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  • Why is sea water salty?

    sarah_joy

    sarah_joy

    @sarah-joy-9Nvr8L
    Updated: Oct 22, 2024
    Views: 1.1K
    My classmates and I had talked about this..

    can anyone tell me why the sea is salty??!😕
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Replies

  • Reya

    Member • Mar 12, 2011

    Re: just curious..

    Sea becomes salty because of the presence of salt lakes like dead sea.They are 10 times saltier than sea water!
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  • maria flor

    Member • Mar 12, 2011

    Re: just curious..

    I can still remember an Alamat( legend) during my grade school...about why is the Sea salty.
    Just want to share this to you Sarah:
    Why The Sea Is Salty
    Many years ago, the sea tasted like ordinary rainwater. It was bland and tasteless. Fortunately, the people living in the islands knew about a friendly giant who kept mounds of salt in his cave.
    The people would cross the ocean on their boats to reach the gentle giant's island, and that is how they were able to bring salt back to their villages, in order to prepare tastier meals.
    One time, however, the ocean was quite rough and they could not sail out to gather salt. They eventually ran out of salt and the villagers no longer enjoyed their tasteless meals. They wondered how they could get salt again, when a child suggested they ask the giant to stretch out his legs over the ocean so that they could walk to his island instead.
    The kind giant agreed, and villagers with empty salt sacks walked along the giant's leg. Unfortunately, the giant's foot landed on an anthill, and the ferocious red ants started biting the enormous leg.
    "Hurry!" pleaded the giant, who strained to keep his itchy legs still.
    As soon as the people reached the giant's island, he immediately withdrew his foot and scratched the itchy bites. The villages just smiled at how a giant could be bothered by tiny ants.
    Anyway, the people got their salt and the giant again stretched his leg over the ocean. Immediately, the ants began biting his swollen foot. Once again, the giant asked the people to hurry up, but the heavy salt sacks slowed them down.
    Besides, the people didn't believe that the tiny ants could really affect the giant, so they idly chatted away, and walked rather slowly.
    Before the villagers could cross the ocean, the giant cried out and thrust his ant-bitten foot into the ocean. All the packed salt fell into the plain-water sea and melted.
    The giant saved the people from drowning, but no one was able to recover the spilled salt. From that day onwards, the sea became salty.
    Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
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  • PraveenKumar Purushothaman

    Member • Mar 12, 2011

    Re: just curious..

    sarah_joy
    My classmates and I had talked about this..

    can anyone tell me why the sea is salty??!😕
    One main reason is because of the waste generated from the Whale's and other big sea creature's body...

    Another info is also true, which is, the salt is caused by salt in the rocks of the land dissolving, and running down through rivers into oceans. Once there, the water is evaporated by the sun, however since salt does not evaporate, it is left behind. This continual process of salt entering but not leaving the oceans built it up to what it is over time. Its current level is at an equilibrium though, since biological factors remove salt.

    The dead sea is not, since it is so salty that life cannot sustain itself in that sea, and therefore salt is not removed.
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  • just_Ritu

    Member • Mar 12, 2011

    Re: just curious..

    There are a lot of reasons including the mineral content of water in the sea, the deposition of salts due to the erosion of rocks and evaporation.
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  • just_Ritu

    Member • Mar 12, 2011

    Re: just curious..

    praveenscience
    One main reason is because of the waste generated from the Whale's and other big sea creature's body...

    Another info is also true, which is, the salt is caused by salt in the rocks of the land dissolving, and running down through rivers into oceans. Once there, the water is evaporated by the sun, however since salt does not evaporate, it is left behind. This continual process of salt entering but not leaving the oceans built it up to what it is over time. Its current level is at an equilibrium though, since biological factors remove salt.

    The dead sea is not, since it is so salty that life cannot sustain itself in that sea, and therefore salt is not removed.
    I would like to correct you here:
    The water flowing through rivers and streams to the sea or oceans are sources of fresh water to reduce the salt content of the sea. They help in maintaining the equilibrium rather than adding up to the existing salt level.😀
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  • ISHAN TOPRE

    Member • Mar 13, 2011

    Technically speaking there are many reasons.One of the main reason is that the sea absorbs continuously carbon which is acidic in nature and can create salts.Another main reason can be due to salts carried bi rivers or due to the creatures and fishes.

    As Maria told us a story, I too have some thing to share.My mother used to tell me this story when I was very small.
    Once there were two brothers.One was good and the other greedy.One day God gave the good brother a flour mill (This flour mill is very old type and is found only in Bharat.It consists of two stones in between which wheat is kept to convert it to flour).
    This was a magical mill.God told him that whatever he wished he could ask and he will get unlimited quantity of his desired object until he chants magical words to stop itl.And only the one who wishes could ask the flour mill to stop, once his desire is fulfilled.
    The greedy brother came to know of it.He snatched that flour mill from good brother and asked for salt.he got salt from it but now the greedy brother didn't knew the magical words.The good brother was unable to tell him because the greedy brother died of the weight of salt.
    It is said that the flour mill is deep inside the ocean still giving out tons of salt!
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  • chetan.dhn

    Member • Mar 13, 2011

    sea is salty because of presence of sodium and potassium like mineral which gets mixed to it by the water coming with river . river just dissolve the mineral present on earth the carry them to sea thus making sea salter and salter day by day.
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