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seawater
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
The Bahamas
Why is seawater so salty?
ocean acidification absorption coefficient for liquid water aquifer
Know why urinating in the ocean is not chemically damaging to the marine ecosystem
Take an in-depth look at the variety of plankton, from diatoms and microflagellates to jellyfish
Which has a lower freezing point, salt water or fresh water?
For Students
The Bahamas
seawater summary
Quizzes
water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)
Water and its Varying Forms
Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)
Winter Weather Words Quiz
Read Next
Sea shell of sea snail in close up showing damage and pitting.
Ocean Acidification: How Carbon Dioxide Is Hurting the Seas
Waves, North Shore of Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, United States.
Why Is the Ocean Salty?
Large ocean waves breaking on a stormy day. (wave; sea; whitecaps; storm)
Why Is There Fresh and Salt Water on Earth?
Sailboat against a beautiful landscape
Which Waters Do You Pass Through When You “Sail the Seven Seas”?
Discover
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
Statue of Nostradamus
Nostradamus and His Prophecies
Lake Mead (the impounded Colorado River) at the Hoover Dam. The light-coloured band of rock above the shoreline shows the decrease in water level in the first few years of the 21st century.
6 Lakes That Are Drying Up
Wasp spider. Argiope bruennichi. Orb-weaver spider. Spiders. Arachnid. Cobweb. Spider web. Spider's web. Spider silk. Black and yellow striped wasp spider spinning a web.
Do We Really Swallow Spiders in Our Sleep?
Normandy Invasion: Omaha Beach. World War II. D-Day. Infographic. SPOTLIGHT VERSION
Facts and Figures About the Landings on Omaha Beach During the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944
San Francisco, California/USA-1/18/20: Womens March at Civic Center marching with signs of political protest regarding equality also embracing 2020 presidential candidates and celebrating equality
How Does the U.S. Government Define the Difference Between a Protest and a Riot?
Salem Witch Trials. Photogravure after the painting by Walter McEwen titled - The Witches - circa 1890s.
How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials

seawater: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Thorough descriptions of each of the many subdisciplines in chemical oceanography can be found in Frank J. Millero, Chemical Oceanography, 3rd ed. (2006). John Wright and Angela Colling (eds.), Seawater: Its Composition, Properties, and Behaviour, 2nd ed. (1995, reprinted 2007), provides a concise and readable description of seawater.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: U.S. Naval Institute - The Weight of Sea Water and Its Variation with Salinity and Temperature. May 05, 2025
Add new Web site: The Open University - OpenLearn - Seawater. Dec 30, 2024
Add new Web site: PNAS - Global variability in seawater Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratios in the modern ocean. Nov 08, 2024
Add new Web site: Nature - npj Clean Water - Seawater desalination concentrate�a new frontier for sustainable mining of valuable minerals. Jul 10, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library - The Salty Sea. Dec 01, 2023
Add new Web site: Geosciences LibreTexts - Properties of Seawater. Oct 05, 2023
Add new Web site: NOAA National Weather Service - Sea Water. May 30, 2023
Added a cross-reference to salinity. Apr 13, 2023
Add new Web site: Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Surface Tension of Seawater. Feb 27, 2023
Article revised and updated. Apr 28, 2022
Added information on noise pollution and ocean warming. Nov 05, 2020
Media added. Nov 05, 2020
Removed table. Aug 14, 2018
Added video. Jan 16, 2015
Deleted map. Mar 02, 2012
Salinity measures and other metrics updated in the section, Chemical and physical properties of seawater. Oct 27, 2011
Article thoroughly revised. Sep 27, 2011
New bibliography added. Sep 14, 2011
Added new Web site: Hyperphysics - Seawater. Sep 29, 2008
Article revised and updated. Apr 24, 2008
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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