The ancient Persians believed the sacred sea. In the pantheon of Greek gods, as the most powerful and fabulously rich, appears to us Neptune, god of the seas - the brother of Zeus. The legendary philosophers Thales, Empedocles, Plato and Aristotle called the water framework of the earth. Holy named Baikal in the Russian folk song "Glorious Sea - Sacred Baikal." And you remember your first impression of the sea voyage? Inexplicable peace before boundless water space embraces every men.
In the view of the people the water was always exalted character. Fresh water and salt full a bed of seas and ocean. Data from recent scientific studies confirm that the assumptions of the ancient philosophers and our current feelings are not random. Scientist found in seawater and blood inhabitants of Earth striking similarities, both in terms of basic chemical elements and in particular their concentration. Moreover, the composition of seawater has remained unchanged for hundreds of millions and millions of years, though, apparently, nothing is more difficult than it strange substance with its amazing chemical, physical and biological features. Proportions of this substance are as constant as the gas atmospheric composition. And the deepest meaning of a statement in this regards academic A.P.Karpinsky in the twentieth century, presciently described water as "life blood of the Earth." Most likely, this is not a poetic symbol, but a scientific fact. Here are just a few observations deposited at different times in the memory of mankind.
Ancient Arabs have long noticed that the soldiers who received
wounded in naval battles, recover faster than those who fought on land. Since then, the recipe treatment of wounds Arab doctors necessarily put in the water and salt.
In Russian folk tales, the stories often referred to hypothetical "living water" that can heal the sick and even revive the dead.
Thin people-watching, folk wisdom enshrined in various nations, are confirmed by experiments carried out by scientists of our time. When boiling normal sea water finds an active biodyne. After the sludge collected at sea foam obtained brown liquid that promotes growth, development and reproduction of some organisms.
They say also that in the last century on the Volga owners just launched on wooden ships tried to take the first flight only cargo of salt. The calculation was simple. For a long voyage, mainly the wood ships are had impregnated with salt, which served as the host twice as long as usual. Also marine acted a different way. Before collecting vessel was kept in a solution of salt curbs, beams, stringers, frames.
What is this mysterious "salt", and what it, as they say, eat? Bitter-salty taste of the water - from the familiar to us of sodium chloride - salt (85%). In addition, dissolved in the oceans more than 600 000 billion tons of potash 100 000 000 000 000 tons of bromine 2100000 billion of tons of magnesium, 5.5 million tons of gold, 4 billion tons of uranium, 200 billion tons of lithium. Seawater still contains magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate and calcium carbonate, sodium bromide. In short, in different quantities in the form of ions and molecules in the water contained practically all known chemical elements in the world.
These figures, to some extent, of course, approximate. Being in the sea water of such substances is sometimes so small that it is very difficult to determine. But a significant amount concentrated in the marine organisms. In mollusks found many copper and nickel, vanadium - in the blood of sea squirts and sea cucumbers. Cobalt - lobsters, crayfish and mussels. Jellyfish are rich in lead, tin and zinc.
There concentrators vanadium, strontium, uranium, molybdenum, and other metals. In Japan, poor in mineral resources, already enjoys getting vanadium from sea squirts - marine animals, leading physical inactivity. Also well known that in the algae - kelp (in a simple way - seaweed), the concentration of iodine reaches 0.1-5% fresh weight, and in the ash - 50%. At the same time, the iodine in the surrounding water contains about 0.05 mg per liter.
There is a reasonable belief that over time, in the realm of Neptune will be found and some as yet unknown substances that enter the water from space.
In the oceans more than 48 quadrillion total salt. According to scientists, if you remove all the salt from the water and sprinkle evenly, it would cover the surface of our planet layer thickness of 45 meters (some say 90). Its covering only on land will increase to 153 meters. However, Jules Verne in his novel "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" argued that, in our experience of the conventional salt mound is raised above the ground by only ten-odd meters. But - it was a long time ago, and the error of the great popularizer of science and a predictor of the future today only demonstrates just how perfect the steel tools and techniques of modern research.
The most salt was considered, until recently, the Gulf of Suez water of the Red Sea. Oceanographers determine the salinity of the content of the main ions. Average rate, overall recognized is 3.5 grams of salt per liter of water. Terminology is 35 ppm, and worldly - about a teaspoon in a glass of distillate. So, in the Gulf of Suez salinity is more than 43 ppm. For comparison, in the Atlantic - 37, in the Arctic Ocean - 31, in the Black Sea - 18, in the Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland - almost close to 0, while in the central part of 6 to 8 ppm. By the way, the low salinity of the Baltic marine borers do not like, corrosive wooden parts of sunken ships, and these worms here. Studies have also shown that in slightly salted, in particular the Baltic water is much faster than usual in their fresh, developing young mountain trout.
