FACULTAD DE INGENIERIA MARÍTIMA Y CIENCIAS

DEL MAR

LABORATORY REPORT

PRACTICE # 1

Salinity Practice

Course:

Marine Biochemestry

Student:

Gómez Tapia Melissa Lizbeth

Guayaquil-Ecuador

2021-2022
Objectives:

 Determine the salinity of water in beaches, estuaries or rivers, with the purpose of
putting into practice what was learned during the class.
 To understand how the flow of fresh and salt water, sediments and settlements
influence the salinity of estuaries.
 Conduct an investigation to analyze the results obtained.

Introduction

Ocean water is a mixture of 96.5% water and 3.5% salts, dissolved gases, organic
substances and non-soluble particles. Ocean water is a solution of minerals, dissolved salts,
gases and various elements. Its chemical composition consists of two hydrogen atoms and
one oxygen atom, which are bonded together.

The most important properties of ocean water are:

The salinity of the water is defined as the amount of dissolved salts in grams per kilogram
of seawater. Although salinity is dimensionless, we usually refer to Practical Salinity Units
(ups)

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑠 (𝑔𝑟)

𝑆𝑒𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 (𝑘𝑔)

Therefore, the salinity of water is due to the amount of salts dissolved in it. It is said that
the average salinity of the sea is 35 grams per liter. Not all marine waters are the same and
that is why their salinity varies according to their depth, area and the sea. (Asociacion
Española de Desalacion y Reutilizacion, 2019)

The salt that is in the oceans mostly comes from the Earth, the rain, the movement of rivers
and streams, wash the rocks that contain pure sodium chloride mineral (salt) and this moves
to the ocean, also the sodium chloride can reach the ocean through submarine volcanoes.
The salinity of the oceans becomes more concentrated when the surface water evaporates
leaving the salt behind. Chloride is one of the main elements found in the ocean along with
sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium, potassium; within the ocean we also find gases such
as nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. (Gillaspy, s.f.)

Ion Atoms
55.3% Chlorine 55.3% Chlorine
30.8% Sodium 30.8% Sodium
7.7% Sulfate 3.7% Magnesium
3.7% Magnesium 2.6% Sulfur
1.2% Calcium 1.2% Calcium
1.1% Potassium 1.1% Potassium
Table 1. Major Constituents of Sea Water

We have a relationship of salinity to chlorinity, which turned out to be more accurate for
salinity measurements, as previously there were other formulas and relationships, which
gave inaccurate results. In 1964, UNESCO and other international organizations appointed
a Joint Panel on Oceanographic Tables and Standards to produce a more precise definition.
The Joint Panel recommended in 1966 (Wooster, Lee, and Dietrich, 1969) that salinity and
chlorinity be related using: (Stewart, 1790)

𝑆 (%) = 1.806 55 Cl(%)

Vertical salinity distribution

The salinity of the sea changes depending on the depth of the ocean but also depends on the
location of the sea. As previously mentioned, salinity at the surface increases due to
evaporation or freezing of the water and decreases if it mixes with fresh water such as that
of rivers. The salinity at depth is fixed, as there will be no changes such as salinity increase
or loss at depth. There is a great difference between the salinity at the surface and the
salinity in deep zones. Water with lower salinity and density is above that with higher
density and salinity. Generally, the salinity increases with depth and depending on the zone
in which it is found, such as the zone called Halocline, where the salinity changes abruptly
causing a large increase in salinity. If the salinity of seawater increases its density will also
increase, usually the water containing higher salinity sinks below the water with lower
salinity, leading to salinity stratification. ( PMF IAS, 2016)

Horizontal salinity distribution

Salinity in the open ocean is between 33 and 37 grams per liter of water. The highest that
has been recorded is 37 grams / liter and was between 20 ° N - 30 ° N and 20 ° W - 60 ° W.
The highest salinity is between latitudes 15 ° and 20 °, and gradually decreases northward.
In the warmer and drier regions, the salinity reaches up to 70 o / oo and this is due to
evaporation in the area. ( PMF IAS, 2016)

Relationship of density to salinity

The density of seawater depends on its atmospheric pressure, temperature and salinity. As
mentioned above, seawater contains various dissolved salts, which affect the density of the
water. At atmospheric pressure, 15°C and with a salt concentration of 35 grams per kg of
seawater the density of seawater is 1025.97275 kg/m3. If the temperature and pressure are
constant, the density varies depending on its salinity, but in most of the ocean the density
varies according to its temperature.

At the ocean surface, the density varies and is between 1020 to 1029 kg/m3 and is usually
lower at the surface and this is due to the changes that occur at the sea surface such as
precipitation, melting ice, evaporation, melting ice or the heat of the atmosphere, for that
reason if the water is heated, the density is reduced this means that the surface water is less
dense in warm climates, while in the polar regions the waters are denser due to the presence
of floating ice, cooling and evaporation.

Temperature

The temperature in the oceans is not constant, because it varies according to their depth and
horizontal extent. Water at the surface is heated by radiation from the sun. In most regions,
the temperature of the ocean decreases as its depth increases because the amount of solar
radiation is minimal.
Relationship between temperature, density and salinity: The higher the temperature, the
more the water expands and becomes less dense, which reduces salinity. The lower the
temperature, the higher the density and salinity. (National Ocean Service, 2007)

Viscosity

Viscosity is known as the resistance that flows possess. Due to hydrogen bonding between
adjacent water molecules within a body of water, viscosity is created between those
molecules. Viscosity increases with increasing salinity, i.e. they are directly proportional.
Seawater is slightly more viscous than freshwater and this is due to the amount of salt in it.
(GeoEnciclopedia, s.f.)

