salt water
2006-11-20 12:02:27 · 6 answers · asked by Danielle 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Salt is carried into the oceans by the rivers that flow into it from land. The river water absorbs salt from the rocks and minerals in the earth; the amount in the river water is small, so the water is not salty, but once it gets into the ocean the salt accumulates. When ocean water evaporates back into the atmosphere, the salts stay behind and accumulate. It takes thousands of years to build up to the present concentration, but it is still going on.
2006-11-20 12:09:18 · answer #1 · answered by gp4rts 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The salts, and there are a lot more than sodium chloride, in sea water come from the erosion of rocks by rivers and streams on land. The oceans have no outlet so the salts accumulate. The oceans pick up a lot of fresh water from rain and from rivers that feed into them. But, the oceans lose a lot of water through evaporation. Also there are chemical reactions at the bottom of the oceans that take salt out.
I think that the salts were and are carried in by rivers. Lakes with no outlets like the Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea become very salty, much more salty that the oceans. These lakes pick up mineral salts albeit in small quantities from the streams or rivers that flow into them and then it is concentrated through evaporation.
The reason that the oceans are no more salty than they are is because of chemical reactions at the bottom of the oceans.
Glaciers don't do this they tend to put fresh water into the oceans.
2006-11-20 12:25:14 · answer #2 · answered by lobster37 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
because while the earth was melting from the ice age the water traveled in rocked streams and eroded the rocks and took salt and other elements with them. Salt is the main mineral in the ocean because it is very easy to form and is very abundant on the earth. And yes I know the ocean was salty before the ice age but that is just from the rocks at the bottom of the ocean and the breaking of rocks along the shores.
2006-11-20 12:08:09 · answer #3 · answered by You don't know 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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The water cycle of the planet does a pretty good job of evening things out. With 70% of the planet's surface covered in water, it is simply not possible (not now, at least) for us to take enough water out of the oceans to have any noticable effect on the global ecosystem. That said, dumping a lot of salt can cause the salinity of the immediate region to increase, but it won't have global repercussions.
2016-04-02 05:44:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
salt comes from the rocks in the ocean
2006-11-20 12:06:05 · answer #5 · answered by Danny 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the water crushes up the rocks into tiny piece and VUALA SALT!
2006-11-20 12:09:45 · answer #6 · answered by Andrea<3 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's how the water is. It's nature.
2006-11-20 14:08:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