seawater

American  

[see-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈsiˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

1. the salt water in or from the sea.

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seawater Scientific  

/ sē′wô′tər /

1. Salt water, normally with a salinity of 35 parts per thousand (3.5%), in or coming from the sea or ocean. Although seawater contains more than 70 elements, most seawater salts are ions of six major elements: chloride, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The major sources of these salts are underwater volcanic eruptions, chemical reactions involving volcanic matter, and chemical weathering of rocks on the coasts. Seawater is believed to have had the same salinity for billions of years.

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Etymology

Origin of seawater

before 1000; Middle English see water, Old English sǣwæter; sea, water

Example Sentences

The loss of polar ice sheets is the main driver of sea-level rise, ahead of melting mountain glaciers and the thermal expansion of seawater, which occurs as the oceans warm due to global heating.

From Barron's

By converting nitrogen into different chemical forms in seawater, these microbes regulate the growth of microbial plankton.

From Science Daily

They then evaluated the device under conditions that mimic the natural salt concentrations found where seawater and river water meet.

From Science Daily

The Middle East’s abundant desalination plants, which remove salt from the Gulf’s seawater, are the key source of drinking water for millions of residents in the arid region.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Middle East’s abundant desalination plants, which remove salt from the Persian Gulf’s seawater, are the key source of drinking water for millions of residents in the arid region.

From The Wall Street Journal