Climate of Our Future

Why Is The Ocean Salty?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071012104955.htm

Science Daily — The saltiness of the sea comes from dissolved minerals, especially sodium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, says Galen McKinley, a UW-Madison professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

Pacific Ocean at dawn. Today’s ocean salt has ancient origins. As the earth formed, gases spewing from its interior released salt ions that reached the ocean via rainfall or land runoff. (Credit: Michele Hogan)

Today’s ocean salt has ancient origins. As the earth formed, gases spewing from its interior released salt ions that reached the ocean via rainfall or land runoff.

Now, the ocean’s salinity is basically constant. “Ions aren’t being removed or supplied in an appreciable amount,” McKinley says. “The removal and sources that do exist are so small and the reservoir is so large that those ions just stay in the water.” For example, she says, “Each year, runoff from the land adds only 0.00005 percent of total ocean salts.” Keep reading

Pollution Killing Up To 25,000 Canadians Annually, Report States

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071012143801.htm

Science Daily — Canadians are awash in toxic chemicals — and it is costing our health care system up to $9.1 billion and 1.5 million hospital days annually, according to a new study led by University of British Columbia Trudeau Scholar David Boyd.

Photo taken near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Industry in the foreground, pristine mountains in the background — Canada is not immune to environmental problems. (Credit: Michele Hogan)

The research is the first to measure the magnitude of adverse health effects caused by exposure to environmental hazards such as air pollution, pesticides, dioxins, heavy metals, flame retardants and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for Canada.

Published online in the journal Environmental Research, the study estimates that environmental pollutants cause as many as 25,000 deaths, 24,000 new cases of cancer and 2,500 low birth-weight babies in Canada every year. Keep reading