Home > Science Experiments > Oceans - A handful of seawater

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

A handful of seawater

Earth's oceans are all connected to one another. Until the year 2000, there were four recognized oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. In 2000 the International Hydrographic Organization, the organization responsible for setting the oceans' boundaries, recognized a new ocean, the Southern Ocean, encircling Antarctica.

The main chemicals in ocean water are sodium and chlorine combined as sodium chloride, better known as ordinary table salt. Ocean waters also contain smaller amounts of many other chemicals. Salt, along with the other substances, flows into oceans from smaller bodies of water. Salt is a mineral that is found in soil and rocks. As river water flows, it picks up small amounts of salts from the rocks and soil. The rivers carry it into the ocean where it remains.

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. A handful of seawater
3. Changing properties
4. Rising and falling
5. Sea life
6. Experiment 1 - Stratification: How does the salinity in ocean water cause it to form layers?
7. Experiment 2 - Currents: Water behavior in density-driven currents
8. Design Your Own Experiment