Composition and most important chemical species of some dissolved elements in sea water.

Produced from data supplied in : Summerhayes, C. P., and Thorpe, S. A., 1996 : Oceanography An Illustrated Guide, Chapter 11, 165-181.

a) Variations are determined entirely or largely by those in salinity, i.e., the element is essentially conservative. For these elements, average concentration given is for sea water of salinity 35.

(b) Concentrations refer to combined nitrogen; element occurs also as dissolved nitrogen (N2) gas. Species other than NO3- are often important in the upper ocean (e.g., NO2-, NH4+).

(c) Concentrations are affected by inputs to surface ocean of atmospherically transported lead from combustion of leaded petroleum.

Notes:

Based mainly upon information in Bruland. Usual ranges for oceanic waters are shown; concentrations of certain elements can be higher in some coastal waters.

Chemical oceanographers often employ molar units instead of the mass units shown here. For sodium (atomic weight 22.99) the concentration given above of 10.77 g/kg can alternatively be expressed as 0.449 mol/kg.