Salinity ( / s ə ˈ l ɪ n ɪ t i / ) is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water , called saline water (see also soil salinity ). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal to ‰).
83-623: Labrador Sea Water is an intermediate water mass characterized by cold water, relatively low salinity compared to other intermediate water masses, and high concentrations of both oxygen and anthropogenic tracers . It is formed by convective processes in the Labrador Sea located between Greenland and the northeast coast of the Labrador Peninsula . Deep convection in the Labrador Sea allows colder water to sink forming this water mass, which
166-440: A chemical equation . While in a non-nuclear chemical reaction the number and kind of atoms on both sides of the equation are equal, for a nuclear reaction this holds true only for the nuclear particles viz. protons and neutrons. The sequence of steps in which the reorganization of chemical bonds may be taking place in the course of a chemical reaction is called its mechanism . A chemical reaction can be envisioned to take place in
249-467: A chemical reaction is said to have occurred. A chemical reaction is therefore a concept related to the "reaction" of a substance when it comes in close contact with another, whether as a mixture or a solution ; exposure to some form of energy, or both. It results in some energy exchange between the constituents of the reaction as well as with the system environment, which may be designed vessels—often laboratory glassware . Chemical reactions can result in
332-470: A chemical transformation is the rearrangement of electrons in the chemical bonds between atoms. It can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation , which usually involves atoms as subjects. The number of atoms on the left and the right in the equation for a chemical transformation is equal. (When the number of atoms on either side is unequal, the transformation is referred to as a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay .) The type of chemical reactions
415-588: A complex mixture of many different elements from different sources (not all from dissolved salts) in different molecular forms. The chemical properties of some of these forms depend on temperature and pressure. Many of these forms are difficult to measure with high accuracy, and in any case complete chemical analysis is not practical when analyzing multiple samples. Different practical definitions of salinity result from different attempts to account for these problems, to different levels of precision, while still remaining reasonably easy to use. For practical reasons salinity
498-645: A cyclonic eddy . During winter months low pressure dominates in this region, and in years with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation deeper convection is observed. Labrador Sea Water spreads through the North Atlantic Ocean by three routes: northeast directly into the Irminger Sea, into the eastern North Atlantic by means of the deep North Atlantic current, and meridionally via the Deep Western Boundary Current. Oceanographer Robert Pickart, in
581-412: A dense core called the atomic nucleus surrounded by a space occupied by an electron cloud . The nucleus is made up of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons (together called nucleons ), while the electron cloud consists of negatively charged electrons which orbit the nucleus. In a neutral atom, the negatively charged electrons balance out the positive charge of the protons. The nucleus
664-535: A directed beam in a vacuum in a mass spectrometer . Charged polyatomic collections residing in solids (for example, common sulfate or nitrate ions) are generally not considered "molecules" in chemistry. Some molecules contain one or more unpaired electrons, creating radicals . Most radicals are comparatively reactive, but some, such as nitric oxide (NO) can be stable. The "inert" or noble gas elements ( helium , neon , argon , krypton , xenon and radon ) are composed of lone atoms as their smallest discrete unit, but
747-456: A measured density. Marine waters are those of the ocean, another term for which is euhaline seas . The salinity of euhaline seas is 30 to 35 ‰. Brackish seas or waters have salinity in the range of 0.5 to 29 ‰ and metahaline seas from 36 to 40 ‰. These waters are all regarded as thalassic because their salinity is derived from the ocean and defined as homoiohaline if salinity does not vary much over time (essentially constant). The table on
830-411: A number of steps, each of which may have a different speed. Many reaction intermediates with variable stability can thus be envisaged during the course of a reaction. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to explain the kinetics and the relative product mix of a reaction. Many physical chemists specialize in exploring and proposing the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Several empirical rules, like
913-579: A paper published in 2002, presented data that suggest that the Labrador Sea is not the only formation site for Labrador Sea Water. They observed similar convective processes in the Irminger Sea and noted that transit times for Labrador Sea Water into Irminger Sea were unusually fast, suggesting that there is another source in the Irminger Sea. Labrador Sea Water properties experience seasonal and interannual variations. In late spring and summer, large amounts of cold freshwater accumulate from melting ice and are mixed downward during convection. The source for heat in
