The Oceanic Environment

INTRODUCTION
• Dissolved gas
• Well buffered at pH ~ 8
• Electrolytic salts: I ~ 0.7
• Multitudinous organic compounds in solution
• inorganic and organic particles in suspension
• surface adsorption allows particles to scavenge dissolved elements
and accumulate coatings of organic material from solution
• Reactions involving geological time scales are proceeding slowly

Complexity of oceanic environment

 The Ocean as a Biogeochemical Environment

• Ocean as large reservoir (surface area: 361.11 x 106 km2 =

~ 71 % of the earth's surface; average depth: 3.7 km (10 km in
submarine trenches); contains about 97% of the water in the global
hydrological cycle).

• Transportation (by hydrodynamic regime) and transformation

(chemically:dissolution, redox reactions, speciation; geologically:
sedimentation process; biologically)  control nutrients and trace metals
distribution  temporal and spatial distribution.
Material supplied to ocean from:
- atmosphere: supply particulate
material to the surface of the
ocean: Pb
- rivers: dissolved or particulate
materials, but discharges
are into surface waters and
confined to coastal regions.
- glaciers: material tends to
comprise physically weathered rock
residue, which is relatively
insoluble.
- hydrothermal waters: released
from vents on the sea floor: source
of Li, Mn, Rb
 Properties of Water and Seawater
• Salinity (So/oo): a measure of the salt content of seawater = 35 g/kg

• The presence of salt does depress the temperature of maximum

density and the freezing point of the solution relative to pure water

• Seawater freezes at approximately — 1.9 0C and the resulting ice is

more dense than the solution.

• Freezing process tends to produce fresh ice overlying a more

concentrated brine solution: mirabilite (Na2SO4.2H2O) precipitate at
-8.20C and halite (NaCl) precipitate at -23 0C. Some brine inclusions
and salt crystals can become incorporated into the ice.
 • A region in which mixing is
common, as observed
especially in the surface waters
produces a layer in which the
temperature is relatively
constant.
• The zone immediately beneath
normally exhibits a sharp
change in temperature, known
as the thermocline

The temperature of maximum density (—) and

freezing point (--- ) of seawater
as a function of dissolved salt content
- Salinity in the surface waters in the
open ocean ranges between 33 and
37

- The main control being the balance

between evaporation
and precipitation.

- The highest salinities occur in regional

seas where the evaporation rate is
extremely high, namely the
Mediterranean Sea (38-
39) and the Red Sea (40-41).

- Greatest salinity is in latitudes of about

20° where the evaporation exceeds
precipitation.

- Lower salinities occur poleward as

evaporation diminishes and near the
equator where precipitation is very high.
 Salinity Concepts

Chlorinity (Cl%o) is the chloride concentration in seawater (g/kg), as

measured by Ag+ titration
 Oceanic Circulation

The surface circulation is restricted to the upper layer influenced by the

wind, typically about 100 m. However, underlying water can be transported
up into this zone when horizontal advection is insufficient to
maintain the superimposed flow fields. This process is called upwelling
and is of considerable importance in that biochemical respiration of organic
material at depth ensures that the ascending water is nutrient rich.
 SEAWATER COMPOSITION AND CHEMISTRY
Major Constituents
Major Constituents

The residence
time is a crude measure of a
constituent's reactivity in the reservoir.
Dissolved Gases

O2 determines the redox potential in

seawater

CO2 buffers the ocean at pH 8.

Temperature and salinity affect the

solubility of gases in water.

The solubility of various gases in seawater as

a function of temperature
Air-sea exchange processes are consequently dependent upon the
concentration gradient and the transfer velocity.

transfer velocity is not a constant, but depends upon several physical

parameters such as temperature, wind speed, and wave state.

The exchange can also be attenuated by the presence of a surface film or

slick. Alternatively, the exchange can be facilitated by bubble formation.
Oxygen

Photosynthesis is obviously restricted to

the upper ocean (in the photic zone) and
ordinarily exceeds respiration.

Below the photic zone, O2 is utilized in

chemical and biochemical
oxidation reactions.

O2 can be used as a tracer to help

identify the origin of water masses.

The warm, saline intrusion into the Atlantic

Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea is relatively
O2 deficient. Alternatively, the waters
A profile of molecular oxygen in the North downwelling from polar regions have elevated
Pacific Ocean O2 concentrations.
Carbon Dioxide and Alkalinity.

psu = practical salinity unit