62
88.905
91.22
92.906

0.0000006
4.450
28.0
15.5
13
0.00012
0.001
2.9
0.088
0.450
<0.000004
0.001
0.0019
0.0002
0.0004
0.0034
0.00039
0.0066
0.0009
0.005
0.00003
0.00006
0.0026
0.0009
0.00021
0.120
8.1
0.000013
0.000026
0.000015

Xenon Xe
131.30
Cesium Cs
132.905
Barium Ba
137.34
Lanthanum La
138.91
Cerium Ce
140.12
Praesodymium Pr
140.907
Neodymium Nd
144.24
Samarium Sm
150.35
Europium Eu
151.96
Gadolinium Gd
157.25
Terbium Tb
158.924
Dysprosium Dy
162.50
Holmium Ho
164.930
Erbium Er
167.26
Thulium Tm
168.934
Ytterbium Yb
173.04
Lutetium Lu
174.97
Hafnium Hf
178.49
Tantalum Ta
180.948
Tungsten W
183.85
Rhenium Re
186.2
Osmium Os
190.2
Iridium Ir
192.2
Platinum Pt
195.09
Aurum (gold) Au
196.967
Mercury Hg
200.59
Thallium Tl
204.37
Lead Pb
207.19
Bismuth Bi
208.980
Thorium Th
232.04
Uranium U
238.03
Plutonimu Pu
(244)
Note! ppm= parts per million = mg/litre = 0.001g/kg.

0.000047
0.0003
0.021
0.0000029
0.0000012
0.00000064
0.0000028
0.00000045
0.0000013
0.0000007
0.00000014
0.00000091
0.00000022
0.00000087
0.00000017
0.00000082
0.00000015
<0.000008
<0.0000025
<0.000001
0.0000084
.
.
.
0.000011
0.00015
.
0.00003
0.00002
0.0000004
0.0033
.

source: Karl K Turekian: Oceans. 1968. Prentice-Hall

Salinity and the main salt ions

The salinity of sea water (usually 3.5%) is made up by all the dissolved salts shown in the above
table. Interestingly, their proportions are always the same, which can be understood if salinity
differences are caused by either evaporating fresh water or adding fresh water from rivers.
Freezing and thawing also matter.

Salinity affects marine organisms because the process of osmosis transports water
towards a higher concentration through cell walls. A fish with a cellular salinity of
1.8% will swell in fresh water and dehydrate in salt water. So, saltwater fish drink

water copiously while excreting excess salts through their gills. Freshwater fish do the
opposite by not drinking but excreting copious amounts of urine while losing little of
their body salts.
Marine plants (seaweeds) and many lower organisms have no mechanism to control
osmosis, which makes them very sensitive to the salinity of the water in which they
live.
The main nutrients for plant growth are nitrogen (N as in nitrate NO3 -, nitrite NO2-,
ammonia NH4+), phosporus (P as phosphate PO43-) and potassium (K) followed by
Sulfur (S), Magnesium (Mg) and Calcium (Ca). Iron (Fe) is an essential component of
enzymes and is copiously available in soil, but not in sea water (0.0034ppm). This
makes iron an essential nutrient for plankton growth. Plankton organisms (like
diatoms) that make shells of silicon compounds furthermore need dissolved silicon
salts (SiO2) which at 3ppm can be rather limiting.
The main salt ions that make up 99.9% are the following:

chemical ion
Chloride Cl
Sodium Na
Sulfate SO4
Magnesium Mg
Calcium Ca
Potassium K
Bicarbonate HCO3
Bromide Br
Borate BO3
Strontium Sr
Fluoride F

valence
-1
+1
-2
+2
+2
+1
-1
-1
-3
+2
-1

concentration
ppm, mg/kg
19345
10752
2701
1295
416
390
145
66
27
13
1

part of
salinity %
55.03
30.59
7.68
3.68
1.18
1.11
0.41
0.19
0.08
0.04
0.003

molecular
weight
35.453
22.990
96.062
24.305
40.078
39.098
61.016
79.904
58.808
87.620
18.998

mmol/
kg
546
468
28.1
53.3
10.4
9.97
2.34
0.83
0.46
0.091
0.068

By adding the mol in last column up, multiplied by respective valences, like: -546
+468 -56.2 +106.6 + .... one ends up with almost 0, suggesting that the above values
are about right. During the Challenger Expedition of the 1870s, it was discovered that
the ratios between elements is nearly constant although salinity (the amount of H2O)
may vary. Note that the figures above differ slightly in differing publications. Also
landlocked seas like the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, have differing concentrations.

