OCEAN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY
by Vinutha[ Edit ] 2010-01-09 08:46:52
OCEAN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY
* At the deepest point in the ocean the pressure is more than 8 tons per square inch, or the equivalent of one person trying to hold-up 50 jumbo jets against the force of gravity.
* The major ions in seawater are Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, Sr2+, Cl-, SO42- (sulfate), HCO3- (bicarbonate), Br-, B(OH)3 (boric acid), and F-. Together, they account for almost all of the salt in seawater.
* At 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3.89 degrees Celsius), the temperature of almost all of the deep ocean is only a few degrees above freezing.
* If extracted, it is estimated that all the gold suspended in the world's seawater would give each person on Earth 9 pounds.
* If the ocean's total salt content were dried, it would cover the continents to a depth of 500 feet.
* When nitrogen and phosphorus from sources such as fertilizer, sewage and detergents enter coastal waters, oxygen depletion occurs. One gram of nitrogen can cause enough organic growth to require 15 grams of oxygen to decompose the resulting vegetation. A single gram of phosphorus will deplete about one hundred grams of oxygen.