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#1732837958629996-424: A particular substance per volume of solution , and is commonly reported in mol/ dm . In addition to the specific chemical properties that distinguish different chemical classifications, chemicals can exist in several phases. For the most part, the chemical classifications are independent of these bulk phase classifications; however, some more exotic phases are incompatible with certain chemical properties. A phase
1079-405: A pure chemical substance that has its unique set of chemical properties, that is, its potential to undergo a certain set of chemical reactions with other substances. However, this definition only works well for substances that are composed of molecules, which is not true of many substances (see below). Molecules are typically a set of atoms bound together by covalent bonds , such that the structure
1162-609: A substance may undergo and the energy changes that may accompany it are constrained by certain basic rules, known as chemical laws . Energy and entropy considerations are invariably important in almost all chemical studies. Chemical substances are classified in terms of their structure , phase, as well as their chemical compositions . They can be analyzed using the tools of chemical analysis , e.g. spectroscopy and chromatography . Scientists engaged in chemical research are known as chemists . Most chemists specialize in one or more sub-disciplines. Several concepts are essential for
1245-457: A wide range of salinities is euryhaline . Salts are expensive to remove from water, and salt content is an important factor in water use, factoring into potability and suitability for irrigation . Increases in salinity have been observed in lakes and rivers in the United States, due to common road salt and other salt de-icers in runoff. The degree of salinity in oceans is a driver of
1328-441: A wide range of salinities, from less than 0.01 g/kg to a few g/kg, although there are many places where higher salinities are found. The Dead Sea has a salinity of more than 200 g/kg. Precipitation typically has a TDS of 20 mg/kg or less. Whatever pore size is used in the definition, the resulting salinity value of a given sample of natural water will not vary by more than a few percent (%). Physical oceanographers working in
1411-497: Is a contributor to the upper layer of North Atlantic Deep Water . North Atlantic Deep Water flowing southward is integral to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation . The Labrador Sea experiences a net heat loss to the atmosphere annually. Convection in the Labrador Sea is the result of a combination of cyclonic oceanographic circulation of the sea currents and cyclonic atmospheric forcing. At
1494-414: Is a pure substance which is composed of a single type of atom, characterized by its particular number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms, known as the atomic number and represented by the symbol Z . The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. Although all the nuclei of all atoms belonging to one element will have the same atomic number, they may not necessarily have
1577-409: Is a set of states of a chemical system that have similar bulk structural properties, over a range of conditions, such as pressure or temperature . Physical properties, such as density and refractive index tend to fall within values characteristic of the phase. The phase of matter is defined by the phase transition , which is when energy put into or taken out of the system goes into rearranging
1660-582: Is a very useful means for predicting the feasibility of a reaction and determining the state of equilibrium of a chemical reaction, in chemical thermodynamics . A reaction is feasible only if the total change in the Gibbs free energy is negative, Δ G ≤ 0 {\displaystyle \Delta G\leq 0\,} ; if it is equal to zero the chemical reaction is said to be at equilibrium . There exist only limited possible states of energy for electrons, atoms and molecules. These are determined by
1743-422: Is also possible to define analogs in two-dimensional systems, which has received attention for its relevance to systems in biology . Atoms sticking together in molecules or crystals are said to be bonded with one another. A chemical bond may be visualized as the multipole balance between the positive charges in the nuclei and the negative charges oscillating about them. More than simple attraction and repulsion,
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#17328379586291826-439: Is also used to identify the composition of remote objects – like stars and distant galaxies – by analyzing their radiation spectra. The term chemical energy is often used to indicate the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction or to transform other chemical substances. When a chemical substance is transformed as a result of its interaction with another substance or with energy,
1909-459: Is called a mixture. Examples of mixtures are air and alloys . The mole is a unit of measurement that denotes an amount of substance (also called chemical amount). One mole is defined to contain exactly 6.022 140 76 × 10 particles ( atoms , molecules , ions , or electrons ), where the number of particles per mole is known as the Avogadro constant . Molar concentration is the amount of
1992-523: Is composed of gaseous matter that has been completely ionized, usually through high temperature. A substance can often be classified as an acid or a base . There are several different theories which explain acid–base behavior. The simplest is Arrhenius theory , which states that acid is a substance that produces hydronium ions when it is dissolved in water, and a base is one that produces hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. According to Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory , acids are substances that donate