This world map shows how the salinity of the oceans changes slightly from around 32ppt (3.2%)
to 40ppt (4.0%). Low salinity is found in cold seas, particularly during the summer season when
ice melts. High salinity is found in the ocean 'deserts' in a band coinciding with the continental
deserts. Due to cool dry air descending and warming up, these desert zones have very little
rainfall, and high evaporation. The Red Sea located in the desert region but almost completely
closed, shows the highest salinity of all (40ppt) but the Mediterranean Sea follows as a close
second (38ppt). Lowest salinity is found in the upper reaches of the Baltic Sea (0.5%). The Dead
Sea is 24% saline, containing mainly magnesium chloride MgCl2. Shallow coastal areas are 2.63.0% saline and estuaries 0-3%.

Making sea salt

Sea salt is made by evaporating sea water, but this is not straight-forward. Between 100% and 50% first
the calcium carbonate (CaCO3= limestone) precipitates out, which is chalk and not desirable. Between
50% and 20%, gypsum precipitates out (CaSO4.2H2O), which also tastes like chalk. Between 20% and
1% sea salt precipitates (NaCl) but going further, the bitter potassium and magnesium chlorides and
sulfates precipitate, which is to be avoided, unless for health reasons. In commercial salt production, the
water is led through various evaporation ponds, to achieve the desired result.
Note that this process has also happened where large lakes dried out, laying down the above salts in the
above sequence. Note that normal sea water is undersaturated with respect to all its salts, except for
calcium carbonate which may occur in saturated or near-saturated state in surface waters.
An artificial salt solution of 3.5% (35ppt) is made by weighing 35g of salt in a beaker and topping it up
with fresh water to 1000g.

Density
The density of fresh water is 1.00 (gram/ml or kg/litre) but added salts can increase this. The
saltier the water, the higher its density. When water warms, it expands and becomes less dense.
The colder the water, the denser it becomes. So it is possible that warm salty water remains on
top of cold, less salty water. The density of 35ppt saline seawater at 15C is about 1.0255, or s

(sigma)= 25.5. Another word fordensity is specific gravity.

The relationship between temperature, salinity and density is shown by the blue isopycnal (of
same density) curves in this diagram. In red, green and blue the waters of the major oceans of the
planet is shown for depths below -200 metre. The Pacific has most of the lightest water with
densities below 26.0, whereas the Atlantic has most of the densest water between 27.5 and 28.0.
Antarctic bottom water is indeed densest for Pacific and Indian oceans but not for the Atlantic
which has a lot of similarly dense
water.

Dissolved gases in seawater

The gases dissolved in sea water are in constant equilibrium with the atmosphere but their
relative concentrations depend on each gas' solubility, which depends also on salinity and
temperature. As salinity increases, the amount of gas dissolved decreases because more water
molecules are immobilised by the salt ion. As water temperature increases, the increased
mobility of gas molecules makes them escape from the water, thereby reducing the amount of
gas dissolved.

