Salinity and temperature affect the density of ocean water, driving water circulation. Measuring the relationship between temperature and salinity allows scientists to track the movement of ocean water. The links below explain salinity and provide activities for use in classrooms.
The NERACOOS ocean and weather climate display delivers information about the average weather and ocean conditions between 2001 and 2012. The display also includes information about recent and past years' ocean and weather conditions so that you can compare them to the average conditions from the past decade.
The upper layers of the Canadian Basin constitute a large reservoir of freshwater and buoyancy that derives from river runoff, sea-ice meltwater, and relatively fresh North Pacific waters. We use salinity, oxygen isotopes and nutrient concentrations to study the varying contribution from freshwater components in a series of Arctic Ocean cruises between 1989 and 2005.