The most salty ocean: amazing features of the Atlantic

It seems that every millimeter of our Earth has already been studied, all continents and oceans have been investigated, but people constantly have new questions. So you, for example, know what is the most salty ocean on the planet? If not, then let's deal with it.

A surprising feature

Each ocean on Earth has its own characteristics. Somehow the biggest, some the coldest. And what is the most salty ocean? This question interested scientists for a long time, and they conducted a series of studies. The most salty was the Atlantic Ocean. And it is recognized as the oldest on Earth. No wonder the roots of the name of this ocean go into ancient myths.

Name History

According to the ancient myth, the god of the seas Poseidon built for himself a city-state of Atlantis. To preserve its secrets, the city sank in the waters of the ocean, and with it all the inhabitants. Together with Poseidon in the city lived his wife and son Atlant, on whose shoulders held the firmament. In memory of this great hero of myths and called the Atlantic Ocean.

True, more mundane geographers believe that the most saline ocean is named after the mountains located in Africa. These mountains are called Atlas. About which of the versions is correct, argue today.

Why is the water salty?

The salinity of ocean waters has been forming for billions of years. Rain water absorbed and dissolved particles of dust in which salt was contained, river waters washed the deposits of minerals, enriching them with salts, and all this fell into the ocean, from the surface of which the water gradually evaporated, while the heavier salts remained. So gradually the waters became salty. Well, and the question of which ocean is the most saline in the world, the answer has long been received. Although some scientists wanted to give the palm to the Indian Ocean, not the Atlantic Ocean. Its salinity is indeed higher in some areas, but in general the waters are less saline than in the Atlantic.

In the Atlantic Ocean, the salinity of water is almost evenly distributed. Its concentrations are somewhat higher only in the tropics region. Scientists explain this phenomenon by the fact that here the water evaporates more than it returns as precipitation.

The great secrets of the Atlantic include the presence of fresh underground sources. Fresh water rises from the depths of the ocean to its surface.

Small geographical information

The Atlantic Ocean is not the largest on Earth. It is inferior in area to the Pacific, but still occupies almost 20% of the planet's surface. The most salty ocean in the world has an area of more than 91 million km ² . The average depth of the Atlantic is about 3500 m, and the deepest point is 8700 m.

On the world map, the outlines of the ocean resemble the huge letter S. A water body is located between Europe and the African continent, and its eastern part is washed by the coasts of two American continents. From all of them, salt enters the Atlantic waters, the concentration of which continues to increase.

International importance and mineral resources

Atlantic - not only the most salty ocean on Earth, it is still rich in deposits of minerals. In the coastal waters of Africa there are diamonds and gold, deposits of iron ore have been found off the coast of Europe. And in the Mexican, Guinea and Biscay gulfs , gas and oil fields are being developed.

But not only minerals matter. In the case of the Atlantic, location plays a big role. It is not only the most salty ocean, but also the most studied and most navigable - here there are lively trade routes.

And on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean there are comfortable resorts. Every year tourists come here to relax, sunbathe and do snorkeling.

Flora and fauna

Despite the fact that it is the most salty ocean, in the Atlantic is rich in plant and animal life. Here live many kinds of brown and red algae, for example sargassovye and latotamnia. And in the tropical zone a large number of green algae, such as valonia and kaulerpa. On the European coast of the ocean, many Zosters are a kind of special sea grass.

Representatives of the fauna of the Atlantic Ocean - various species of cod and herring fish, notothenia, sea bass, halibut, haddock, tuna, mackerel and sardines. This is not a complete list of underwater inhabitants. All these species are of great commercial importance. The waters of the Atlantic are plowed by numerous fishing flotillas and small fishing vessels. And in the markets of coastal cities, you can always buy fresh fish.

Problems of the Atlantic

Unfortunately, now scientists are more interested in not what kind of ocean is the most salty, but how to preserve water objects. Human activities cause great damage to the waters of the Atlantic. Every year the level of pollution increases, although the world community takes measures to reduce pollution.

In the waters of the Atlantic Ocean are pesticides from fields and farmlands, industrial wastes and sewage sludge are also dropped here. In addition, there are accidents on oil platforms and on tankers carrying oil. This leads to serious spills of flammable liquid in which the flora and fauna of the ocean die. But from here mankind receives almost 40% of fish production. How people can be treated with such irresponsibility to natural resources is difficult to explain.

The main thing is that the problems have ceased to argue and began to look for ways to solve them. This gives hope that the waters of the salty ocean will restore its purity and preserve its inhabitants for future generations.

So much mysterious and unexplored is hidden in the Atlantic! Perhaps once people learn more about this ocean and will be able to unravel its secrets, and for now we can only admire its greatness and beauty, content with only a small fraction of the available knowledge.