Inert gases like nitrogen and argon do not take part in the processes of life and are thus
not affected by plant and animal life. But non-conservative gases like oxygen and
carbondioxide are influenced by sea life. Plants reduce the concentration of
carbondioxide in the presence of sunlight, whereas animals do the opposite in either
light or darkness.

gas

% in

% in surface ml/litre

mg/kg (ppm) molecular mmol/

molecule
Nitrogen N2
Oxygen O2
Carbondioxide CO2
Argon

atmosphere seawater
sea water in sea water
78%
47.5%
10
12.5
21%
36.0%
5
7
0.03%
15.1%
40
90 *
1%
1.4%
.
0.4
One kg of fresh water contains 55.6 mol H2O
* also reported as 80 mg/kg

weight
28.014
31.998
42.009
39.948

kg
0.446
0.219
2.142
0.01

Please note that these figures may be incorrect as too many different values have been published

In the above table, the conservative gases nitrogen and argon do not contribute to life
processes, even though nitrogen gas can be converted by some bacteria into fertilising
nitrogen compounds (NO3, NH4). Surprisingly the world under water is very much
different from that above in the availability of the most important gases for life:
oxygen and carbondioxide. Whereas in air about one in five molecules is oxygen, in
sea water this is only about 4 in every thousand million water molecules. Whereas air
contains about one carbondioxide molecule in 3000 air molecules, in sea water this
ratio becomes 4 in every 100 million water molecules, which makes carbondioxide
much more common (available) in sea water than oxygen. Note that even though their
concentrations in solution differ due to differences in solubility (ability to dissolve),
their partial pressures remain as in air, according to Henry's law, except where life
changes this. Plants increase oxygen content while decreasing carbondioxide and
animals do the reverse. Bacteria are even capable of using up all oxygen.
All gases are less soluble as temperature increases, particularly nitrogen, oxygen and
carbondioxide which become about 40-50% less soluble with an increase of 25C.
When water is warmed, it becomesmore saturated, eventually resulting in bubbles
leaving the liquid. Fish like sunbathing or resting near the warm surface or in warm
water outfalls because oxygen levels there are higher. The elevated temperature also
enhances their metabolism, resulting in faster growth, and perhaps a sense of
wellbeing.
Likewise if the whole ocean were to warm up, the equilibrium with the atmosphere
would change towards more carbondioxide (and oxygen) being released to the
atmosphere, thereby exacerbating global warming.
Since the volume of all oceans is 1.35E21 kg (see table of units & measures) and CO2
concentration is 9E-5 kg/kg (90ppm), it follows that the total amount of CO2 in all
oceans is 12.2E16 kg = 121,000 Pg (Mt) and the partial carbon amount (12/42) =
34,700 Pg (600Pg in surface waters + 7000Pg in mid waters + 30,000Pg in deep ocean = 37,600Pg [1]).
Compare this with the amount of carbon in soil and vegetation (1301 + 664 = 1965
Pg, see soil/ecology) and the carbon in the atmosphere, about 1 kg per square metre
over 510E6 km2 = 510E12 kg = 510 Pg (700Pg [1]). It follows that the ocean is a very

large reservoir of carbondioxide, also called Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC). In

addition to this, it contains Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) of unknown quantity.
The difference between DIC and DOC is an arbitrary particle size of 0.45m which
passes DIC through filtration paper. This definition does not distinguish our newly
discovered slush (incompletely decomposed biomolecules) as DOC. See our DDA
section.

What is dissolved, particulate, inorganic and organic carbon?

