Sea Chemistry

Dissolved Oxygen:
Amount of oxygen dissolved in a lake, stream, or river. Dissolved oxygen is the most important indicator of the health of a body of water and its capacity to support a balanced ecosystem of plants and animals. Dissolved oxygen comes from cell respiration and photosynthesis in the organism as well as from the atmosphere. So, in the Arctic Ocean, the water has a very low salinity - this will affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water positively because a lower salinity produces more dissolved oxygen. Also, the marine life will operate using higher levels of oxygen.

pH:
pH measures the acidity of water, pH stands for potential of hydrogen. A pH value is a number from 1-14, with 7 being the neutral point. As the number decreases, the solution is more acidic; as the number increases the solution becomes more basic.

Temperature:
A measure of hotness and coldness in degrees.

Salinity:
The total amount of dissolved material in grams in one kilogram of sea water.

Turbidity:
Having sediment or foreign particles stirred up or suspended.

Nitrite:
An element that is toxic to fish, causes eutrophication. Eutrophication creates in increase in nutrients, usually with an algae bloom caused by chemical run-off.