2075-431: Is defined as that which can pass through a very fine filter (historically a filter with a pore size of 0.45 μm, but later usually 0.2 μm). Salinity can be expressed in the form of a mass fraction , i.e. the mass of the dissolved material in a unit mass of solution. Seawater typically has a mass salinity of around 35 g/kg, although lower values are typical near coasts where rivers enter the ocean. Rivers and lakes can have
2158-472: Is dense; the mass of a nucleon is approximately 1,836 times that of an electron, yet the radius of an atom is about 10,000 times that of its nucleus. The atom is also the smallest entity that can be envisaged to retain the chemical properties of the element, such as electronegativity , ionization potential , preferred oxidation state (s), coordination number , and preferred types of bonds to form (e.g., metallic , ionic , covalent ). A chemical element
2241-464: Is electrically neutral and all valence electrons are paired with other electrons either in bonds or in lone pairs . Thus, molecules exist as electrically neutral units, unlike ions. When this rule is broken, giving the "molecule" a charge, the result is sometimes named a molecular ion or a polyatomic ion. However, the discrete and separate nature of the molecular concept usually requires that molecular ions be present only in well-separated form, such as
2324-537: Is more easily transferred between substances relative to light or other forms of electronic energy. For example, ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation is not transferred with as much efficacy from one substance to another as thermal or electrical energy. The existence of characteristic energy levels for different chemical substances is useful for their identification by the analysis of spectral lines . Different kinds of spectra are often used in chemical spectroscopy , e.g. IR , microwave , NMR , ESR , etc. Spectroscopy
2407-520: Is pulled in to replace the sinking water, which in turn eventually becomes cold and salty enough to sink. Salinity distribution contributes to shape the oceanic circulation. Limnologists and chemists often define salinity in terms of mass of salt per unit volume, expressed in units of mg/L or g/L. It is implied, although often not stated, that this value applies accurately only at some reference temperature because solution volume varies with temperature. Values presented in this way are typically accurate to
2490-651: Is referred to as brine . Salinity is an ecological factor of considerable importance, influencing the types of organisms that live in a body of water. As well, salinity influences the kinds of plants that will grow either in a water body, or on land fed by a water (or by a groundwater ). A plant adapted to saline conditions is called a halophyte . A halophyte which is tolerant to residual sodium carbonate salinity are called glasswort or saltwort or barilla plants. Organisms (mostly bacteria) that can live in very salty conditions are classified as extremophiles , or halophiles specifically. An organism that can withstand
2573-468: Is the crystal structure , or arrangement, of the atoms. Another phase commonly encountered in the study of chemistry is the aqueous phase, which is the state of substances dissolved in aqueous solution (that is, in water). Less familiar phases include plasmas , Bose–Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates and the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials. While most familiar phases deal with three-dimensional systems, it
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2656-458: Is the quantum mechanical model . Traditional chemistry starts with the study of elementary particles , atoms , molecules , substances , metals , crystals and other aggregates of matter . Matter can be studied in solid, liquid, gas and plasma states , in isolation or in combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations that are studied in chemistry are usually the result of interactions between atoms, leading to rearrangements of
2739-502: Is the probability of a molecule to have energy greater than or equal to E at the given temperature T. This exponential dependence of a reaction rate on temperature is known as the Arrhenius equation . The activation energy necessary for a chemical reaction to occur can be in the form of heat, light, electricity or mechanical force in the form of ultrasound . A related concept free energy , which also incorporates entropy considerations,
2822-517: Is useful in identifying periodic trends . A compound is a pure chemical substance composed of more than one element. The properties of a compound bear little similarity to those of its elements. The standard nomenclature of compounds is set by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Organic compounds are named according to the organic nomenclature system. The names for inorganic compounds are created according to
2905-470: Is usually related to the sum of masses of a subset of these dissolved chemical constituents (so-called solution salinity ), rather than to the unknown mass of salts that gave rise to this composition (an exception is when artificial seawater is created). For many purposes this sum can be limited to a set of eight major ions in natural waters, although for seawater at highest precision an additional seven minor ions are also included. The major ions dominate
