解放军文职招聘考试The Salinity of Ocean Waters

  The Salinity of Ocean Waters

If the salinity of ocean waters is analyzed, it is found to vary only

slightly from place to place. Nevertheless, some of these small changes are

important. There are three basic processes that

cause a change in oceanic salinity.

One of these is the subtraction of water from the ocean by means of

evaporation - conversion of liquid water to      water vapor. In this manner the

salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind. If this is carried to

the  extreme, of course, white crystals of salt would be left behind.

The  opposite  of evaporation is  precipitation, such  as rain, by which

water is  added to  the ocean. Here the ocean is being diluted so that the

salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas of high  rainfall  or  in 

coastal  regions    where  rivers  flow  into  the  ocean.  Thus  salinity 

may  be increased by the subtraction of water by evaporation, or   decreased

by the addition of fresh water by precipitation or runoff.

Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean

salinity is somewhat higher than it is in     other parts of the world where

there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, in coastal regions where

rivers dilute the  sea, salinity is somewhat lower than in  other oceanic

areas.

A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the

formation and melting of sea ice. When sea    water is frozen, the dissolved

materials are left behind. In this manner, sea water directly beneath

freshly formed sea ice  has  a  higher salinity than it did before the  ice

appeared. Of course, when this ice melts, it will tend to      decrease the

salinity of the surrounding water. In the Weddell Sea Antarctica, the

densest water in the oceans is formed as a result of this freezing process,   

which increases the salinity of cold water. This heavy water sinks and is

found in the deeper portions of the    oceans of the world.

海水盐度 如果我们分析海水的盐度，会发现地区间只有轻微的变化，然而有些小的变化是重要的。

导致海洋的盐度变化的基本过程有三个，其中之一是通过蒸发的方式即把液态水转化为水蒸 气来减少海洋中的水分。  这样由于盐留了下来，所以盐度增大。 

当然，如果这种方式走向 极端，将会余下白色的盐晶体。  与蒸发相反的是降水，如降雨，由此水被加入海中，海水 被稀释，从而盐度降低。 

这种情形会发生在大量降雨的地区，或江河入海岸处。  因此，盐 度通过蒸发减少水分而上升或通过降水或径流增加淡水成分而下降。  一般来说，在阳光很

强烈的热带地区，海水的盐度略高于世界上其它没有热带那样多的蒸发的地区。  同理，在 江河稀释海水的海岸地带，海水盐度略低于其它海区。 

第三个可以变更盐度的过程与海洋 中冰的形成和融化有关。  海水冻结时，溶于其中的物质被留了下来。  这样，在新形成的海

水冰面的正下方的海水比在冰形成之前有更高的盐度。  当然，当冰融化的时候，会降低周 围水中的盐度。 

在南极洲边缘的威德尔海中，结冰过程增加低温海水的盐度，从而形成了 浓度最大的海水。  这些大密度的海水下沉，可以在世界海洋的深水域发现。