How do gasses enter the ocean?
2 min read
Asked by: Jimmy Grayson
The ocean can act as either a source or a sink for atmospheric gases. The gases enter or leave the ocean via exchange across the air/sea interface, and are transported within the ocean reservoir by physical processes.
What are three ways gasses can enter the ocean?
Gases can enter the ocean from streams, volcanoes, organisms, and the atmosphere. Seawater has many different gases dissolved in it, especially nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide.
How does oxygen get into the ocean?
Oxygen from the atmosphere dissolves and mixes into the water’s surface. Algae and underwater grasses release oxygen during photosynthesis. Water flows into the Bay from streams, rivers and the ocean. Ocean waters generally have more oxygen.
Can gases travel through water?
Gases can dissolve in water. The dissolving of a gas in water depends on the interaction between the molecules of the gas and the water molecules. The amount of gas that can be dissolved in water depends on the temperature of the water. More gas can dissolve in cold water than in hot water.
What gases does the ocean exchange?
Ocean atmosphere carbon exchange
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a soluble gas which dissolves in the oceans and is taken up by marine plants (phytoplankton).
What are two ways that dissolved oxygen enters the water?
Dissolved oxygen enters water through the air or as a plant byproduct. From the air, oxygen can slowly diffuse across the water’s surface from the surrounding atmosphere, or be mixed in quickly through aeration, whether natural or man-made 7.
How do oceans interact with co2?
The ocean takes up carbon dioxide through photosynthesis by plant-like organisms (phytoplankton), as well as by simple chemistry: carbon dioxide dissolves in water. It reacts with seawater, creating carbonic acid.
Why do oceans absorb carbon dioxide?
These natural carbon sinks – oceans, plants and soils – help to buffer the continued emissions from human activity. The ocean absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere because, as the atmospheric concentration increases, more is dissolved in the surface water.
How does carbon go from deep ocean to surface ocean?
Through one of the primary carbon storage mechanisms, the biological carbon pump, phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants at the bottom of the oceanic food chain) take up CO2 in the surface ocean and as part of photosynthesis convert it to particulate and dissolved organic carbon – carbon-containing molecules