2988-505: The Woodward–Hoffmann rules often come in handy while proposing a mechanism for a chemical reaction. According to the IUPAC gold book, a chemical reaction is "a process that results in the interconversion of chemical species." Accordingly, a chemical reaction may be an elementary reaction or a stepwise reaction . An additional caveat is made, in that this definition includes cases where
3071-434: The abyssal ocean , however, are often concerned with precision and intercomparability of measurements by different researchers, at different times, to almost five significant digits . A bottled seawater product known as IAPSO Standard Seawater is used by oceanographers to standardize their measurements with enough precision to meet this requirement. Measurement and definition difficulties arise because natural waters contain
3154-455: The chemical bonds which hold atoms together. Such behaviors are studied in a chemistry laboratory . The chemistry laboratory stereotypically uses various forms of laboratory glassware . However glassware is not central to chemistry, and a great deal of experimental (as well as applied/industrial) chemistry is done without it. A chemical reaction is a transformation of some substances into one or more different substances. The basis of such
3237-487: The chemical industry . The word chemistry comes from a modification during the Renaissance of the word alchemy , which referred to an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy , philosophy , astrology , astronomy , mysticism , and medicine . Alchemy is often associated with the quest to turn lead or other base metals into gold, though alchemists were also interested in many of
3320-469: The duet rule , and in this way they are reaching the electron configuration of the noble gas helium , which has two electrons in its outer shell. Similarly, theories from classical physics can be used to predict many ionic structures. With more complicated compounds, such as metal complexes , valence bond theory is less applicable and alternative approaches, such as the molecular orbital theory, are generally used. See diagram on electronic orbitals. In
3403-564: The hydrography is such that a possible cause of reduced circulation is the production of stratified oceans. In such cases, it is more difficult to subduct water through the thermohaline circulation. Not only is salinity a driver of ocean circulation, but changes in ocean circulation also affect salinity, particularly in the subpolar North Atlantic where from 1990 to 2010 increased contributions of Greenland meltwater were counteracted by increased northward transport of salty Atlantic waters. However, North Atlantic waters have become fresher since
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3486-499: The inorganic nomenclature system. When a compound has more than one component, then they are divided into two classes, the electropositive and the electronegative components. In addition the Chemical Abstracts Service has devised a method to index chemical substances. In this scheme each chemical substance is identifiable by a number known as its CAS registry number . A molecule is the smallest indivisible portion of
3569-500: The interconversion of conformers is experimentally observable. Such detectable chemical reactions normally involve sets of molecular entities as indicated by this definition, but it is often conceptually convenient to use the term also for changes involving single molecular entities (i.e. 'microscopic chemical events'). An ion is a charged species, an atom or a molecule, that has lost or gained one or more electrons. When an atom loses an electron and thus has more protons than electrons,
3652-529: The intermolecular forces of a substance are such that the energy of the surroundings is not sufficient to overcome them, it occurs in a more ordered phase like liquid or solid as is the case with water (H 2 O); a liquid at room temperature because its molecules are bound by hydrogen bonds . Whereas hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is a gas at room temperature and standard pressure, as its molecules are bound by weaker dipole–dipole interactions . The transfer of energy from one chemical substance to another depends on
3735-438: The size of energy quanta emitted from one substance. However, heat energy is often transferred more easily from almost any substance to another because the phonons responsible for vibrational and rotational energy levels in a substance have much less energy than photons invoked for the electronic energy transfer. Thus, because vibrational and rotational energy levels are more closely spaced than electronic energy levels, heat
3818-413: The world's ocean circulation , where density changes due to both salinity changes and temperature changes at the surface of the ocean produce changes in buoyancy, which cause the sinking and rising of water masses. Changes in the salinity of the oceans are thought to contribute to global changes in carbon dioxide as more saline waters are less soluble to carbon dioxide. In addition, during glacial periods,
3901-408: The 1980s. Titration with silver nitrate could be used to determine the concentration of halide ions (mainly chlorine and bromine ) to give a chlorinity . The chlorinity was then multiplied by a factor to account for all other constituents. The resulting 'Knudsen salinities' are expressed in units of parts per thousand (ppt or ‰ ). The use of electrical conductivity measurements to estimate
