The ocean is salty because tiny bits of salt from rocks and land wash into it over a looong time! 🌍💧 Rivers carry the salt to the ocean, and it stays there because the water evaporates, but the salt doesn't.
Imagine if you put sugar in water and let the water dry up—the sugar stays behind! That's what happens with salt in the ocean. 😊
The ocean is salty because of minerals, like salt, that come from rocks on land. 🌍 When rain falls, it dissolves tiny bits of salt from rocks, and rivers carry this salty water to the ocean. Over millions of years, the salt builds up because the water evaporates, but the salt stays behind.
Volcanoes under the sea also add some salt! 🌋 The ocean has about 35 grams of salt in every liter of water—that's like 7 teaspoons!
The ocean's saltiness comes from a process called weathering. Rainwater is slightly acidic, and over time, it dissolves minerals (like sodium and chloride) from rocks on land. Rivers carry these dissolved minerals into the ocean. 🌊
Salt also comes from underwater volcanic vents and hydrothermal vents, which release minerals into the seawater. The ocean's salinity is about 3.5%, meaning 3.5% of seawater is dissolved salts.
Interestingly, the salt doesn't keep increasing because some of it gets trapped in sediments or is used by marine life. 🐠 The balance keeps the ocean's salinity stable over time.