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36
THE OCEAN.
of America, where the water of many great rivers mingles with that of
the sea, the saltness is less by one, two, and even three thousandths; but
it is generally greater in the tepid waters of the great current called the
Gulf Stream, which crosses the Atlantic obliquely. The proportion of
salts contained in this current always exceeds 35 thousandths,* while the
water that flows from the pole toward the equator by Baffin's Bay contains only about 33 thousandths. It is to the enormous accumulation of
ice that these currents owe the slightly less saltness of their waters.
The quantity of cold water which flows from the Antarctic Pole toward
the south of Africa and America contains likewise less saline matter
than the seas of the temperate and equatorial zones.
Fig. 9.—Comparative Saltness of Seas.
With regard to basins almost inclosed, like the Mediterranean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Baltic, the saltness ougrtt evidently to be greater or
less there than in the ocean, according as the evaporation is in excess of
or is inferior to the fresh water brought by the rivers and the clouds. In
the Mediterranean, the loss in evaporation being more considerable than
the contributions of fresh water, the saltness ought to increase in consequence, and the liquid mass would constantly diminish, if a current setting in from the Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar did not restore
the equilibrium. While the less saline waters of the ocean thus penetrate into the Mediterranean flowing along its surface, a submarine counter-current, composed of heavier and Salter water, flows deep below in an
opposite direction, and mingles with the waters of the Atlantic, which
contain less salt. The mean saltness of the Mediterranean is nearly 38
* See below, the chapter headed Currents.
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000043 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 36 THE OCEAN. of America, where the water of many great rivers mingles with that of the sea, the saltness is less by one, two, and even three thousandths; but it is generally greater in the tepid waters of the great current called the Gulf Stream, which crosses the Atlantic obliquely. The proportion of salts contained in this current always exceeds 35 thousandths,* while the water that flows from the pole toward the equator by Baffin's Bay contains only about 33 thousandths. It is to the enormous accumulation of ice that these currents owe the slightly less saltness of their waters. The quantity of cold water which flows from the Antarctic Pole toward the south of Africa and America contains likewise less saline matter than the seas of the temperate and equatorial zones. Fig. 9.—Comparative Saltness of Seas. With regard to basins almost inclosed, like the Mediterranean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Baltic, the saltness ougrtt evidently to be greater or less there than in the ocean, according as the evaporation is in excess of or is inferior to the fresh water brought by the rivers and the clouds. In the Mediterranean, the loss in evaporation being more considerable than the contributions of fresh water, the saltness ought to increase in consequence, and the liquid mass would constantly diminish, if a current setting in from the Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar did not restore the equilibrium. While the less saline waters of the ocean thus penetrate into the Mediterranean flowing along its surface, a submarine counter-current, composed of heavier and Salter water, flows deep below in an opposite direction, and mingles with the waters of the Atlantic, which contain less salt. The mean saltness of the Mediterranean is nearly 38 * See below, the chapter headed Currents. |
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