Salinity: Difference between revisions

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<div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">A measure of the quantity of dissolved salts in [[seawater]].</div><br/> <div class="paragraph">It is formally defined as the total amount of dissolved solids in seawater in parts per thousand  (0/00) by weight when all the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the bromide and iodide to  chloride, and all organic matter is completely oxidized. These qualifications result from the chemical  difficulty in drying the salts in seawater. In practice, salinity is not determined directly but is  computed from [[chlorinity]], [[electrical conductivity]], [[refractive index]], or some other property with  a relationship to salinity that is well established. The relationship between chlorinity ''Cl'' and salinity  ''S'' as set forth in [[Knudsen's tables]] is  <div class="display-formula"><blockquote>[[File:ams2001glos-Se3.gif|link=|center|ams2001glos-Se3]]</blockquote></div> In 1940, however, a better expression for the relationship between total dissolved salts &#x003a3; and  chlorinity was found to be  <div class="display-formula"><blockquote>[[File:ams2001glos-Se4.gif|link=|center|ams2001glos-Se4]]</blockquote></div> In more recent times, with the advent of devices that measure continuous records of conductivity  electronically (e.g., [[CTD]] or [[conductivity&ndash;temperature&ndash;depth profiler]]), a new &ldquo;practical salinity  scale&rdquo; has been determined. It is defined in terms of its electrical conductivity relative to a prescribed  [[standard]] and it is given the units psu, for &ldquo;practical salinity units.&rdquo; For most purposes one can  assume that the new unit, psu, and the older unit, 0/00, are synonymous.</div><br/> </div>
<div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">A measure of the quantity of dissolved salts in [[seawater]].</div><br/> <div class="paragraph">It is formally defined as the total amount of dissolved solids in seawater in parts per thousand  (0/00) by weight when all the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the bromide and iodide to  chloride, and all organic matter is completely oxidized. These qualifications result from the chemical  difficulty in drying the salts in seawater. In practice, salinity is not determined directly but is  computed from [[chlorinity]], [[electrical conductivity]], [[refractive index]], or some other property with  a relationship to salinity that is well established. The relationship between chlorinity ''Cl'' and salinity  ''S'' as set forth in [[Knudsen's tables]] is  <div class="display-formula"><blockquote>[[File:ams2001glos-Se3.gif|link=|center|ams2001glos-Se3]]</blockquote></div> In 1940, however, a better expression for the relationship between total dissolved salts &#x003a3; and  chlorinity was found to be  <div class="display-formula"><blockquote>[[File:ams2001glos-Se4.gif|link=|center|ams2001glos-Se4]]</blockquote></div> In more recent times, with the advent of devices that measure continuous records of conductivity  electronically (e.g., [[CTD]] or [[conductivity&ndash;temperature&ndash;depth profiler]]), a new "practical salinity  scale" has been determined. It is defined in terms of its electrical conductivity relative to a prescribed  [[standard]] and it is given the units psu, for "practical salinity units." For most purposes one can  assume that the new unit, psu, and the older unit, 0/00, are synonymous.</div><br/> </div>
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Latest revision as of 15:02, 20 February 2012



salinity

A measure of the quantity of dissolved salts in seawater.

It is formally defined as the total amount of dissolved solids in seawater in parts per thousand (0/00) by weight when all the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the bromide and iodide to chloride, and all organic matter is completely oxidized. These qualifications result from the chemical difficulty in drying the salts in seawater. In practice, salinity is not determined directly but is computed from chlorinity, electrical conductivity, refractive index, or some other property with a relationship to salinity that is well established. The relationship between chlorinity Cl and salinity S as set forth in Knudsen's tables is
ams2001glos-Se3
In 1940, however, a better expression for the relationship between total dissolved salts Σ and chlorinity was found to be
ams2001glos-Se4
In more recent times, with the advent of devices that measure continuous records of conductivity electronically (e.g., CTD or conductivity–temperature–depth profiler), a new "practical salinity scale" has been determined. It is defined in terms of its electrical conductivity relative to a prescribed standard and it is given the units psu, for "practical salinity units." For most purposes one can assume that the new unit, psu, and the older unit, 0/00, are synonymous.


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