Effects of Freezing on Ocean Salinity
Jennifer M
Procedure: Freeze 300 ml of salt water for different times. Measure the salinity of both the melted ice and the water. Graph according to salinity, density, and the amount of time the water was frozen for.
Analysis: By looking just at the characteristics of the water, one can see that the salinity of the water rises, as well as the density. The equal measurements, if transferred, show that the salinity and the density get closer and closer together, and a ratio can be made. This proves that the ice squeezes salt out of it as it freezes, therefore leaving less water with the same overall salt. If the ice melted, the opposite would happen. Salt water must have a lower temperature to freeze. Therefore, regular water freezes more easily than salt water. The less salty the salt water becomes, in the same temperature, the more of the ocean would freeze over. This would mean that if the glaciers melted, then the oceans would have more water with the same amount of salt. The overall salinity would drop and density differences would become less. Since ocean currents are generated by density differences, these would cease. Deep-water biomes would become extinct, and the oceans would more easily freeze. The result- another ice age. The hole in the o-zone layer will cause a chain reaction if we don’t help it, and the ice age will come thousands of years early.
This project was awarded an Honors