saltedwater

Saltedwater, also called saline water or saline solution, refers to water with dissolved salts. The most abundant salt in natural saltedwater is sodium chloride, but seawater and other saline waters contain a suite of ions including magnesium, sulfate, calcium, potassium, and bicarbonate. Salinity is commonly reported in practical salinity units (PSU) or parts per thousand (ppt); ordinary seawater has a salinity of about 35 ppt (3.5%), corresponding to roughly 35 grams of dissolved salts per kilogram of water.

Natural occurrences include oceans and seas, saline lakes, estuaries, and groundwater that has interacted with salt-bearing rocks. Salinity varies with location, depth, temperature, and freshwater input. Human activities add salts to water bodies through road and de-icing salts, agricultural drainage, mining brines, and industrial effluents.

Physical properties of saltedwater include high electrical conductivity, increased density, and altered freezing and boiling points. Seawater freezes at about -2°C at standard pressure, and its boiling point is slightly above 100°C. The dissolved salts also influence taste, color, and corrosion potential, and they affect the solubility of gases and minerals.

Uses and management: Some saltedwater is desalinated to produce freshwater for drinking or irrigation, using reverse osmosis or thermal distillation. Salt production via solar evaporation is practiced in arid regions. As a resource, saltedwater supports marine ecosystems and climate regulation, but the discharge of concentrated brine can impact coastal habitats and freshwater systems, requiring careful management.