There are many different physical and chemical properties that make the Earth's oceans much

more different than any other source of water that the Earth had to offer.

One of the most obvious of these chemical traits is the saline- or salt content- that our ocean has.

This salt is acquired when inorganic compounds of sodium and chloride are stripped out of rocks

and then carried out into gulfs that lead to the oceans. However, this does not mean that all of the

ocean has the same level of salt concentrate in it- saltcontent can range anywhere

from 5% in less salty areas to 44% in more concentrated areas, which

creates much diverseness as far as what creature can live in which part of

the ocean (Keener- Chavis).

A physical factor of oceans would be that of its temperature regulation.

The salt found in the oceans helps to act as a bu$er against the!external

forces of temperature and is capable of keeping water fairly warm at the

surface. It is also why the southern hemisphere is not all ice: the salt

content is high enough to lower the freezing point and allow for water to

still be in liquid form. This is highly bene+cial in some cases due to it

o$ering more environment for ocean life, but can be a contributing cause

to global warming as salt levels continue to increase (NASA).

Keener- Chavis, Paula.OfSand and Sea."Physical and Chemical Properties

of the Ocean." South Carolina a Sea Grant Contorium, 2012.

NASA.!Global Climate Change. "with a Pinch of Salt." NASA. February 2009.