For the mixture of blue salt water and yellow fresh water.graph of the changes in salinity with depth after 12 minutes indicated that salinity blue increased with depth while the salinity green and salinity having the same depth,why?

1 answer

This phenomenon can be explained by the principle of density stratification. When the blue salt water and yellow fresh water is first mixed, there may be some initial mixing of the two layers. However, over time, the denser salt water will tend to sink to the bottom, while the less dense fresh water will rise to the top. This creates a stratified water column with higher salinity at the bottom (blue layer) and lower salinity at the top (yellow layer).

As a result, as you move down through the water column, the salinity will generally increase due to the presence of the denser salt water at the bottom. This is why the salinity of the blue layer increases with depth, while the salinity of the green and yellow layers remains relatively constant at the same depth.

It is important to note that this process can be influenced by various factors such as temperature, wind, and currents, but density stratification is a key mechanism driving changes in salinity with depth in bodies of water.