Carbon is a miraculous element located in the middle of the Periodic Table, next to nitrogen, which is
also a surprising element. Elements to the left are basic with positive valence (attracting free electrons)
and those to the right are acidic with negative valence (owning loose electrons). Carbon with a valence
of 4 can bind with both sides of the table and with itself. When combined with hydrogen, it forms long
chains of organic molecules like CH3.CH2.CH2......X where the end group X gives it the character of
an alkane (CH3), alcohol (OH), acid (COOH), aldehyde (COH), amino (NH2), and so on. The organic
carbon chains can form loops and bonds with other elements, all being organic compounds. Only few
inorganic carbon compounds are known, of which carbondioxide (CO2) is by far the most common.
Natural gas or methane (CH4) is either the last inorganic molecule or the first organic molecule. So it is
safe to say that dissolved inorganic carbon is CO2, particularly since it dissolves so readily in water.
All biomolecules that make up the structure of an organism are organic (except for salts in body
liquids), and when these are decomposed, the leftover molecules are also organic, except for inorganic
nutrients and CO2, for the whole purpose of decomposition is to turn organic molecules into inorganic
nutrients and CO2 for plants. All biomolecules can be transported by being dissolved in water. When an
organism dies and decomposes, most of its organic molecules end up in solution as dissolved organic
carbon (DOC), molecules that are very much smaller than the smallest of organisms (viruses).
Plankton organisms are classified by size from femtoplankton (smaller than 0.2m), picoplankton (0.22m) to megaplankton (0.2-2m). Note that the wavelength of visible light is 0.4-0.7m, which means
that organisms smaller than 1m are not visible under a light microscope (all viruses and most bacteria).
What all this means is that measuring the biomass of plankton is almost impossible. For practical
reasons, scientists decided that anything passing through fine filtration paper (0.45m) is dissolved and
all that is retained is particulate. Unfortunately this marks a substantial amount of particulate biomass
as dissolved.
Phytoplankton consists of organisms from bacteria to diatoms and large dinoflagellates (like sea
spark, Noctiluca scintillans). Their biomass can be estimated by measuring their chlorophyl (green
pigment) from light measurements. However, other pigments (brown, red) are also common and the
amount of chlorophyl is only a small part of biomass. So, even quantifying the amount of phytoplankton
is almost impossible.
The bottom line is that the boundaries between dissolved, particulate, inorganic and organic are rather
vague. Also the functional difference between producers (phytoplankton) and decomposers (most
bacteria) is seldom acknowledged.

Deep sea temperature, oxygen & nutrients

In general the ratios between the various elements in seawater is constant, except where modified
by life. In this diagram one can see how light penetrates no deeper than 150m for photosynthesis.
Indeed at 800m, the ocean is pitch dark. In the surface mixed layer above the thermocline, water
mixes sufficiently to sustain life. Gas exchange with the atmosphere is near-perfect such that the
oxygen concentration in the water is in equilibrium with the atmosphere. But it rapidly decreases
below 50-75m as photosynthesis declines while animals use up most oxygen. At around 800m
oxygen levels reach a minimum (as also carbondioxide levels reach a maximum, not shown).
Towards the deep and bottom water, oxygen levels increase slightly due to an influx of cold
bottom water from the poles. Due
to lack of oxygen, deep sea fish
cannot be very active.

The coloured curves for phosphate and nitrate show how these nutrients are almost
completely used near the surface and how they gradually become available in the
thermocline layer. Note how the Atlantic Ocean ends up with less nutrients than the
Pacific and Indian oceans.
The temperature curve shows the general idea of staying relatively high and constant
in the mixed layer, then declining rapidly in the thermocline layer until reaching a
near constant temperature of +3C in deep and bottom water. The maximum surface
temperature of course depends on many factors, like latitude and season.
Note that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 280 ppm in
1850 to 360 ppm in 1998, and is still rising. It is estimated that about 50% of
anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the oceans. Because the upper atmosphere
is bombarded by cosmic rays, some of the nitrogen atoms become radioactive isotopes
C-14 with a half life of 5730 years. Once incorporated into organisms, its radioactivity
decays slowly, allowing scientists to calculate the age of organic substances. Fossil
fuels which have been underground for over 60 million years, have lost nearly all their
radioactive carbon isotopes, and in this manner CO2 from burning fossil fuels can be
distinguished from normal CO2 circulation. The diagrams below shows how fossil
carbondioxide is absorbed by the oceans.

