This image shows a generalized salinity-depth profile for the South Atlantic Ocean.
Click on image for full size
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Standard Salinity Profile

The picture to the left is called a salinity-depth profile. That is a fancy way for scientists to show how salty the ocean water is at a given point from the surface of the water all the way to the bottom of the the ocean. This salinity-depth profile is for the South Atlantic ocean.

Put your finger on the top of the red line and trace down the red line in the picture. If your finger is moving left, salinity is less and less. Then when your finger moves to the right, the water is getting more salty. You can see an area of the graph labeled the Halocline. Here salinity changes very quickly.

Last modified January 12, 2011 by Jennifer Bergman.

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