PENGANTAR OSEANOGRAFI (PFF60016)

PROPERTIES OF SEAWATER
oleh:
Defri Yona, SPi., MSc. Stud., DSc

Program Studi Ilmu Kelautan

Fakultas Perikanan dan Ilmu Kelautan
Universitas Brawijaya
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 Content
Origin of the Hydrosphere
Properties of Seawater

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 Origin of the Hydrosphere

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 What is hydrosphere?
The hydrosphere is the liquid water component of the earth
It covers about 70 % of the earth`s surface
Earth`s water forms:
✓ Liquid: oceans, seas, rivers, ponds, lakes, below the ground
surface
✓Solid: glaciers, snow packs, sea ice
✓Gas: water vapor in the atmosphere

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 How did water originate?
Earth was a collection of
particles
As the earth warmed and
partially melted, the
components of water were
released as water vapor
As the earth`s surface cooled,
the water vapor condensed
to form the oceans
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 Properties of water
The presence of water on the earth`s
surface is what makes life possible
97.2 % of the water on earth is found in
the oceans
In order to better understand the oceans
we need to better understand the
properties of water
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 Water molecule
Made up of three atoms: two
hydrogen atoms and one oxygen
atom (H2O)
The positive and negative charges
allow each water molecule to form
bonds with other water molecules
“Hydrogen bonds”
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 Water changes of state
Because of the bonding between water
molecules, it needs energy to separate
between the physical states of water
The energy is in the form of heat
Water changes its state by the addition or loss
of heat and the breaking and forming of bonds
between molecules

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 Physical properties of seawater
Temperature
Salinity
Density
Pressure
Light
Sound
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 Temperature
Probably the most important and best studied
environmental factor affecting marine
organisms
Is measured in degrees
Different scales used for temperatures
 Celsius oC (more useful in science)

 Fahrenheit oF

 Kelvin K
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 Temperature
Changes in temperature can have a great
affect on other properties of seawater and
can effect life in the sea
Ocean has a wide range of temperature
from almost 38 oC to -2 oC
Temperature varies in the oceans of the
world horizontally with changes of latitude
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 Ocean temperature
profile
• Mixed layer
(easily influenced
with solar energy,
wind and rain)
• Thermocline
(rapid change in
temperature with
depth)
• Deep water layer
(temperature
decreases slowly as
depth increase)
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 How to measure temperature?
Thermometer
CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth)
Satellite

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 Salinity
Is total quantity of dissolved salt in seawater
The unit is part per thousand (ppt or o/oo) or in Practical Salinity
Unit (psu)
Open ocean salinity generally range in 32-37 ppt with the average
of 35 ppt (restricted to upper 100 m)
Vertical distribution showed less variation of salinity
The salts of the oceans come from:
 Chemical reactions of seawater with sediments
 Gases produced by volcanoes
 Spreading centers of the mid-ocean ridge and rise systems

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 Major constituents
Most seawater
constituents are ions
Concentrations of the
major constituents
determine the salinity
of seawater

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 Determining salinity
Principal of constant proportions:
“despite of small variations in seawater salinity, the
relative proportions of the major constituents are
constant”
• Only need to measure the concentration of one
major constituent
• Generally Cl- is used to determine salinity (Chlorinity)
salinity o/oo = 1.8 x Cl o/oo

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 Halocline
(rapid
change in
salinity with
depth)

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 Density
Mass per unit volume of substances
Usually measured in grams per cubic centimeter
(g/cm3)
Water density is very sensitive to temperature and
salinity changes
density of warm water is less than that of
cold water
when salts are dissolved in water, density of
water increases
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 Pycnocline
(rapid change in
density with
depth)

High densities
are associated
with cold salty
water
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/density.html

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 Density causes mixing of water vertically

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 Determining density
Nowadays are using CTD
CTD measures conductivity,
temperature and pressure directly
Salinity can be calculated once
conductivity was known
Temperature, salinity and pressure can
be used to calculate density using the
equation of state of sea water
TS diagram
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 Pressure
Of all the environmental factors acting on the oceans, pressure is the
most predictable and shows the greater range
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the weight of the
atmosphere on the earth`s surface
 At sea level it is 14.7 pounds of force for every square inch (14.7 psi)
 This amount of pressure is referred to as 1 atmosphere (1 atm)
 1 atm = 10 m (means every 10 m is 1 atm)
Marine organisms are subject to varying pressures from the constant
weight of the water column above them
Pressure problems are more important for the deeper regions of the
ocean
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 Light
Seawater transmits only the visible wavelengths of sunlight
About 60 % of the entering light energy is absorbed in the first meter, and about
80 % is gone after 10 m
Only 1 % of the total light available at the surface is left in the clearest water
below 150 m
No sunlight penetrates below 1000 m
The light undergoes absorption and scattering by suspended particles, including
silt, single-celled organisms, and the water and salt molecules.
The decrease in the intensity of light over distance is known as attenuation
The clearer the water, the greater the light penetration and the smaller the
attenuation
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 Solar Radiation on the Ocean Surface

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/ael/personals/pjpb/lecture/lecture.html

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 Sound
Sound travels farther and faster in
seawater than in air
The speed of sound in seawater increases
with increasing temperature, pressure
and salt content
Sound can travel much greater distance
than light underwater
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 THANK YOU !

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