See table below for Major components and Salinity of the Seas
ppm= parts per million = mg/litre = 0.001g/kg.
Source: Karl K Turekian: Oceans. 1968. Prentice-Hall
Sea Water
Concentrations may change due to depth,
temperature, location, and a host of other factors. (From Turekian, in Oceans,1968)
The ocean salinity varies slightly from about 3.2% to 4%, at an average of 3.5%. The removal and supply of salt ions into sea water is so small and the resevoir so large that these ions have little effect on the salinity, and this saltiness has been so for at least a billion years ¹. However, salinity in isolated bodies of sea water is higher than in the open sea ².
ppm= parts per million = mg/litre = 0.001g/kg.
Source: Karl K Turekian: Oceans. 1968. Prentice-Hall
| Hydrogen H2O Oxygen H2O Sodium NaCl Chlorine NaCl Magnesium Mg Sulfur S Potassium K Calcium Ca Bromine Br |
110,000 883,000 10,800 19,400 1,290 904 392 411 67.3 |
Molybdenum Mo Ruthenium Ru Rhodium Rh Palladium Pd Argentum (silver) Ag Cadmium Cd Indium In Stannum (tin) Sn Antimony Sb |
0.01 0.0000007 . . 0.00028 0.00011 . 0.00081 0.0 |
| Helium He Lithium Li 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 Fe Cobalt Co Nickel Ni |
0.0000072 0.170 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 |
Tellurium Te Iodine I Xenon Xe Cesium Cs Barium Ba Lanthanum La Cerium Ce Praesodymium Pr Neodymium Nd Samarium Sm Europium Eu Gadolinium Gd Terbium Tb Dysprosium Dy Holmium Ho Erbium Er Thulium Tm Ytterbium Yb Lutetium Lu Hafnium Hf |
. 0.064 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 |
| Copper Cu Zinc Zn Gallium Ga Germanium Ge Arsenic As Selenium Se Krypton Kr Rubidium Rb Strontium Sr Yttrium Y Zirconium Zr |
0.0009 0.005 0.00003 0.00006 0.0026 0.0009 0.00021 0.120 8.1 0.000013 0.000026 |
Tantalum Ta Tungsten W Rhenium Re Osmium Os Iridium Ir Platinum Pt Aurum (gold) Au Mercury Hg Thallium Tl Lead Pb Bismuth Bi |
<0.0000025 <0.000001 0.0000084 . . . 0.000011 0.00015 . 0.00003 0.00002 |
| Niobium Nb |
0.000015 |
Thorium Th Uranium U Plutonimu Pu |
0.0000004 0.0033 . |
Sea Water
Concentrations of the Major Components
| Component Chloride Sodium Sulphate Magnesium Calcium Potassium Bicarbonate Bromide Strontium Boron Fluoride |
g/kg 19.53 10.76 02.72 01.294 00.413 00.387 00.142 00.067 00.008 00.004 00.001 |
Concentrations may change due to depth,
temperature, location, and a host of other factors. (From Turekian, in Oceans,1968)
Salinity of Sea Water in various seas
The ocean salinity varies slightly from about 3.2% to 4%, at an average of 3.5%. The removal and supply of salt ions into sea water is so small and the resevoir so large that these ions have little effect on the salinity, and this saltiness has been so for at least a billion years ¹. However, salinity in isolated bodies of sea water is higher than in the open sea ².
Salinity : Ocean Seas
| Sea | % Salinity |
| Red Sea | 4% |
| Dead Sea | 24 - 33% |
| Mediterranian Sea | 3.8% |
| Baltic Sea (Least saline) | 0.5% |
| Caspian Sea | 1.2% |
| Caribbean Sea | 3.6% |
| Coastal Sea | 2.6 - 3% |
References:
1. Science Daily, (Oct. 14, 2007), Galen McKinley, UW Madison.
2. Seafriends.org.nz/ocean/seawater
3. Karl K Turekian: Oceans. 1968. Prentice-Hall
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