3984-426: The Labrador Sea is modified North Atlantic Current water after circulating the subpolar gyre . In winter the sea becomes more saline as freshwater freezes to form sea ice. The greatest seasonal variability is largely confined to the surface waters, however an annual cycle of convective mixing and re-stratification is observed throughout the water column. Warming and increased salinity in the lower level and freshening at
4067-500: The Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion model ( VSEPR ), and the concept of oxidation number can be used to explain molecular structure and composition. An ionic bond is formed when a metal loses one or more of its electrons, becoming a positively charged cation, and the electrons are then gained by the non-metal atom, becoming a negatively charged anion. The two oppositely charged ions attract one another, and
4150-491: The atom is a positively charged ion or cation . When an atom gains an electron and thus has more electrons than protons, the atom is a negatively charged ion or anion . Cations and anions can form a crystalline lattice of neutral salts , such as the Na and Cl ions forming sodium chloride , or NaCl. Examples of polyatomic ions that do not split up during acid–base reactions are hydroxide (OH ) and phosphate (PO 4 ). Plasma
4233-417: The composition of seawater. They can also be determined by making direct density measurements. A sample of seawater from most locations with a chlorinity of 19.37 ppt will have a Knudsen salinity of 35.00 ppt, a PSS-78 practical salinity of about 35.0, and a TEOS-10 absolute salinity of about 35.2 g/kg. The electrical conductivity of this water at a temperature of 15 °C is 42.9 mS/cm. On
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#17328379586294316-412: The context of chemistry, energy is an attribute of a substance as a consequence of its atomic , molecular or aggregate structure . Since a chemical transformation is accompanied by a change in one or more of these kinds of structures, it is invariably accompanied by an increase or decrease of energy of the substances involved. Some energy is transferred between the surroundings and the reactants of
4399-471: The early 1990s. Salinity Salinity is an important factor in determining many aspects of the chemistry of natural waters and of biological processes within it, and is a thermodynamic state variable that, along with temperature and pressure , governs physical characteristics like the density and heat capacity of the water. A contour line of constant salinity is called an isohaline , or sometimes isohale . Salinity in rivers, lakes, and
4482-429: The energies and distributions characterize the availability of an electron to bond to another atom. The chemical bond can be a covalent bond , an ionic bond , a hydrogen bond or just because of Van der Waals force . Each of these kinds of bonds is ascribed to some potential. These potentials create the interactions which hold atoms together in molecules or crystals . In many simple compounds, valence bond theory ,
4565-491: The form of silicic acid , which usually appears as a neutral molecule in the pH range of most natural waters, may also be included for some purposes (e.g., when salinity/density relationships are being investigated). The term 'salinity' is, for oceanographers, usually associated with one of a set of specific measurement techniques. As the dominant techniques evolve, so do different descriptions of salinity. Salinities were largely measured using titration -based techniques before
4648-707: The formation of igneous rocks ( geology ), how atmospheric ozone is formed and how environmental pollutants are degraded ( ecology ), the properties of the soil on the Moon ( cosmochemistry ), how medications work ( pharmacology ), and how to collect DNA evidence at a crime scene ( forensics ). Chemistry has existed under various names since ancient times. It has evolved, and now chemistry encompasses various areas of specialisation, or subdisciplines, that continue to increase in number and interrelate to create further interdisciplinary fields of study. The applications of various fields of chemistry are used frequently for economic purposes in
4731-444: The formation or dissociation of molecules, that is, molecules breaking apart to form two or more molecules or rearrangement of atoms within or across molecules. Chemical reactions usually involve the making or breaking of chemical bonds. Oxidation, reduction , dissociation , acid–base neutralization and molecular rearrangement are some examples of common chemical reactions. A chemical reaction can be symbolically depicted through
4814-411: The global scale, it is extremely likely that human-caused climate change has contributed to observed surface and subsurface salinity changes since the 1950s, and projections of surface salinity changes throughout the 21st century indicate that fresh ocean regions will continue to get fresher and salty regions will continue to get saltier. Salinity is serving as a tracer of different masses. Surface water
4897-421: The inorganic composition of most (but by no means all) natural waters. Exceptions include some pit lakes and waters from some hydrothermal springs . The concentrations of dissolved gases like oxygen and nitrogen are not usually included in descriptions of salinity. However, carbon dioxide gas, which when dissolved is partially converted into carbonates and bicarbonates , is often included. Silicon in
