Classification of Elements 2.

Minor (<1 ppm)

b. Organic Solutes

* It should be pointed out that the separation of the phase of

1. Major elements: 0.05 to 750 mM
2. Minor elements: 0.05 to 50 μM
3. Trace elements: 0.05 to 50 nM
an element between solid, colloidal, and dissolved is
operational and dependent upon the separation method
used.
Bergman (1779) - The earliest chemical analysis of seawater

Marcet (1819) - Suggested that the relative composition of

MAJOR ELEMENTS IN SEAWATER (January 26, 2023)
 Solids, liquids, and gases are present in the water
1. Solids
a. Organic matter, plant detritus – 45 micrometers
(masangit na sila bc they are larger particles)
b. Inorganic matter, minerals – below 45 micrometers
sea salt is nearly constant. All the species of seawater contain
the same ingredients all over the world, these bearing very
nearly the same pro- portion to each other, so that they differ
only as to the total amount of their saline contents”
MAJOR ELEMENTS
Na, Boron, Mg, O, Sr F, Cl, Br

2. Gases MINOR ELEMENTS

a. Conservative – N2, Ar, Xe
b. Nonconservative – (O2 and CO2) Li, C, N, Al , P

3. Colloids (passes through a 0.45 micrometer filter but

is not dissolved)
a. Organic – complex sugars
b. Inorganic – iron hydroxides

4. Dissolved Solutes
a. Inorganic
1. Major (>1 ppm)
  Minor elements are used by organisms
 Example: Fe, Mn, Co, Cu, Cd, Ni and Zn
 Trace elements are metals

Residence Times

 Considered to have low concentration in seawater

because highly reactive and being removed to the
sediment and low concentration from its source like
rocks gases from the internal core
 The average time that a certain substance remains in
seawater before being removed by precipitation or
adsorption

t= Total mass of the element in seawater/mass supplied per

year

Major Source of elements

From the atmosphere

Influx of river water
MINOR ELEMENTS IN SEAWATER (February 02, 2023) From the interior of the earth

Classification of Elements *Consider the location

 Concentration ranges from 0.05 to 50 micrometer Distribution of Trace Elements

 Involved in organic and biological reactions in the
marine environment
Conservative Profile
- Constant ratio of the element concentration to
chlorinity or salinity due to their low reactivity
- Constant range even if it is having minimal fluctuations
from the surface to the bottom of the seafloor
- E.g. (Molybdenum-not used by organism)
Nutrient Type Profile
- Depletion of element in the surface water and become
enriched at a certain depth
- Utilized biologically in the surface waters and became
regenerated in the deeper waters
- Water in north Pacific is much colder than in the north
Atlantic thus, accumulating high concentrations of
nutrients
Surface enrichment and depletion at depth
- Input came from atmosphere, river and land and
became rapidly removed from the seawater due to
short residence times.
- If it has short residence time, it could be precipitated
easily or could be other factors.
Mid Depth Minima and Mid depth Maxima
Middepth Minima
- Surface input and regeneration, and regeneration near
the bottom
Middepth Maxima
- Caused by hydrothermal input from mid ocean ridges
*One element coincides to one type of profile
Mid Depth Minima and Mid depth Maxima in the suboxic
layer
 Suboxic layers present in pacific and Indian ocean
 Reduction and oxidation can result maxima of
elements
 A case-to-case basis
Mid Depth Minima and Mid depth Maxima in the anoxic
layer
 Redox processes can cause maxima and minima of
various species
 areas of restricted circulation
*Pacific Ocean gathers nutrients from the different oceans
through the global conveyer belt meaning that the Pacific
Ocean has older waters high in nutrients accumulating in the
pacific.
Biological Interactions

1. Cl– is rejected by organisms.

2. Na+, Mg2+, Br –, F–, and SO42– have concentrations in
organisms similar to seawater (concentration factors of
1.0).
3. Most of the other elements, with the exception of the
noble gases, are strongly concentrated in living tissue.
4. The order of affinity of organisms for cations is
4+ > 3+ > 2+ transition > 2+ group IIA > 1+ group I
metals.
5. For plankton, the order is Fe 3+ > Al3+ > Ti3+ > Cr3+ >
Ga3+ > Zn2+ > Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Mn2+ > Co2+ > Cd2+

5. Heavy group elements of a particular class are taken up

more strongly than lighter elements.
6. The affinity of organisms for anions increases with
increasing ionic charge and in a given group with
increasing weight of the central atom:

F– < Cl– < Br– < I– SO42– < MoO42– < WO42–

7. The lower organisms concentrate elements more

strongly than higher organisms.
8. Heavy metals are frequently concentrated in the
digestive or renal organs.

