2006-12-25 05:26:38 · 8 answers · asked by satouqi 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
because in the water cycle, water evaporates but salt does not. as in rivers, they are not salty because rainwater is constantly filling it up and going to the ocean. but once all the salt/minerals are there, they cant evaporate, thus making the ocean salty. hope this helps
2006-12-25 05:35:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Chemists (and moonshiners) purify liquids by distilling them. In fact some sea survival kits have clear plastic "bowls" that allow sea water to evaporate and condense onto the plastic and drip down the sides (like water vapor on a cold window or on the bathroom mirror after a hot bath or shower) (my glasses fog up when I come inside from a very cold day outside because the moisture in the air condenses on the cold surface). ANyway, when water evaporates it leaves behind a lot of stuff that doesn't evaporate as easily. The water vapor is much much purer than the sea water it comes from. As you know this water vapor coming from the ocean will evaporate and form clouds. The clouds get bigger and bigger then it rains. The rain soaks into the ground and washes all sorts of things into the gutters, sewers, rivers and streams. Finally all that collects into the ocean. The sun shines down and the water evaporates again, leaving all the rest of the stuff behind. Including a lot of salt. As the years go by, more and more salt collects in the ocean. With nowhere to go, the ocean gets saltier. This takes millions of years, but we're doing a pretty good job of polluting the ocean with a lot of other chemicals we use. Motor oil, fertilizer and pesticides all are left on top of the ground, a perfect place for rain to get them into the rivers, lakes and oceans. How much do you think burying them helps?
2006-12-25 05:46:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Salt in the ocean comes from rocks on land.
The rain that falls on the land contains some dissolved carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. This causes the rainwater to be slightly acidic due to carbonic acid (which forms from carbon dioxide and water). The rain erodes the rock and the acid breaks down the rocks and carries it along in a dissolved state as ions. The ions in the runoff are carried to the streams and rivers to the ocean. Many of the dissolved ions are used by organisms in the ocean and are removed from the water. Others are not used up and are left for long periods of time where their concentrations increase over time.
The two ions that are present most often in seawater are are chloride and sodium. These two make up over 90% of all dissolved ions in seawater. By the way, the concentration of salt in seawater (salinity) is about 35 parts per thousand. In other words, about 35 of 1,000 (3.5%) of the weight of seawater comes from the dissolved salts.
2006-12-25 05:38:06 · answer #3 · answered by ♥chelley♥ 4 · 4⤊ 2⤋
Agree with above. Rainwater leaches minerals from the earth and they get deposited into the lakes, rivers, seas and oceans.
Water from lakes and rivers is constantly in flux, so minerals don't build up. The exceptions are the very low lakes/seas that only have inflow like Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea.
2006-12-25 05:40:34 · answer #4 · answered by gebobs 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Because I was boating and when I went to sprinkle salt on my popcorn I accidently dropped my salt shaker in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm sorry.
2006-12-25 05:37:56 · answer #5 · answered by pastor_fuzz_1 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
salt settles and oceans are the lowest points on earth.salt collects there.
2006-12-25 05:40:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
because of all the marine life that pee in it
2006-12-25 05:29:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋
Because that's where God washes his balls.
2006-12-25 05:31:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 6⤋