4980-445: The ionic bond is the electrostatic force of attraction between them. For example, sodium (Na), a metal, loses one electron to become an Na cation while chlorine (Cl), a non-metal, gains this electron to become Cl . The ions are held together due to electrostatic attraction, and that compound sodium chloride (NaCl), or common table salt, is formed. In a covalent bond, one or more pairs of valence electrons are shared by two atoms:
5063-412: The ionic content of seawater led to the development of the scale called the practical salinity scale 1978 (PSS-78). Salinities measured using PSS-78 do not have units. The suffix psu or PSU (denoting practical salinity unit ) is sometimes added to PSS-78 measurement values. The addition of PSU as a unit after the value is "formally incorrect and strongly discouraged". In 2010 a new standard for
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#17328379586295146-473: The main characteristics of a molecule is its geometry often called its structure . While the structure of diatomic, triatomic or tetra-atomic molecules may be trivial, (linear, angular pyramidal etc.) the structure of polyatomic molecules, that are constituted of more than six atoms (of several elements) can be crucial for its chemical nature. A chemical substance is a kind of matter with a definite composition and set of properties . A collection of substances
5229-409: The measured conductivity at 5 °C might only be in the range of 50–80 μS/cm. Direct density measurements are also used to estimate salinities, particularly in highly saline lakes . Sometimes density at a specific temperature is used as a proxy for salinity. At other times an empirical salinity/density relationship developed for a particular body of water is used to estimate the salinity of samples from
5312-487: The mid-2010s due to increased Greenland meltwater flux. Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter . It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and compounds made of atoms , molecules and ions : their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the changes they undergo during reactions with other substances . Chemistry also addresses
5395-403: The nature of chemical bonds in chemical compounds . In the scope of its subject, chemistry occupies an intermediate position between physics and biology . It is sometimes called the central science because it provides a foundation for understanding both basic and applied scientific disciplines at a fundamental level. For example, chemistry explains aspects of plant growth ( botany ),
5478-430: The ocean is conceptually simple, but technically challenging to define and measure precisely. Conceptually the salinity is the quantity of dissolved salt content of the water. Salts are compounds like sodium chloride , magnesium sulfate , potassium nitrate , and sodium bicarbonate which dissolve into ions. The concentration of dissolved chloride ions is sometimes referred to as chlorinity. Operationally, dissolved matter
5561-491: The order of 1%. Limnologists also use electrical conductivity , or "reference conductivity", as a proxy for salinity. This measurement may be corrected for temperature effects, and is usually expressed in units of μS/cm . A river or lake water with a salinity of around 70 mg/L will typically have a specific conductivity at 25 °C of between 80 and 130 μS/cm. The actual ratio depends on the ions present. The actual conductivity usually changes by about 2% per degree Celsius, so
5644-419: The other isolated chemical elements consist of either molecules or networks of atoms bonded to each other in some way. Identifiable molecules compose familiar substances such as water, air, and many organic compounds like alcohol, sugar, gasoline, and the various pharmaceuticals . However, not all substances or chemical compounds consist of discrete molecules, and indeed most of the solid substances that make up
5727-598: The properties of seawater called the thermodynamic equation of seawater 2010 ( TEOS-10 ) was introduced, advocating absolute salinity as a replacement for practical salinity, and conservative temperature as a replacement for potential temperature . This standard includes a new scale called the reference composition salinity scale . Absolute salinities on this scale are expressed as a mass fraction, in grams per kilogram of solution. Salinities on this scale are determined by combining electrical conductivity measurements with other information that can account for regional changes in
5810-615: The questions of modern chemistry. The modern word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā ( الكیمیاء ). This may have Egyptian origins since al-kīmīā is derived from the Ancient Greek χημία , which is in turn derived from the word Kemet , which is the ancient name of Egypt in the Egyptian language. Alternately, al-kīmīā may derive from χημεία 'cast together'. The current model of atomic structure
5893-473: The reaction absorbs heat from the surroundings. Chemical reactions are invariably not possible unless the reactants surmount an energy barrier known as the activation energy . The speed of a chemical reaction (at given temperature T) is related to the activation energy E, by the Boltzmann's population factor e − E / k T {\displaystyle e^{-E/kT}} – that
5976-433: The reaction in the form of heat or light ; thus the products of a reaction may have more or less energy than the reactants. A reaction is said to be exergonic if the final state is lower on the energy scale than the initial state; in the case of endergonic reactions the situation is the reverse. A reaction is said to be exothermic if the reaction releases heat to the surroundings; in the case of endothermic reactions ,