SALINITY
- The amount of dissolved solids in grams in one
kilogram of seawater when all the carbonate has
been oxidized, all the bromine and iodine have been
replaced with chlorine, and all the organic matter has
been oxidized.
- determination of the precipitate formed following the
- Salinity was originally conceived as a measure of the
mass of dissolved salts in a given mass of seawater
- Salt
- Erosion
- We have dissolved ions in seawater: Chloride, Sodium,
Magnesium,
Methods of Determination
1. Chloride - determined by adding AgNO3 to precipitate
AgCl.
2. Sulfate - to determine SO42– in seawater is the
addition of BaCl2
3. Bromine - determined after being coprecipitated with
Cl– by the determination of the weight loss after the
Br2 is liberated
4. Fluorine - analyzed in natural waters by using
colorimetric methods or using a specific ion electrode.
5. Bicarbonate and Carbonate - determined by
measuring at least two parame- ters of the carbonate
system (pH, the total alkalinity, TA; the total carbon
dioxide, TCO2; or the partial pressure of CO2, pCO2).
6. boric acid and borate - Colorimetric techniques using a
colored indicator such as the boric acid–curcumin
complex are much quicker
7. Magnesium - r determining Mg2+ is a gravimetric
addition of ammonium phosphate (after the Ca2+ is
removed)
8. Calcium - to determine Ca2+ is precipitation as the
oxalate.
9. Potassium - Early measurements of potassium were
made after removal of divalent ions.
10. Sodium - classical direct determination is made by
precipitation with zinc uranyl acetate, which is
sparingly soluble
major cations : Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Sr2+ in seawater.
Methods of Determining Salinity - determined by a
conductance measurement using the practical salinity scale
Causes of the Major Components Not Being Conservative
1. Estuaries
2. evaporation in isolated basins
3. admixture with brines
4. Precipitation and Dissolution
5. Submarine Volcanism Atmospheric Chemistry
6. exchange between atmosphere and Sea
7. anoxic basins - The sun provides the necessary energy to furnish
8. Freezing reactive species
9. INTERSTITIAL Waters

The atmosphere can be divided into four layers

1. the troposphere (0 to 10 km)

2. the stratosphere (10 to 50 km)
3. the mesosphere (50 to 100 km)
4. the thermosphere (100 to 1000 km)

- From the surface to 10 km, the temperature decreases

to a minimum at the tropopause. In the stratosphere,
the temperature increases to a maximum at the
stratopause. In the mesosphere, the temperature
decreases to a minimum at the mesopause. In the
thermosphere, the temperature increases again as the
atmosphere diminishes. The changes in the
temperature of the atmosphere are related to the
concentration of gases and the chemical reactions that
occur at various levels of the ocean.
- The decrease in the temperature of the atmosphere
from the surface to the tropopause is due to this
adiabatic cooling. The increase in the temperature
between the stratosphere and the mesosphere, which
 goes through a maximum at the stratopause, is the
result of the adsorption of energy by ozone
- Chemical reactions between the major constituents of
the atmosphere occur at slow rates. The formation of
active species occurs because of the influence of light
and causes a number of rapid reaction chains.
- The atmosphere is composed of major gases (N2, O2,
Ar, H2O, and CO2 at mole fractions)
Greenhouse Effect
- This process of absorption of (IR) energy radiated from
the earth
- The trapping of some of the thermal radiation by
particles and molecules increases the surface
temperature by 10 to 15°C compared to what it would
be without these molecules.
global changes
- Sulfur has been proposed as a way to reduce climate
1. Sea-level rise: The increase in the temperature
can cause an increase in the volume of
seawater and a subsequent increase of sea
level. The increased temperature can also melt
ice on land, which would increase the sea level.
For example, if the ice on Antarctica melts, the
sea level may rise by 70 m.
2. Extreme weather events: These can result from
- Reflection of Sunlight: Sulfur particles can reflect some
the higher temperature of the sur- face waters
in the oceans. Hurricanes, for example, can
become more frequent and stronger in warmer
waters. Some have speculated that if the
temperatures of North Atlantic surface waters
become too warm, they will not be able to sink
to form North Atlantic deep water. This could
have large-scale climate effects on the earth.
3. Spread of tropical diseases: The warmer waters
in tropical regions may result in an increase in
tropical diseases such as malaria and typhoid
fever.
4. Species extinctions: The increase in the
temperature of ocean waters may cause coral
bleaching of reefs.
QUESTIONS ATONG ORAL
The Global Sulfur Cycle
change through a process known as stratospheric
aerosol injection (SAI). This involves injecting sulfur
particles into the stratosphere to reflect incoming solar
radiation and cool the Earth's surface. Here are some
ways that sulfur can help reduce climate change:
of the incoming solar radiation back into space, which
 helps to reduce the amount of heat that reaches the
Earth's surface. This cooling effect can counteract
some of the warming caused by greenhouse gases.
- ITCZ pressure, prevents the mixing of the northern
hemisphere and also there are more people in
northern hemisphere

Greenhouse Effect

- This process of absorption of (IR) energy radiated from

the earth
- The trapping of some of the thermal radiation by
particles and molecules increases the surface
temperature by 10 to 15°C compared to what it would
be without these molecules.

Why do gases stratify?

- Gases have varying molecular weights making them

differ in their placements in the atmosphere, the
heavier the gas, the closer it is to our oceans and land
surfaces, the lighter the gas, the more they are
situated above the higher parts of the atmosphere.

Purpose why specific elements/ metals are still in our waters?

- Due to Chemical reactivity and biological processes

Why there are ,any gases in Northern atmosphere

MAJOR ELEMENTS

NaCl

Boron