There is practically no organic life - except for certain types of bacteria in the Dead Sea. Five million years ago, the great Syrian-African tectonic shift has created a large lake is 76 kilometers long (Jordan and Israel). A unique feature of the sea: it is located at 395 meters below sea level and salinity of the water is 260-270 ppm. Medical, rich in minerals black mud, hot springs along the coast to the Dead Sea attracts many tourists. And above all, an amazing opportunity is to stay on the water with no effort.
For a long time, the dynamics of the above figures seemed settled. It was hard to expect any new discoveries. However, in September 1964 an American expedition to the "Discovery" has found unusually salty water in the central part of the Red Sea - up to 49 ppm. In 1966, as a result of the work of Soviet scientists on the research vessel Academic Sergey Vavilov in this area it was found that the water here, in a small basin at a depth of about 2,700 meters, has a salinity of 280.7 ppm (at the same time let you know that Gulf of Kara-Bogaz-Gol on the Caspian Sea salinity is a record number - 300 ppm).
Where the ocean does was such a huge amount of salt? In order to somehow explain this mystery, scientists have put forward and keep pushing several hypotheses. One of them (apparently the original) is to ensure that the seas and oceans were fresh, but the "Ambassador" of the river. So, to put it high academic style, salt appeared in the ocean as a result of removal of minerals dissolved in the river water, but also because of the leaching of solid rocks of the Earth's crust. The main objection: the amount of salt annually action taken by rivers to the sea, is relatively small. And most importantly - sea salt and freshwater are not identical in composition: in the sea water most of the chlorides in the river - is dominated by carbonates.
Another view is taken by Academician Vladimir Vernadsky. He believed that in ancient geological epochs ocean strata formed at once from the salt water. But here also there are theories about the origin of primary salinity of the seas due to salts in the rocks that form the bottom, on the impact of plant and animal organisms, geological deformation of the crust to maintain a constant salt balance of the oceans. Therefore, in the author's view, it would be more correct to say that the formation of the salinity of sea water is a result of all these and other processes.
Basically what we have to remember, to our modern understanding of nature: the ocean, like any living organism, over billions of years has maintained the stability of its salt content through self-regulation. Every year, from the ocean surface evaporates 448,000 cubic meters of water, or a layer thickness of 1.2 meters, with a surface of the same land - 71,000 cubic kilometers. At the same time, an adequate amount of water falls on land and sea in the form of precipitation. In this eternal circuit, constantly maintain a balance in the great and honorable role of salt noted science-fiction writer Jules Verne in the aforementioned us the book "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea": "Salt reduces the evaporation of sea water and the wind does not take too much water vapor. And thus protects from rain temperate zones of the planet. "
Well, we - and the common people, and scientists - all know how salutary effect on our sea baths, swimming in the sea. Not long ago randomly physicians have adopted a method of treatment of sea salt. Colored plastic bags with the evaporated sea crystals blown thousands of miles away from the Sunshine Coast. They help people to get rid of a number of skin and neuroses diseases. Ions of salt positively are acting on the respiratory system, helping people to deal with bronchial asthma.
In Mariupol railway hospital for several years used the effect of the dry salt mine. And dental treatment had done today ionize salt spray. But the Scottish islanders Anstey and still believe that, if add some salt sea water, the fish will be more. Once a year they have traditionally, in the same way as their ancestors did, sprinkle with the surf, so as not transferred herring.
What they say: salt we regularly eat. The disadvantage is acutely aware of the animal organisms. Also the extremes are fraught with danger. When a good many - too bad, they say is true. This applies to us touted sodium chloride, common salt, contained in abundance in seawater and the earth's crust.
There was a time, this substance is sometimes valued more than gold, they were calculated with each other, it was a symbol of prosperity and affluence. With the development of industry and transport salt has become so accessible and affordable that a huge amount spent to powder streets in the winter. Genuine sodium chloride incursion unfortunately promotes hypertension and atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, diseases of the joints, kidneys, and the stomach.
The history of mankind remembers her salt fatal role in the fate of Carthage. Carthage long time and hard f ought with this powerful ancient Roman city, around the seventh century BC to subjugate the Phoenicians. However, the Romans conquered. Completely destroyed the once proud fortress, they plowed the land and cool sprinkle it with salt. To even the grass is not growing. Salt, maybe was not quite the sea, but it, unfortunately, proved to be too much.
If by and large, we know that the ocean water with its high ppm was in ancient geological times to the nutritional environment in which life originated on Earth. Attractive puzzle, if I may say so, the cosmos with the opposite sign: low-Earth orbit a person suffers from a lack of the usual atmospheric pressure, and in the depths of the ocean water compresses researcher with incredible force. The maximum depth of the ocean yet knows. It is more than 11,000 feet, and the living creatures were caught with a mark of 10,236 meters.
Thus, we see that living life to the bottom of the deep ocean basins filled with salty water of our planet. And it requires closer exams.
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