6059-544: The resulting electrically neutral group of bonded atoms is termed a molecule . Atoms will share valence electrons in such a way as to create a noble gas electron configuration (eight electrons in their outermost shell) for each atom. Atoms that tend to combine in such a way that they each have eight electrons in their valence shell are said to follow the octet rule . However, some elements like hydrogen and lithium need only two electrons in their outermost shell to attain this stable configuration; these atoms are said to follow
6142-650: The right, modified from Por (1972), follows the "Venice system" (1959). In contrast to homoiohaline environments are certain poikilohaline environments (which may also be thalassic ) in which the salinity variation is biologically significant. Poikilohaline water salinities may range anywhere from 0.5 to greater than 300 ‰. The important characteristic is that these waters tend to vary in salinity over some biologically meaningful range seasonally or on some other roughly comparable time scale. Put simply, these are bodies of water with quite variable salinity. Highly saline water, from which salts crystallize (or are about to),
6225-403: The rules of quantum mechanics , which require quantization of energy of a bound system. The atoms/molecules in a higher energy state are said to be excited. The molecules/atoms of substance in an excited energy state are often much more reactive; that is, more amenable to chemical reactions. The phase of a substance is invariably determined by its energy and the energy of its surroundings. When
6308-474: The same mass number; atoms of an element which have different mass numbers are known as isotopes . For example, all atoms with 6 protons in their nuclei are atoms of the chemical element carbon , but atoms of carbon may have mass numbers of 12 or 13. The standard presentation of the chemical elements is in the periodic table , which orders elements by atomic number. The periodic table is arranged in groups , or columns, and periods , or rows. The periodic table
6391-641: The solid crust, mantle, and core of the Earth are chemical compounds without molecules. These other types of substances, such as ionic compounds and network solids , are organized in such a way as to lack the existence of identifiable molecules per se . Instead, these substances are discussed in terms of formula units or unit cells as the smallest repeating structure within the substance. Examples of such substances are mineral salts (such as table salt ), solids like carbon and diamond, metals, and familiar silica and silicate minerals such as quartz and granite. One of
6474-854: The southern tip of Greenland , water enters the West Greenland Current from the East Greenland Current , continues to flow northwest around the Baffin Bay, and then southeast into the Baffin Island Current continuing in the same direction in the Labrador Current . Sea ice in the winter months inhibits surface flow into Baffin Bay. The Labrador Current and the Western Greenland Current flow in opposite directions resulting in
6557-509: The spring of 1994. Due to weakened convection, Labrador Sea Water began warming significantly and increased in salinity over the following decade. This trend continued through 2010 and 2011 when weak convection was observed in relation with negative North Atlantic Oscillation. Deep convection was observed again in 2012 with the Labrador Sea Water reaching 1400m, corresponding with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation similar to those seen in
6640-695: The structure of the system, instead of changing the bulk conditions. Sometimes the distinction between phases can be continuous instead of having a discrete boundary' in this case the matter is considered to be in a supercritical state. When three states meet based on the conditions, it is known as a triple point and since this is invariant, it is a convenient way to define a set of conditions. The most familiar examples of phases are solids , liquids , and gases . Many substances exhibit multiple solid phases. For example, there are three phases of solid iron (alpha, gamma, and delta) that vary based on temperature and pressure. A principal difference between solid phases
6723-421: The study of chemistry; some of them are: In chemistry, matter is defined as anything that has rest mass and volume (it takes up space) and is made up of particles . The particles that make up matter have rest mass as well – not all particles have rest mass, such as the photon . Matter can be a pure chemical substance or a mixture of substances. The atom is the basic unit of chemistry. It consists of
6806-430: The surface is associated with re-stratification (May–December), whereas a convective mixing period (January–April) leads to cooling and a decrease in salt content in intermediate and deep waters and an increase in salt content at the surface. Interannual variations in the intermediate Labrador Sea Water are due largely to changes in convection throughout these periods. Weak convective periods are associated with more heat in
6889-481: The water column and deep convective periods are characterized by cold water. In the early 1990s, several consecutive severe winters contributed towards deep convection in the Labrador Sea. These winters were also associated with strong positive fluctuations in the North Atlantic Oscillation. Labrador Sea Water became very cold, fresh, and dense during this period, and the layer extended to depths of 2300m in
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