Radioactive Carbon-14
As cosmic rays bombard the outer atmosphere, they are slowed down by the thin gases there. With their
energy of billions of electron-Volt (eV) they produce fast neutrons that gradually slow down to that
of thermalneutrons. At a height of about 9-15km, these neutrons collide with nitrogen-14 (normal
nitrogen), producing radioactive carbon-14 (carbon with one extra neutron). The total amount of C-14
produced each year is about 9.8kg for the whole Earth, or about 1 atom C-14 for 1 trillion (1E-12)
normal C-12 atoms. Nuclear tests have almost doubled the quantity in the atmosphere in a peak (year
1964) that is gradually becoming normal again as the peak is absorbed by organisms and the ocean.
Radioactive carbon decays back to nitrogen by emitting an electron (beta radiation) at the initial rate of
14 disintegrations per minute per gram carbon. The C-13 carbon isotope which is not radioactive,
occurs for about one in every 100 atoms C. The age of organic remains can thus be measured by
counting beta radiation from disintegrating atoms, but a much more sensitive method is by counting all
C14 atoms by mass spectrometry.
Because of its slow decay rate of 50% in 5700 years, the total amount of C-14 in the atmosphere,
biosphere and oceans is much higher than 10kg. According to Libby (1955) who invented carbon
dating, the distribution of carbon and carbon-14 is as follows:
carbon reservoir

percentage

CO2 dissolved in oceans

87.5

Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in oceans

7.1

Biosphere, all living organisms

4.0

Atmospheric CO2

1.4

Note that at a pH of 7.0 (neutral water) only 0.1 mol/kg (10 -7 ) of water is dissociated
into positive hydrogen ions H+ and negative hydroxyl ions OH- . In the ocean where a
pH of around 8 is found, this becomes even less at 0.01 mol/kg, which makes
hydrogen ions twenty times scarcer than oxygen and 200 times scarcer than
carbondioxide. It explains how important the pH is to the productivity of aquatic
ecosystems. Visit our latest plankton discoveries in the Dark Decay Assay section
where this limiting factor was quantified in freshwater lakes.

This world map of ocean acidity shows that ocean pH varies from about 7.90 to 8.20 but along
the coast one may find much larger variations from 7.3 inside deep estuaries to 8.6 in productive
coastal plankton blooms and 9.5 in tide pools. The map shows that pH is lowest in the most
productive regions where upwellings occur. It is thought that the average acidity of the oceans
decreased from 8.25 to 8.14 since the advent of fossil fuel (Jacobson M Z, 2005).

Carbondioxide as bicarbonate
Carbondioxide binds loosely with water to form bicarbonate:
CO2 + H2O <=> H2CO3 <=> H+ + HCO3- <=> H+ + H+ + CO32in the ratios CO2 & carbonic acid H2CO3 = 1%, bicarbonate HCO3- = 93%, carbonate
CO32- =6%. These variants of CO2 (species) add up to the total amount of Dissolved Inorganic
Carbon (DIC), which also includes a smaller amount of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) that
passes filtration techniques.
The <=> symbol means 'in equilibrium with'.

These forms of carbon are always in close equilibrium with the atmosphere and with
one another. When one talks about dissolved carbondioxide, it is the slightly acidic
bicarbonate. When the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere increases, presumably
also the concentration in the ocean's surface increases, and this works itself through to
the right in above equation.
Photosynthesis of organic matter is often simplified as: CO2 + H2O + sunlight =>
CH2O +O2, which happens only in the sunlit depths to 150m and down to where the
sea mixes.
The average composition of marine plants is: H:O:C:N:P:S = 212:106:106:16:2:1
which comes close to CH2O.

Respiration is often simplified as : CH2O => CO2 + H2O + energy, which can
happen at all depths, depending on the amount of food sinking down from above.
Therefore the concentrations of oxygen and carbondioxide vary with depth. The
surface layers are rich in oxygen which reduces quickly with depth, to reach a
minimum between 200-800m depth. The deep ocean is richer in oxygen because of
cool and dense surface water descending from the poles into the deep ocean.
It is thought that the carbondioxide in the sea exists in equilibrium with that of
exposed rock containing limestone CaCO3. In other words, that the element calcium
exists in equilibrium with CO3. But the concentration of Ca (411ppm) is 10.4 mmol/l
and that of all CO2 species (90ppm) 2.05 mmol/l, of which CO3 is about 6%, thus
0.12 mmol/l. Thus the sea has a vast oversupply of calcium.

[1] Report of the Royal Society (June 2005): Ocean acidification due to increasing
atmospheric carbon dioxide.
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/displaypagedoc.asp?id=13539 (1MB)