Sea surface salinity, 20 January 2012 global map. The salinity (salt content) of the sea surface, used in climate models, depends on sea surface tempe
Sea surface salinity, 20 January 2012 global map. The salinity (salt content) of the sea surface, used in climate models, depends on sea surface temperature and evaporation, winds, and fresh water from rivers, rain, and melting ice. The key at lower left gives the colour range in PSU (practical salinity units, equivalent to parts per thousand) from 30 (blue) to 35 (green) to 40 (red). Average salinity is 35 PSU, with the normal range from 33 to 37 PSU. The Atlantic Ocean (far right) and Mediterranean Sea (upper left) are highly saline. The Pacific (centre) and Indian (centre left) oceans are less saline. This data was acquired by the Aquarius instrument on the joint Argentine-NASA SAC-D satellite.
Size: 4216px × 2108px
Photo credit: © NASA/GSFC-SVS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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