The ocean is salty primarily because rivers discharge mineral-rich water into it.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
The Journey of Salts to the Sea
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Rivers play a crucial role in transporting minerals and salts to the ocean.
- As rivers flow across land, they erode rocks and soil.
- This erosion releases minerals and salts into the river water.
- The rivers then carry this mineral-rich water to the ocean, as evidenced by the satellite view of the La Plata River discharge to the Atlantic Ocean.
River Discharge: A Key Contributor
The reference highlights the vital role of river discharge in the ocean's salinity:
One way minerals and salts are deposited into the oceans is from outflow from rivers, which drain the landscape, thus causing the oceans to be salty.
This clearly indicates that the drainage of landscapes by rivers, carrying dissolved minerals and salts, is a primary mechanism for the ocean's saltiness.
