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Glossary of Chemical Oceanography Terms
Artificial Seawater: A mixture of the major components of seawater that closely approximates the concentrations of real seawater.
Baltic Sea: A stratified positive estuary marked with large salinity and temperature gradients.
Brines: Water with extremely high salinities (greater than 200).
Chlorinity: The chloride equivalents (Cl + Br) in seawater (grams/ kilogram). Defined
by the mass in grams of pure silver needed to precipitate the halogens in 328.523 g
of seawater.
Colloids: The dispersion of small particles (<500 nm in diameter) in solution. They are
aggregates of numerous atoms or molecules. Most pass through a 0.45-μm filter
but are not truly dissolved.
Conductance Cell: A glass or plastic cell that is used to measure the conductance of
a solution.
Conductivity Ratio: The ratio of the specific conductivity of a seawater sample to that of
standard seawater.
Conductivity Salinity, S COND : The salinity of seawater determined from the measurement of conductivity. Determined from a measurement of the conductivity relative to a standard.
Conservative Element: An element whose concentration shows little or no variation in
the ocean because it is unreactive or has a low crustal abundance. Most major
ocean components of seawater are conservative.
Density Salinity, S DENS : The salinity determined from the measurement of density.
Deuterium: An isotope of hydrogen ( 2 H) used to examine the effects of precipitation and
evaporation in natural waters.
Equivalent Weight: The sum of the atomic weight corrected for the ionic charges
(∑ = MW/ charge).
Evaporation Salinity, S EVAP : The salinity determined by the evaporation of seawater to
dryness.
Gulf of Mexico: The areas located south of the United States bordered by Texas, Mexico,
and the western coast of Florida.
Inductance Conductance Cell: Uses a transformer bridge to measure the resistance or
conductance of seawater.
In Situ Pressure: The measured pressure at a given depth.
In Situ Temperature: The measured temperature at a given depth. Can be higher than
expected for deep waters because of the adiabatic heating caused by pressure
effects.
Interstitial Waters: The water present in the pores of sediments.
Ionic Strength (I): I = 0.5 Z i
2 m i , where Z is the charge and m is the molality of an ion.
Isotopes: Atoms that have the same atomic number but different mass numbers (i.e., equal
number of protons but different numbers of neutrons).
Liquid: A state of matter in which a substance exhibits readiness to flow, little or no tendency to disperse, and relatively high compressibility.
Major Components: The major solutes in seawater (Na + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , K + , Sr 2+ , Cl – , SO 4
2– ,
HCO 3
– , Br – , CO 3
2– , B(OH) 4
– , F – , B(OH) 3 ); concentrations from 0.05 to 750 mM.
Marcet Principle: The relative composition of seawater is the same for all ocean waters.
Minor Components: The components of seawater with concentrations of 0.05 to 50 μM.
Molality (m): The moles of a solute per kilogram of solvent.
Molarity (M): The moles of a solute per liter of solution.
Mole Fraction (N): The fraction of the moles of a substance in a mixture (N = n i /∑n i ).
Molecular Weight: The sum of the atomic weights of a compound.
Glossary of Chemical Oceanography Terms
Artificial Seawater: A mixture of the major components of seawater that closely approximates the concentrations of real seawater.
Baltic Sea: A stratified positive estuary marked with large salinity and temperature gradients.
Brines: Water with extremely high salinities (greater than 200).
Chlorinity: The chloride equivalents (Cl + Br) in seawater (grams/ kilogram). Defined
by the mass in grams of pure silver needed to precipitate the halogens in 328.523 g
of seawater.
Colloids: The dispersion of small particles (<500 nm in diameter) in solution. They are
aggregates of numerous atoms or molecules. Most pass through a 0.45-μm filter
but are not truly dissolved.
Conductance Cell: A glass or plastic cell that is used to measure the conductance of
a solution.
Conductivity Ratio: The ratio of the specific conductivity of a seawater sample to that of
standard seawater.
Conductivity Salinity, S COND : The salinity of seawater determined from the measurement of conductivity. Determined from a measurement of the conductivity relative to a standard.
Conservative Element: An element whose concentration shows little or no variation in
the ocean because it is unreactive or has a low crustal abundance. Most major
ocean components of seawater are conservative.
Density Salinity, S DENS : The salinity determined from the measurement of density.
Deuterium: An isotope of hydrogen ( 2 H) used to examine the effects of precipitation and
evaporation in natural waters.
Equivalent Weight: The sum of the atomic weight corrected for the ionic charges
(∑ = MW/ charge).
Evaporation Salinity, S EVAP : The salinity determined by the evaporation of seawater to
dryness.
Gulf of Mexico: The areas located south of the United States bordered by Texas, Mexico,
and the western coast of Florida.
Inductance Conductance Cell: Uses a transformer bridge to measure the resistance or
conductance of seawater.
In Situ Pressure: The measured pressure at a given depth.
In Situ Temperature: The measured temperature at a given depth. Can be higher than
expected for deep waters because of the adiabatic heating caused by pressure
effects.
Interstitial Waters: The water present in the pores of sediments.
Ionic Strength (I): I = 0.5 Z i
2 m i , where Z is the charge and m is the molality of an ion.
Isotopes: Atoms that have the same atomic number but different mass numbers (i.e., equal
number of protons but different numbers of neutrons).
Liquid: A state of matter in which a substance exhibits readiness to flow, little or no tendency to disperse, and relatively high compressibility.
Major Components: The major solutes in seawater (Na + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , K + , Sr 2+ , Cl – , SO 4
2– ,
HCO 3
– , Br – , CO 3
2– , B(OH) 4
– , F – , B(OH) 3 ); concentrations from 0.05 to 750 mM.
Marcet Principle: The relative composition of seawater is the same for all ocean waters.
Minor Components: The components of seawater with concentrations of 0.05 to 50 μM.
Molality (m): The moles of a solute per kilogram of solvent.
Molarity (M): The moles of a solute per liter of solution.
Mole Fraction (N): The fraction of the moles of a substance in a mixture (N = n i /∑n i ).
Molecular Weight: The sum of the atomic weights of a compound.