Structure of the Oceans

In this topic, you explored the ocean depths to learn the many characteristics of seawater that change with depth. Some of these characteristics include salinity, density and temperature.

Infusion of water from precipitation, runoff and sea ice melting causes fluctuations in the salinity at shallow depths. As depth increases, the temperature drops, which increases the density of water. As a result, more dense water sinks and is found at lower depths than less dense water.