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Why is the ocean salty?
Where did the millions of tons of salt in the global oceans come from, and why aren't freshwater rivers salty?
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BeachBum
asked 4d ago · 10 rep
1 Answer(s)
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Rainwater is slightly acidic and slowly erodes rocks on land, releasing dissolved mineral salts (like sodium and chloride) into rivers, which flow into the ocean. Water evaporates from the ocean to form rain, but the heavy salt is left behind, accumulating over billions of years.
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Oceanographer
answered 4d ago