Conductivity

There is electrical and thermal conductivity, the first is given by the concentration of salts
and impurities found in water and this makes it a good electrical conductor, since the salt
molecules are ionized. Thermal conductivity is the ability to conduct heat. Ocean water is a
better thermal conductor and this capacity increases if its temperature and pressure
increase, i.e. they are directly proportional. (Mostafa H. Sharqawy, John H. Lienhard V, &
Syed M. Zubairb, 2010)

Materials and methodology

Materials

 Bottle with a capacity of 1 liter

 Scale
 Stove
 Spoon
 Latex gloves
 Mask
 A piece of cloth
 A pot
 A container to filter the water
 1 liter of sea, estuary or river water
Methodology

1. Obtain all the materials and collect water from the nearest estuary, river or beach
with the help of a bottle that has a capacity of 1 liter or more.
2. Filter the water collected in practice, it should be filtered more than once, with the
help of a piece of cloth and a container. This will help us to eliminate any unwanted
residue in the sample.
3. Pour the filtered water into a pot and put the pot on the stove so that it begins to
evaporate completely.
4. To observe if the water already evaporated and to turn off the stove, to let rest until
it cools down.
5. Remove the salt left in the pot with the help of a spoon.
6. Put the salt in a light container.
7. Weigh the salt with the help of a balance.

Results

Water was collected from the Estero Salado del Parque Lineal in Guayaquil, the water was
filtered and then poured into a pot to evaporate it with the help of a stove. The result we
obtained was 20 grams of dissolved salts per liter of water, with a light brown color.

Analysis of results

Salinity tells us that it is the amount of grams of salts per liter of water. The salinity of the
oceans is approximately 35 grams per liter of water. In practice we obtained 20 grams of
salt per liter of water. This means that it is lower than the salinity of the oceans and this
may be because the sample water was collected in a salt marsh and although it was filtered
several times, there may be sediments in the sample. The Estero Salado is an estuary,
therefore, it is a transition zone between the pluvial and marine environment, i.e., there is a
mixture of freshwater and saltwater and the salinity of brackish water is between 0.5 - 30.0
grams per liter of water, so you can understand the amount of salinity obtained in practice.
It is possible that the salinity of the estuary is lower because the day the sample was taken
the tide was low, which indicates that there was a higher concentration of sediment in the
sample and there was also an influence of fresh water in the estuary from nearby streams.

Conclusions

 The salinity of an estuary, Estero Salado in the area of Parque Lineal in

Guayaquil, was determined using a sample of one liter of water that was
filtered, the result obtained was 20 grams of salinity. With the previous
knowledge obtained in class, it can be stated that salinity depends a lot on
the depth, density and temperature, because the sample was collected on the
surface and there was not much solar radiation, it is deduced that these
factors affect the salinity in the sample and for this reason only 20 grams
were obtained.
 Estuaries are influenced by a mixture of fresh and salt water, the day the
sample was collected the tide was low and we could say that for this reason
the salinity was low, in addition, in the area where the sample was collected,
sports activities are practiced.
 With the results obtained, it is necessary to carry out an investigation to
understand more about the salinity of the water. Thanks to this, it was
possible to analyze the results.

Personal opinion

The amount of dissolved salts obtained in the practice I think it is lower due to some factors
such as: the depth at which the sample was taken (surface), the low tide, sediments,
activities that are performed in that estuary (kayaking) and the temperature, since lately
there are no high temperatures, I think there is not enough evaporation in that area, so the
salinity was less than 35 g/L.
Recommendations:

 Collect enough water to obtain a sizeable salt sample.

 When evaporating the water, leave the pot uncovered.
 The containers or containers where the water is placed must be totally clean
to keep the sample pure.
 Filter the water more than once.

Bibliography
PMF IAS. (15 de January de 2016). Obtenido de https://www.pmfias.com/ocean-salinity-
vertical-horizontal-distribution/

Asociacion Española de Desalacion y Reutilizacion. (2 de Abril de 2019). AEDyR.

Obtenido de https://aedyr.com/sales-mar-son-todos-mares-igual-salados/

GeoEnciclopedia. (s.f.). Obtenido de https://www.geoenciclopedia.com/propiedades-del-

oceano/

Gillaspy, R. (s.f.). Study.com. Obtenido de https://study.com/academy/lesson/properties-of-

ocean-
water.html#:~:text=Ocean%20water%20has%20a%20high,%2C%20oxygen%2C%
20and%20carbon%20dioxide.

Mostafa H. Sharqawy, John H. Lienhard V, & Syed M. Zubairb. (16 de April de 2010).
Obtenido de
http://web.mit.edu/lienhard/www/Thermophysical_properties_of_seawater-DWT-
16-354-2010.pdf

National Ocean Service. (March de 2007). Obtenido de

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/whysalty.html

Stewart, R. H. (1790). En Introduction of physical oceanography (pág. 79). Orange Grove

Texts Plus.
Annexes