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What are the Factors that Affect the Salinity of Seawater?

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 9th, 2023

The Factors that Affect the Salinity of Seawater are Airflow, precipitation, river inflow, ocean currents, evaporation, prevailing winds, and global warming. Salinity is the total content of dissolved substances in water bodies, which means the quantity of salt dissolved in Seawater.

Table of content

1. Salinity of Seawater
2. Factors Affecting Salinity of Seawater
3. What are the Factors that Affect the Salinity of Seawater?

Salinity of Seawater

Primary salinity (also known as natural salinity), secondary salinity (also known as dryland salinity), and tertiary salinity are the three types of salinity that can exist and are differentiated by their causes (also called irrigation salinity).

Evaporation and precipitation play a major role in determining the salinity of the water in the ocean’s surface layer. Surface salinity is greatly influenced by the inflow of freshwater from rivers in coastal areas and by freezing and melting ice processes in polar regions.

Factors Affecting Salinity of Seawater

Factors that affect the salinity of Seawater are listed below:

Wind also affects the salinity of an area by carrying water to other sites.
Ocean currents contribute to changes in salinity. The salinity, temperature, and density of water are related. So any change in temperature or density affects the salinity of the water in the area.
Seawater and salinity are inversely related. Higher rainfall results in lower salinity and vice versa. As a result, salinity is lower in areas with high rainfall than it is in areas with low rainfall.
By reducing the concentration of salt in the sea and ocean, rivers lower salinity. There is a good chance of low salinity where several rivers enter an ocean.
They have an impact on the ocean’s salinity’s spatial distribution. Salinity is influenced by ocean currents, which both raise and lower it.
When stable air and a higher temperature are present, anticyclonic conditions typically result in an increase in the salinity of ocean surface water.
Salinity is not the only aspect of the ecological balance at risk from global warming. It influences various elements, including those that directly and indirectly affect the salinity of saltwater, such as temperature and ice melting.

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